The winning factors in local politics were always thought to be name recognition and the amount of money spent. Mix in a couple of union endorsements and a thumbs-up from a newspaper editorial and you're golden.

That meant John Henry Felix was the top dog going in to the special election for the Honolulu City Council seat representing Kailua, Kane'ohe and Waimanalo. Yet he ended up in fifth place, with 7 percent of the votes cast. In J. Ikaika Anderson's landslide victory, Felix wasn't even on the mountain. (He was probably on the other side of the island, you know, the part he represented for four terms on the City Council.)

Felix had years of getting his name in the papers and his face on the TV news as a City Council member. He spent a truckload of money, $128,175, on his campaign for a position that pays less than $50,000 a year.

All that, and he got 1,825 votes. That's like $70 a vote.

Felix had the big endorsements from the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers, the Hawaii Fire Fighters Association, United Public Workers and Hawaii Carpenters Union. His picture was all over the news recently for being nominated for the Jefferson Award, a big national honor for volunteerism.

What he didn't have going for him was roots in the community. His campaign literature said he had lived on the Windward side a total of 25 years during his life and moved back into the district last November, but it's not like folks ever saw him at Kane'ohe Longs or Kailua Don Quixote.

Anderson had that geographic credibility. He also had a couple of key endorsements, including the HGEA, and spent $98,000 on his campaign.

Though this is his first time in elected office, the term "political newcomer" doesn't exactly fit. He is the grandson of former state Sen. Whitney Anderson and the grandnephew of former state senator and Republican gubernatorial candidate D.G. "Andy" Anderson. Having a third Anderson win a local election thus establishes a family dynasty.

Plus, Anderson had a crucial credential in his campaign — the posthumous blessing of his predecessor and former boss, Barbara Marshall. Marshall's widower, Cliff Ziems, said he knew Barbara would want Anderson to be the one. Marshall was about as no-nonsense a person as they come, and clearly the voters who re-elected her two years ago took her legacy seriously in choosing her successor.

There were two messages here. It was a landslide victory for Anderson, and a landslide defeat for Felix. Windward voters sent a strong message that they won't put up with well-financed carpetbaggers.

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays.

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at 535-8172 or lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com.