GET REAL: Email was bad enough. But now that we broke down and signed up for Facebook, we're inundated with well-meaning people forwarding idiotically simplistic solutions to complex problems which they and whomever started the chain took about three milliseconds to think through.
The latest started as a bogus email chain letter that continues to circulate regarding what was called the "Congressional Reform Act (CRA) of 2011" proposing a constitutional amendment that would cull congressional salaries and eliminate pensions and benefits, essentially making recompense almost non-existent.
Bogus or not it became exceptionally popular with those who forwarded it.
So what's wrong with the content? Well let's start with a maxim that we're sure those who distributed the above will agree with- you get what you pay for.
But moreover take a gander at a recent study by the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP), a nonpartisan organization that keeps track of money in politics.
NPR reports that according Michael Beckel, a spokesperson for the CRP "244 current members of Congress are millionaires — that's about 46 percent and that includes 138 Republicans and 106 Democrats."
Now these guys and gals didn't exactly get rich by stashing away their salaries or even through corruption. They started out rich when they ran for office.
So why did we elect them and not, as the CRA folks called them, "citizen legislators (who) should serve their term(s), then go home and back to work (as) the Founding Fathers envisioned?"
Maybe it's because those citizen legislators can't just stop working and gallivant off to the state or national capitol and expect to not just continue to support their families but to have their jobs to be waiting for them when they get back.
Would your boss do that? Didn't think so.
And these CRA people want to make it worse.
We have two close friends who went into politics- just plain working folks who made for extraordinary office holders. But both are out of politics now, not because they were voted out of office but because essentially they were faced with giving up a job they had either trained their whole lives for and dearly loved doing- or at least one that gave them a steady income- for a "job" they had to re-secure every couple-o'-four years.
And in order to do that they had to raise bucketsful of cash and subject themselves to insults that people ordinarily wouldn't address to their worst enemy.
The people who took their places? In one case he's a longtime hack politician just coming off a get-rich stint out of office and working for a local developer. The other is a glad-handing TV personality whose main job in office is apparently to promote his show and every hotel on the island.
Yet when we suggest making service with both our local county council and state legislature full-time jobs with decent pay that's commensurate with the duties, instead we get crap like this CRA petition which is actually a measure to assure that the other 291 members of congress become part of the same rich "1%" against whom we're out in the streets protesting.
At the same time we'd bet dollars to donuts that "99%" of those who liked the CRA have never heard of another proposed constitutional amendment from the "Move to Amend" organization that would put the kibosh on "corporate personhood," as declared by the Supreme Court, which turned on full blast the already gushing corporate campaign money spigot. At the same time many have opposed programs for partial public financing of elections or even legislation- or if needed a constitutional amendment- ending all campaign contributions in favor of full public financing.
It's the penny wise and pound foolish of the world who scream about "paying for politicians to run for office"- as if they're not paying 100 times more on the back end as corporations buy and sell the pols and write the legislation- and would pay office holders poverty wages, who are the self-same ones that are perpetuating the corrupt system that has people's opinions of elected officials at all-time lows.
So do us all a favor- think it through before you hit that send or post button. We’ve got really important issues to attend to... like the Giants-49ers game this Sunday. Go G-men.
Showing posts with label Campaign Finances. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Campaign Finances. Show all posts
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Monday, May 2, 2011
WALA`OUCH
WALA`OUCH: When we called for Councilperson Dickie Chang to recuse himself from participating in Bill #2404- which would appropriate $150,000 in support of the 3rd annual Kaua`i Marathon- two weeks ago today we had a feeling that Chang was pretty clueless regarding this and other conflicts of interest between actions as a councilperson and his "Wala`au" television program.
But, as we reported Friday, to his credit Chang did listen and recused himself from involvement with the bill meaning he will not be shepherding the bill through the council as Chair of the Economic Development & Renewable Energy Strategies (ED&RES) Committee.
As this Wednesday's agenda says:
C 2011-135 Communication (04/28/2011) from Councilmember Chang, providing written disclosure on the record of a possible conflict of interest and recusal on Bill No. 2404 (An Ordinance to Appropriate $150,000 to the Kaua'i Marathon Grant), because he is the Owner of Wala'au Productions which tapes and aires (sic) footage of the Kaua'i Marathon and also he serves as an emcee for the Kaua'i Marathon at several pre and post events.
But does Chang truly get it?
Apparently not judging by his fast and free treatment of the line between his day job and his job as one who appropriates all monies the county spends.
Take for example one of the presumably paid advertisements that regularly appears on Wala`au from Garden Isle Disposal (GID) advertising the "Kaua`i Recycles" program, which provides those bins across the island where people can recycle their glass, plastic and newspapers.
GID doesn't just collect recyclables because out of concern for the planet or out of the goodness of their hearts- the county appropriates money to pay them for their services every year via the annual budget.
And part of the contract requires that GID provide publicity and education to let people know how, where and what to recycle.
As a graphic in the commercial notes:
The Kaua`i Recycles program is a project of the County of Kaua`i... operated by Garden Isle Disposal.
That means that, as you've probably figured out, Chang first voted to appropriate the money for the commercials and then pocketed a good chunk of it as sole proprietor of Wala`au.
Sweet deal, Dickie.
But this kind of little self-dealing scam- which apparently violates the "Kaua`i Code of Ethics" in providing a special benefit for himself through his actions as a government official- is nothing new for Chang.
During this past year's campaign guess who one of the biggest advertisers on Wala`au was?
Actually you needn't guess. Chang's filings with the State Campaign Spending Commissions show two expenditures- one on September 28 and another on October 5 of $1,218.74 and $1,218.74 respectively for "television advertising"- both paid to Wala`au Productions.
