Back on his feet, and feeling fine, Former Gov. Ben Cayetano and his wife Vicky spent Friday night at the Aiea Soto Mission Bon Dance.
Cayetano, the leading candidate for Honolulu mayor, was hospitalized at Queens Medical Center last Sunday until to Tuesday where he had minor surgery to stop a bleeding ulcer.
Now Cayetano says he is feeling much stronger – strong enough to attend a Bon Dance, a long held tradition by many Hawaii politicians.
(From Wikipedia: Obon (お盆?) or just Bon (盆?) is a Japanese Buddhist custom to honor the spirits of one’s ancestors. This Buddhist-Confucian custom has evolved into a family reunion holiday during which people return to ancestral family places and visit and clean their ancestors’ graves, and when the spirits of ancestors are supposed to revisit the household altars. It has been celebrated in Japan for more than 500 years and traditionally includes a dance, known as Bon-Odori).
Cayetano will know some time late Saturday or early Sunday morning as to whether he is Honolulu’s next mayor or if he will move into a run off.
Should he receive 50 percent of the vote plus one vote, he will win outright. Any less and the top two candidates move into the November 6 General Election.
Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle and former Managing Director Kirk Caldwell are the other two major candidates in this race. Cayetano has led them in the polls by more than 20 points each.