And why not? Chang had gotten away with it in 2008 when, on October 21 he spent $2,812.48 for "30 second TV spots- 12 weeks," also paid to Wala`au Productions.
The 2008 entry notes that the Chang's campaign, including this expenditure, was financed through "public funding."
Sleazy? Surely. But illegal? Well, apparently.
The first line of the Campaign Treasurers Manual says that "(e)xpenditures that personally benefit the candidate or candidate’s family are expressly prohibited."
Chang also has other close relationships between those who benefited from his campaign cash and who now advertise on Wala`au, including The Garden Island Newspaper- which is listed as a Wala`au "sponsor" and has received numerous checks from the Chang campaign for ads- and the Puakea Golf Course which is similarly entwined, receiving Chang campaign expenditures and is currently a Wala`au "sponsor."
As Chair of the Economic Development & Renewable Energy Strategies Committee, Chang has also guided and enthusiastically voted for appropriations for the Kaua`i Visitor's Bureau- including $2 million in controversial "emergency grants" last year- which also provides life-blood content for Wala`au.
The program also lists the Kaua`i Island Utilities Coop (KIUC) as an sponsor, bringing into question how Chang can oversee "Renewable Energy Strategies" and other KIUC-related matters without a conflict of interest that would demand recusal.
Councilmembers are often chosen for committee chairs- and committees are often structured- based on their expertise. But when that expertise crosses the line and government and campaign monies find their way into the chair's wallet it may be time to reassess that councilmember's role on the council.
Is Chang playing loosey- goosey with ethics and anti-corruption laws? Well, now that he's been goosed, like Lucy, at the very least, he has some 'splainin' to do.
But, as we reported Friday, to his credit Chang did listen and recused himself from involvement with the bill meaning he will not be shepherding the bill through the council as Chair of the Economic Development & Renewable Energy Strategies (ED&RES) Committee.
As this Wednesday's agenda says:
C 2011-135 Communication (04/28/2011) from Councilmember Chang, providing written disclosure on the record of a possible conflict of interest and recusal on Bill No. 2404 (An Ordinance to Appropriate $150,000 to the Kaua'i Marathon Grant), because he is the Owner of Wala'au Productions which tapes and aires (sic) footage of the Kaua'i Marathon and also he serves as an emcee for the Kaua'i Marathon at several pre and post events.
But does Chang truly get it?
Apparently not judging by his fast and free treatment of the line between his day job and his job as one who appropriates all monies the county spends.
Take for example one of the presumably paid advertisements that regularly appears on Wala`au from Garden Isle Disposal (GID) advertising the "Kaua`i Recycles" program, which provides those bins across the island where people can recycle their glass, plastic and newspapers.
GID doesn't just collect recyclables because out of concern for the planet or out of the goodness of their hearts- the county appropriates money to pay them for their services every year via the annual budget.
And part of the contract requires that GID provide publicity and education to let people know how, where and what to recycle.
As a graphic in the commercial notes:
The Kaua`i Recycles program is a project of the County of Kaua`i... operated by Garden Isle Disposal.
That means that, as you've probably figured out, Chang first voted to appropriate the money for the commercials and then pocketed a good chunk of it as sole proprietor of Wala`au.
Sweet deal, Dickie.
But this kind of little self-dealing scam- which apparently violates the "Kaua`i Code of Ethics" in providing a special benefit for himself through his actions as a government official- is nothing new for Chang.
During this past year's campaign guess who one of the biggest advertisers on Wala`au was?
Actually you needn't guess. Chang's filings with the State Campaign Spending Commissions show two expenditures- one on September 28 and another on October 5 of $1,218.74 and $1,218.74 respectively for "television advertising"- both paid to Wala`au Productions.
And why not? Chang had gotten away with it in 2008 when, on October 21 he spent $2,812.48 for "30 second TV spots- 12 weeks," also paid to Wala`au Productions.
The 2008 entry notes that the Chang's campaign, including this expenditure, was financed through "public funding."
Sleazy? Surely. But illegal? Well, apparently.
The first line of the Campaign Treasurers Manual says that "(e)xpenditures that personally benefit the candidate or candidate’s family are expressly prohibited."
Chang also has other close relationships between those who benefited from his campaign cash and who now advertise on Wala`au, including The Garden Island Newspaper- which is listed as a Wala`au "sponsor" and has received numerous checks from the Chang campaign for ads- and the Puakea Golf Course which is similarly entwined, receiving Chang campaign expenditures and is currently a Wala`au "sponsor."
As Chair of the Economic Development & Renewable Energy Strategies Committee, Chang has also guided and enthusiastically voted for appropriations for the Kaua`i Visitor's Bureau- including $2 million in controversial "emergency grants" last year- which also provides life-blood content for Wala`au.
The program also lists the Kaua`i Island Utilities Coop (KIUC) as an sponsor, bringing into question how Chang can oversee "Renewable Energy Strategies" and other KIUC-related matters without a conflict of interest that would demand recusal.
Councilmembers are often chosen for committee chairs- and committees are often structured- based on their expertise. But when that expertise crosses the line and government and campaign monies find their way into the chair's wallet it may be time to reassess that councilmember's role on the council.
Is Chang playing loosey- goosey with ethics and anti-corruption laws? Well, now that he's been goosed, like Lucy, at the very least, he has some 'splainin' to do.
Monday, September 20, 2010
AFTER MATH
AFTER MATH: There were few if any surprises in the results of the first round Kaua`i County Council election although actually seeing an “8th” next to Chair Kaipo Asing’s name in black and white was, though not unexpected, mind-numbing, as was his statement- once again- that “this campaign will be his last”.
If only....
But looking down the rankings we couldn’t help but get a sense of deja vu. Now let’s see- where did we see that list in that order recently?
How about last Monday when we reported the list- in almost the same order- of campaign contributions.
Top seven in cash?
1) Nadine Nakamura $50,218.56
2) Derek Kawakami $46,393.71
3) JoAnn Yukimura $45,925.00
4) Jay Furfaro $21,040.00
5) Mel Rapozo $19,394.20
6) Dickie Chang $17,870.00
7) Tim Bynum $16,477.99
Top seven in votes?
1) Kawakami, Derek S.K. 10,088 8.6%
2) Nakamura, Nadine K. 9,266 7.9%
3) Yukimura, Joann A. 8,719 7.4%
4) Furfaro, Jay 8,432 7.2%
5) Bynum, Tim 7,620 6.5%
6) Rapozo, Mel 7,383 6.3%
7) Chang, Dickie (Walaau) 6,430 5.5%
If you flip numbers one and two and push Tim Bynum to number 5 it’s the same order.
And, look at the order of the only other candidates who raised money:
8) Kipukai Kualii $16,361.92
9) Ted Daligdig $3,700.0010)
10) Ed Justus $1,760.0011)
(11) Dennis Fowler $100.00
you’ll find them in the same order they appear in the polls:
9) Kualii, Kipukai Les P. 4,877 4.1%
10) Daligdig, Ted III 4,427 3.8%
11) Justus, Ed 3,010 2.6%
14) Fowler, Dennis M. 1,118 0.9%
We like to think that the “same old faces” keep getting re-elected because people vote based on name recognition or who’s whose auntie or who’s a nice guy/gal or any of a dozen reasons that denigrate other voters’ motives. But in reality all we do is just keep electing those who raise the most money while complaining about all the money in politics.
---------
Kaua`i has always had it’s “perennial” candidates. This year we really miss Bob Carriffe who used to campaign for council on the “getting rid of the mosquitoes” platform while picking up trash by the side of the road, saying he was really running so his wife would take him back.
Many used to vote for him just to say to other more prominent candidates “see? I’d rather vote for Bob Carriffe than you.”
One of our favorites was John Phillip Sousa (he claimed to be a direct descendant) who ran for mayor as a Republican, election after election, throughout the 70’s and 80’s.
Long after the election had been decided in the Democratic primary, Sousa could be found prowling shopping centers asking you to “pull a recipe” out of his shirt pocket “because they won’t let me hand them out”.
In the late 90’s and early ‘00’s, after we changed to non-partisan council election, there was Deborah “JoB’ Spence who championed aliens and UFOs among other issues.
We bring her up because, after moving to the Big Island, she turned up this year on the “Free Energy” party ticket, running for lt. governor.
We also being it up because the “Free Energy Party” provided one of the biggest head-scratcher of Saturday’s primary.
They only ran two candidate- Daniel H. Cunningham for Governor and JoB.
But the results were that, of those who chose Free Energy ballot, 54 people in Cunningham’s case and 76 in Spence’s case left their votes blank.
Who are these people who shunned the Democratic, Republican, Libertarian and Green primaries to vote in the Free Energy primary but then didn’t vote for one of their unopposed candidates?
There must be some explanation. But then again when it comes to people’s voting habits it’s better not to question anything if you ever want a good night’s sleep again.
If only....
But looking down the rankings we couldn’t help but get a sense of deja vu. Now let’s see- where did we see that list in that order recently?
How about last Monday when we reported the list- in almost the same order- of campaign contributions.
Top seven in cash?
1) Nadine Nakamura $50,218.56
2) Derek Kawakami $46,393.71
3) JoAnn Yukimura $45,925.00
4) Jay Furfaro $21,040.00
5) Mel Rapozo $19,394.20
6) Dickie Chang $17,870.00
7) Tim Bynum $16,477.99
Top seven in votes?
1) Kawakami, Derek S.K. 10,088 8.6%
2) Nakamura, Nadine K. 9,266 7.9%
3) Yukimura, Joann A. 8,719 7.4%
4) Furfaro, Jay 8,432 7.2%
5) Bynum, Tim 7,620 6.5%
6) Rapozo, Mel 7,383 6.3%
7) Chang, Dickie (Walaau) 6,430 5.5%
If you flip numbers one and two and push Tim Bynum to number 5 it’s the same order.
And, look at the order of the only other candidates who raised money:
8) Kipukai Kualii $16,361.92
9) Ted Daligdig $3,700.0010)
10) Ed Justus $1,760.0011)
(11) Dennis Fowler $100.00
you’ll find them in the same order they appear in the polls:
9) Kualii, Kipukai Les P. 4,877 4.1%
10) Daligdig, Ted III 4,427 3.8%
11) Justus, Ed 3,010 2.6%
14) Fowler, Dennis M. 1,118 0.9%
We like to think that the “same old faces” keep getting re-elected because people vote based on name recognition or who’s whose auntie or who’s a nice guy/gal or any of a dozen reasons that denigrate other voters’ motives. But in reality all we do is just keep electing those who raise the most money while complaining about all the money in politics.
---------
Kaua`i has always had it’s “perennial” candidates. This year we really miss Bob Carriffe who used to campaign for council on the “getting rid of the mosquitoes” platform while picking up trash by the side of the road, saying he was really running so his wife would take him back.
Many used to vote for him just to say to other more prominent candidates “see? I’d rather vote for Bob Carriffe than you.”
One of our favorites was John Phillip Sousa (he claimed to be a direct descendant) who ran for mayor as a Republican, election after election, throughout the 70’s and 80’s.
Long after the election had been decided in the Democratic primary, Sousa could be found prowling shopping centers asking you to “pull a recipe” out of his shirt pocket “because they won’t let me hand them out”.
In the late 90’s and early ‘00’s, after we changed to non-partisan council election, there was Deborah “JoB’ Spence who championed aliens and UFOs among other issues.
We bring her up because, after moving to the Big Island, she turned up this year on the “Free Energy” party ticket, running for lt. governor.
We also being it up because the “Free Energy Party” provided one of the biggest head-scratcher of Saturday’s primary.
They only ran two candidate- Daniel H. Cunningham for Governor and JoB.
But the results were that, of those who chose Free Energy ballot, 54 people in Cunningham’s case and 76 in Spence’s case left their votes blank.
Who are these people who shunned the Democratic, Republican, Libertarian and Green primaries to vote in the Free Energy primary but then didn’t vote for one of their unopposed candidates?
There must be some explanation. But then again when it comes to people’s voting habits it’s better not to question anything if you ever want a good night’s sleep again.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
SMELLS LIKE GREEN SPIRIT
SMELLS LIKE GREEN SPIRIT: Early in a PolySci 100 class the professor presents you with an interesting question. Are those big donors- the special interests we all denigrate- simply giving money to the politician because the candidates have generally shown themselves to support measures that benefit the donor or is the money intended to either influence a vote or reward it?
In recent the case of Alexander and Baldwin (A&B) and their recent successful effort to get out from under a “workforce housing” requirement for their Kukui`ula project in Po`ipu the trail of money and votes of county councilmembers tell a story that makes the latter a distinct possibility.
When A&B got re-zoning of their Kukui`ula project a few years back, then Council Planning Committee Chair JoAnn Yukimura, who as a private citizen had fought the project, did a 180 and helped grease the wheels to change the project from an affordable housing venture to one of luxury homes for off-islanders.
She says that because she didn’t have the votes to actually stop the project she made sure that the conditions and “give backs”- things to benefit the community like housing, roads or schools- were severe and sometimes unique, including the 99 year buy back condition on a sizable chunk of the “affordable” so-called “gap” housing.
So when A&B asked to not just reduce the time line but dump the administration of the program into the county’s lap, Yukimura, now again a private citizen after an unsuccessful run for mayor in ’08, screamed bloody murder.
Needless to say, it was “no soup for you JoAnn” when A&B started handing out the checks.
But not so for former Councilperson Mel Rapozo who was one of those who was predisposed to voting for the original rezoning. Rapozo, also out of office after a mayoral run, has been a vocal populist and activist, testifying and providing documents on many land use issues this year. He’s considered a shoo-in this November in his bid to return to the council.
But on the Kukui`ula housing bill Rapozo remained silent. And if he had any ideas of opposing the bill, right before the it was introduced Rapozo got a $500 check from A&B on April 23, reminding him of their previous support.
Also receiving an April check- this one on the 27th- was first-time candidate Nadine Nakamura who got $300. Nakamura a “planner” by trade is a good investment for A&B since her day job is essentially to help developers like A&B push through their developments. More on her later.
As the bill was being placed on the table A&B decided to spread some “love” around to remind their most likely supporters who was buttering their bread.
Councilperson Dickie Chang- a man who never met a development he didn’t like- was the first and on June 14 he got $500.
At this point it was anyone’s guess how the council vote would shake out. Recent battles over transient vacation rentals and use of ag lands had sharpened the edges of the council factions and Chang, who was in Chair Kaipo Asing’s “gang” would be looking to Asing for a cue and Asing could have done anything here.
There was one more worry for A&B- the man at the top. Would Mayor Bernard Carvalho use his still-in-the-original-packaging veto pen if community outrage got out of hand? Another $1000- check for a total of $3000 this election cycle- served as reminder that A&B had another favor to ask.
That left Councilpersons Derek Kawakami and Jay Furfaro as the swing votes as it started to become clear that Councilmembers Tim Bynum and Lani Kawahara- the real leaders of the dissident faction- were lining up to oppose passage of the bill.
Though Furfaro, vice chair of the council and chair of the planning committee, was the outward leader of the dissidents he remained non-committal though much of the back and forth in committee. So did Kawakami until Asing showed his hand by saying that, since the county had now passed affordable housing standards that were much lower than the Kukui`ula numbers it wouldn’t be “fair” to A&B to keep the 99 year buy back.
The bill passed on August 11 with Bynum and Kawahara voting “no”.
And on August 13 Kawakami received his reward- a check for $1000 courtesy of A&B.
And a few weeks later, on September 3- the final day for of the reporting period- A&B cut checks to Furfaro for $1,000.00, Chang for another $500.00 for a total of $1,000.00 and Rapozo, who kept his mouth shut on the bill, for another $500 totaling $1000.
Also receiving a September 3 check was Nakamura who got $700 for a total of $1000.
Missing from the largess was Yukimura who showed up at every committee meeting to reiterate how A&B had agreed to all these give backs and how it was part of a “package” and shouldn’t be changed.
Asing doesn’t take campaign contributions.
Nakamura has been thought by many to be some kind of bright star on the horizon, especially in the controlled growth community. But A&B doesn’t give money to just anyone and they know what many don’t- that the view of someone who is trained and working as a “planner” is one amenable to development.
So were these “bribes”? Certainly not as far as the law is concerned. In order for a campaign contribution to be a bribe there would have to be unimpeachable evidence- a recorded conversation or a written note- explicitly saying that the money was given in exchange for a vote.
But until corporations are banned from giving directly to politicians’ election campaigns these legal bribes will continue to corrupt American politics at every level of government.
-----
We have “stuff” tomorrow. See ya Monday.
In recent the case of Alexander and Baldwin (A&B) and their recent successful effort to get out from under a “workforce housing” requirement for their Kukui`ula project in Po`ipu the trail of money and votes of county councilmembers tell a story that makes the latter a distinct possibility.
When A&B got re-zoning of their Kukui`ula project a few years back, then Council Planning Committee Chair JoAnn Yukimura, who as a private citizen had fought the project, did a 180 and helped grease the wheels to change the project from an affordable housing venture to one of luxury homes for off-islanders.
She says that because she didn’t have the votes to actually stop the project she made sure that the conditions and “give backs”- things to benefit the community like housing, roads or schools- were severe and sometimes unique, including the 99 year buy back condition on a sizable chunk of the “affordable” so-called “gap” housing.
So when A&B asked to not just reduce the time line but dump the administration of the program into the county’s lap, Yukimura, now again a private citizen after an unsuccessful run for mayor in ’08, screamed bloody murder.
Needless to say, it was “no soup for you JoAnn” when A&B started handing out the checks.
But not so for former Councilperson Mel Rapozo who was one of those who was predisposed to voting for the original rezoning. Rapozo, also out of office after a mayoral run, has been a vocal populist and activist, testifying and providing documents on many land use issues this year. He’s considered a shoo-in this November in his bid to return to the council.
But on the Kukui`ula housing bill Rapozo remained silent. And if he had any ideas of opposing the bill, right before the it was introduced Rapozo got a $500 check from A&B on April 23, reminding him of their previous support.
Also receiving an April check- this one on the 27th- was first-time candidate Nadine Nakamura who got $300. Nakamura a “planner” by trade is a good investment for A&B since her day job is essentially to help developers like A&B push through their developments. More on her later.
As the bill was being placed on the table A&B decided to spread some “love” around to remind their most likely supporters who was buttering their bread.
Councilperson Dickie Chang- a man who never met a development he didn’t like- was the first and on June 14 he got $500.
At this point it was anyone’s guess how the council vote would shake out. Recent battles over transient vacation rentals and use of ag lands had sharpened the edges of the council factions and Chang, who was in Chair Kaipo Asing’s “gang” would be looking to Asing for a cue and Asing could have done anything here.
There was one more worry for A&B- the man at the top. Would Mayor Bernard Carvalho use his still-in-the-original-packaging veto pen if community outrage got out of hand? Another $1000- check for a total of $3000 this election cycle- served as reminder that A&B had another favor to ask.
That left Councilpersons Derek Kawakami and Jay Furfaro as the swing votes as it started to become clear that Councilmembers Tim Bynum and Lani Kawahara- the real leaders of the dissident faction- were lining up to oppose passage of the bill.
Though Furfaro, vice chair of the council and chair of the planning committee, was the outward leader of the dissidents he remained non-committal though much of the back and forth in committee. So did Kawakami until Asing showed his hand by saying that, since the county had now passed affordable housing standards that were much lower than the Kukui`ula numbers it wouldn’t be “fair” to A&B to keep the 99 year buy back.
The bill passed on August 11 with Bynum and Kawahara voting “no”.
And on August 13 Kawakami received his reward- a check for $1000 courtesy of A&B.
And a few weeks later, on September 3- the final day for of the reporting period- A&B cut checks to Furfaro for $1,000.00, Chang for another $500.00 for a total of $1,000.00 and Rapozo, who kept his mouth shut on the bill, for another $500 totaling $1000.
Also receiving a September 3 check was Nakamura who got $700 for a total of $1000.
Missing from the largess was Yukimura who showed up at every committee meeting to reiterate how A&B had agreed to all these give backs and how it was part of a “package” and shouldn’t be changed.
Asing doesn’t take campaign contributions.
Nakamura has been thought by many to be some kind of bright star on the horizon, especially in the controlled growth community. But A&B doesn’t give money to just anyone and they know what many don’t- that the view of someone who is trained and working as a “planner” is one amenable to development.
So were these “bribes”? Certainly not as far as the law is concerned. In order for a campaign contribution to be a bribe there would have to be unimpeachable evidence- a recorded conversation or a written note- explicitly saying that the money was given in exchange for a vote.
But until corporations are banned from giving directly to politicians’ election campaigns these legal bribes will continue to corrupt American politics at every level of government.
-----
We have “stuff” tomorrow. See ya Monday.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
TOO SMALL TO FLAIL
TOO SMALL TO FLAIL: The things that piss off the electorate really baffles us sometimes. Perhaps it’s the ease with which we fall for the misdirection ploy. Maybe it’s that when a scam is of the MEGO (my eyes glaze over) variety people go back to something they can understand rather than spend the extra time to figure it out.
But whatever it is it seems that the masses prefer to worry about getting a Woolworth’s Funereal (being nickeled and dimed to death) than receiving a full walletectomy.
That may explain why we generally get up in arms over the pennies our elected officials receive for their services instead of the legal- and not so legal- bribery system that is democracy American style which cost us untold riches on the back end.
A perfect example is Honolulu Advertiser columnist/blogger Dave Shapiro’s seemingly never ending crusade to mention the pay raise the legislature received a couple of years back at every opportunity as if it alone were at the root of all economic miseries.
But what Dave fails to mention other than occasionally and in passing is that the low pay for “part time” legislators has led to a system where the nature of the outside employment of most legislators is a direct result of the power of their positions.
It takes a special “boss” to let their employee spend three months away from their job as well as a slew of time between sessions. Just go down the list of legislators’ outside jobs and you will more often than not see “consultant”- usually with firms whose profits rise and fall with the actions of the legislature.
Combined with those direct bribes known as “campaign contributions” we’re stuck with a system that cost us billions in tax credits and special interest legislation often actually written by corporate crooks and cronies doling out the moolah..
But while we’re worried about the actual salaries that the reps and sens are being paid, keeping them low is what actually causes this fraudulent system to thrive.
In order to be a state legislator either you play the “consultant” game and ply the rubber chicken circuit or you’re independently wealthy. There’s no in-between and no opportunity for the citizen-legislator we all cite as ideal.
We’ve spoken to literally dozens of people over the years, ones who everyone wishes would run for office but don’t because they simply can’t afford it. Yet Shapiro and his mindless adherents want to keep the salaries at a low enough level to keep the current system in place.
And it’s the same nationally. This week we’ve noted four copies of a “chain letter” email we first started receiving about six months ago but has gone viral on the local progressive “lists”, entitled “An idea whose time has come”.
It reads:
For too long we have been too complacent about the workings of Congress. Many citizens had no idea that members of Congress could retire with the same pay after only one term, that they didn't pay into Social Security, that they specifically exempted themselves from many of the laws they have passed (such as being exempt from any fear of prosecution for sexual harassment) while ordinary citizens must live under those laws... The self-serving must stop....
This is the same congress that has not just allowed but perpetuated the fiscal system, bailing out Wall St. and the banks while people are being thrown out of their houses after being scammed by the self same crew- a crew that refills congressional campaign coffers like it’s a 7-11 refilling your 87 ounce Dr. Pepper.
Yet there’s no real regulation even proposed at this point for the banks or campaign finance. Instead the email proposes a:
28th Amendment to the United States Constitution
"Congress shall make no law that applies to the citizens of the United States that does not apply equally to the Senators and/or Representatives; and, Congress shall make no law that applies to the Senators and/or Representatives that does not apply equally to the citizens of the United States ".
Are you freakin’ kidding? This is what gets your panties in a bunch? Not constitutional amendments denying the demented recent Supreme Court ruling confirming “corporate personhood” or the 30 year old “money is speech” ruling than makes public financing of elections a Herculean task if not an absolute joke?
Parenthetically that’s another tangential idiocy- people who say “I don’t want my tax dollars financing these politicians campaigns”. For every dollar we’d spend taking money out of political campaigns we’d be saving literally millions doled out to those that pay the legal bribes under the current system.
For instance we are now faced with a give-away to insurance companies instead of a single payer Medicare-for-all that would save us trillions because congress actually admits they are too controlled by campaign contributions to get it passed. It’s just one example of the cost of privately financed campaigns.
It’s the same stupid mentality that has people claiming the “moral hazard” of helping their neighbor payoff the impossible mortgage the bank scammed them into while thinking the trillions given out to “too big to fail” institutions was done in order to “save the financial system”.
It’s the same idiotic cut-off-your-nose-to-spite-your-face “pay cuts for the legislature” mantra that actually makes sure that they have to live a shady existence to survive and serve at the same time.
Get off it folks. While we argue with the teller over the quality of the free toaster they’re giving out in the front of the bank the CEOs are shoveling cash out the back door.
We’re just too distracted by our own petty jealousies and craven covetousness to notice the fixed nature of the game of three-card-Monte being played out on the corner.
But whatever it is it seems that the masses prefer to worry about getting a Woolworth’s Funereal (being nickeled and dimed to death) than receiving a full walletectomy.
That may explain why we generally get up in arms over the pennies our elected officials receive for their services instead of the legal- and not so legal- bribery system that is democracy American style which cost us untold riches on the back end.
A perfect example is Honolulu Advertiser columnist/blogger Dave Shapiro’s seemingly never ending crusade to mention the pay raise the legislature received a couple of years back at every opportunity as if it alone were at the root of all economic miseries.
But what Dave fails to mention other than occasionally and in passing is that the low pay for “part time” legislators has led to a system where the nature of the outside employment of most legislators is a direct result of the power of their positions.
It takes a special “boss” to let their employee spend three months away from their job as well as a slew of time between sessions. Just go down the list of legislators’ outside jobs and you will more often than not see “consultant”- usually with firms whose profits rise and fall with the actions of the legislature.
Combined with those direct bribes known as “campaign contributions” we’re stuck with a system that cost us billions in tax credits and special interest legislation often actually written by corporate crooks and cronies doling out the moolah..
But while we’re worried about the actual salaries that the reps and sens are being paid, keeping them low is what actually causes this fraudulent system to thrive.
In order to be a state legislator either you play the “consultant” game and ply the rubber chicken circuit or you’re independently wealthy. There’s no in-between and no opportunity for the citizen-legislator we all cite as ideal.
We’ve spoken to literally dozens of people over the years, ones who everyone wishes would run for office but don’t because they simply can’t afford it. Yet Shapiro and his mindless adherents want to keep the salaries at a low enough level to keep the current system in place.
And it’s the same nationally. This week we’ve noted four copies of a “chain letter” email we first started receiving about six months ago but has gone viral on the local progressive “lists”, entitled “An idea whose time has come”.
It reads:
For too long we have been too complacent about the workings of Congress. Many citizens had no idea that members of Congress could retire with the same pay after only one term, that they didn't pay into Social Security, that they specifically exempted themselves from many of the laws they have passed (such as being exempt from any fear of prosecution for sexual harassment) while ordinary citizens must live under those laws... The self-serving must stop....
This is the same congress that has not just allowed but perpetuated the fiscal system, bailing out Wall St. and the banks while people are being thrown out of their houses after being scammed by the self same crew- a crew that refills congressional campaign coffers like it’s a 7-11 refilling your 87 ounce Dr. Pepper.
Yet there’s no real regulation even proposed at this point for the banks or campaign finance. Instead the email proposes a:
28th Amendment to the United States Constitution
"Congress shall make no law that applies to the citizens of the United States that does not apply equally to the Senators and/or Representatives; and, Congress shall make no law that applies to the Senators and/or Representatives that does not apply equally to the citizens of the United States ".
Are you freakin’ kidding? This is what gets your panties in a bunch? Not constitutional amendments denying the demented recent Supreme Court ruling confirming “corporate personhood” or the 30 year old “money is speech” ruling than makes public financing of elections a Herculean task if not an absolute joke?
Parenthetically that’s another tangential idiocy- people who say “I don’t want my tax dollars financing these politicians campaigns”. For every dollar we’d spend taking money out of political campaigns we’d be saving literally millions doled out to those that pay the legal bribes under the current system.
For instance we are now faced with a give-away to insurance companies instead of a single payer Medicare-for-all that would save us trillions because congress actually admits they are too controlled by campaign contributions to get it passed. It’s just one example of the cost of privately financed campaigns.
It’s the same stupid mentality that has people claiming the “moral hazard” of helping their neighbor payoff the impossible mortgage the bank scammed them into while thinking the trillions given out to “too big to fail” institutions was done in order to “save the financial system”.
It’s the same idiotic cut-off-your-nose-to-spite-your-face “pay cuts for the legislature” mantra that actually makes sure that they have to live a shady existence to survive and serve at the same time.
Get off it folks. While we argue with the teller over the quality of the free toaster they’re giving out in the front of the bank the CEOs are shoveling cash out the back door.
We’re just too distracted by our own petty jealousies and craven covetousness to notice the fixed nature of the game of three-card-Monte being played out on the corner.
Friday, March 27, 2009
BITE ME
BITE ME: We really should end the week with an emotionally satisfying rant suggesting the bigoted, homophobic, red-shirted troglodytes to shove their jesus and bible up their sociopathic asses so there won’t be room for that army of big hairy phalluses they apparently fear so much.
After all, it’s as obvious as it was a decade ago that you can’t fight the religious passion of mentally ill, deluded, heterosexual degenerates with clear rational logic and calmly reasoned arguments for civil rights.
The fact that “our side” didn’t use this kind of appeal to irrational fears was apparently the downfall of this year’s civil rights battle, just like it was last year in California.
We should have known- clear headed intellectual appeals to “do the right thing” are sooooo 60’s retro.
But blaming the hoodwinked mob for the legislature’s capitulation to hatred and bigotry out of fear for their political careers is to relieve them of the responsibility- and hopefully accountability at the polls- for their shameful acts.
Much in the aftermath has us shaking our heads in disbelief more than at the disgusting abandonment of principle by weasels like Senate President Colleen Hamabusa and her spineless lockstep sycophants.
One of the weirdest claims we’ve read from legislative insiders is that the amazingly fearless Kaua`i Senator Gary Hooser somehow led the battle against ignorance and discrimination in order to somehow further his political ambitions after he announced early this year that he was going to run for lieutenant governor next year.
This claim comes from the self same politicians who claimed they were voting against civil unions because the majority of their constituents were against it.
What are we a bunch of freakin’ idiots? Even if they missed the only scientific poll- which showed massive support for the civil unions legislation- how can they say Hooser was doing it for political gain when they’d have to actually believe that he would lose the votes of that majority opposition through his actions?
We’ve known Gary for 25 years and have rarely if ever been disappointed in any of his actions either on the Kaua`i county council or in the senate- and that’s not something we can say about any other elected official other than Representative Mina Morita.
It has truly boggled our mind as to how he’s been able to pull it off with all the petty little prevaricators and pissants he works with and move into a leadership position to boot.
Which is why we and many other on Kaua`i are in large part hurt that we will certainly have someone of a lesser character as our senator after November 2010.
Many can’t see why someone who has been able to remain principled and effective as a legislator would want to move into any administrative post, much less one that is as useless as an appendix.
The only explanation we can come up with is that maybe he’s just fed up with the stupidity and arcana of his “colleagues” in the Hawai`i state legislature.
Anyone who follows legislative matters has at one time or another been frustrated to the point of tears at the casual acceptance of the inane committee system that perverts the will of the people and even the body year after year after year and the pay-to-play campaign finance laws that perpetuate the inertia.
Allowing one legislator to subvert the will of the majority is the antithesis of democracy in a legislative body. Yet when push came to shove, respect for this corruption and power mongering was shamelessly cited by the senators- the ones who voted no but claimed to actually support civil unions- for refusing to “pull” the bill out of the deadlocked committee.
And yet there’s a shocking silence and distinct lack of outrage in the press- mainstream and otherwise- about the process that led to the ridiculous “only in Hawai`i” denial of civil unions.
The veil has now been lifted on these homophobic slimeballs’ claims that they just wanted “marriage” to be keep from those who have sex differently than they think everyone should.
It’s become painfully obvious they are bent on punishing those who don’t accept their interpretation of a fairy tale penned by cave men as being the literal one-and-only truth.
No other state has, when pressed, denied civil unions with full equal rights for all, even those that, like Hawai`i, constitutionally ban same gender marriage. As a matter of fact the supreme courts of other states have said that the state may constitutionally ban non opposite gender marriage but MUST provide for the same state granted entitlements and benefits for all when doing it.
It’s apparently time to take up the Hawai`i courts’ time again with such a case now that the public knows that asking the legislature to grant equal protection is as useless as reasoning with those with a religious stick up their collective asses.
The concept of “civil unions” is a discriminatory watered down version of the equal right that true marriage. It would certainly seem a no-brainer to get the government out of the marriage business all together and let the babies have their bottle. Let the bible thumpers pervert the minds of their own adherents.
The only protected class that is actually proscribed by a “lifestyle choice” is the one that’s kuleana of the brainless twits who believe the earth is 6000 years old and that people used to live 900 years and live inside fish.
If they want to warp the minds of those who made the choice to join up, well, we’ll all just have to be tolerant of those who “dare to be stupid”.
After all, it’s as obvious as it was a decade ago that you can’t fight the religious passion of mentally ill, deluded, heterosexual degenerates with clear rational logic and calmly reasoned arguments for civil rights.
The fact that “our side” didn’t use this kind of appeal to irrational fears was apparently the downfall of this year’s civil rights battle, just like it was last year in California.
We should have known- clear headed intellectual appeals to “do the right thing” are sooooo 60’s retro.
But blaming the hoodwinked mob for the legislature’s capitulation to hatred and bigotry out of fear for their political careers is to relieve them of the responsibility- and hopefully accountability at the polls- for their shameful acts.
Much in the aftermath has us shaking our heads in disbelief more than at the disgusting abandonment of principle by weasels like Senate President Colleen Hamabusa and her spineless lockstep sycophants.
One of the weirdest claims we’ve read from legislative insiders is that the amazingly fearless Kaua`i Senator Gary Hooser somehow led the battle against ignorance and discrimination in order to somehow further his political ambitions after he announced early this year that he was going to run for lieutenant governor next year.
This claim comes from the self same politicians who claimed they were voting against civil unions because the majority of their constituents were against it.
What are we a bunch of freakin’ idiots? Even if they missed the only scientific poll- which showed massive support for the civil unions legislation- how can they say Hooser was doing it for political gain when they’d have to actually believe that he would lose the votes of that majority opposition through his actions?
We’ve known Gary for 25 years and have rarely if ever been disappointed in any of his actions either on the Kaua`i county council or in the senate- and that’s not something we can say about any other elected official other than Representative Mina Morita.
It has truly boggled our mind as to how he’s been able to pull it off with all the petty little prevaricators and pissants he works with and move into a leadership position to boot.
Which is why we and many other on Kaua`i are in large part hurt that we will certainly have someone of a lesser character as our senator after November 2010.
Many can’t see why someone who has been able to remain principled and effective as a legislator would want to move into any administrative post, much less one that is as useless as an appendix.
The only explanation we can come up with is that maybe he’s just fed up with the stupidity and arcana of his “colleagues” in the Hawai`i state legislature.
Anyone who follows legislative matters has at one time or another been frustrated to the point of tears at the casual acceptance of the inane committee system that perverts the will of the people and even the body year after year after year and the pay-to-play campaign finance laws that perpetuate the inertia.
Allowing one legislator to subvert the will of the majority is the antithesis of democracy in a legislative body. Yet when push came to shove, respect for this corruption and power mongering was shamelessly cited by the senators- the ones who voted no but claimed to actually support civil unions- for refusing to “pull” the bill out of the deadlocked committee.
And yet there’s a shocking silence and distinct lack of outrage in the press- mainstream and otherwise- about the process that led to the ridiculous “only in Hawai`i” denial of civil unions.
The veil has now been lifted on these homophobic slimeballs’ claims that they just wanted “marriage” to be keep from those who have sex differently than they think everyone should.
It’s become painfully obvious they are bent on punishing those who don’t accept their interpretation of a fairy tale penned by cave men as being the literal one-and-only truth.
No other state has, when pressed, denied civil unions with full equal rights for all, even those that, like Hawai`i, constitutionally ban same gender marriage. As a matter of fact the supreme courts of other states have said that the state may constitutionally ban non opposite gender marriage but MUST provide for the same state granted entitlements and benefits for all when doing it.
It’s apparently time to take up the Hawai`i courts’ time again with such a case now that the public knows that asking the legislature to grant equal protection is as useless as reasoning with those with a religious stick up their collective asses.
The concept of “civil unions” is a discriminatory watered down version of the equal right that true marriage. It would certainly seem a no-brainer to get the government out of the marriage business all together and let the babies have their bottle. Let the bible thumpers pervert the minds of their own adherents.
The only protected class that is actually proscribed by a “lifestyle choice” is the one that’s kuleana of the brainless twits who believe the earth is 6000 years old and that people used to live 900 years and live inside fish.
If they want to warp the minds of those who made the choice to join up, well, we’ll all just have to be tolerant of those who “dare to be stupid”.
Friday, March 13, 2009
DERAILING THE GRAVY TRAIN
DERAILING THE GRAVY TRAIN: The jibber-jabber over corporate campaign money continued this week with more jabberwockish blather that attempts to keep the argument focused on the price of the whore rather than the whoring itself.
But really the corporate cash issue is only a part of the corruption of democracy that passes for governance in Hawaii and the US. It’s just as easy to donate individual or even “bundled” cash to buy access and influence.
That’s why most people who aren’t too busy pulling bodies out of the river downstream and follow the money to it’s source have discovered that the only hope we have of fixing the system is full public financing of all campaigns.
Part of the Incumbency Protection package being peddled by the pimps of the legislative brothel this year is a bill to kill the hard fought for Big Island pilot project that is actually pretty watered down from the concept of full public financing, much to the delight of the penny-wise pound-foolish anti-taxation crowd.
The knee jerking “me, me, me” crowd- the ones who want all the government services at current levels and are the first to complain when their permit isn’t issued in minutes or there’s never a cop when you need one- keep up a constant drone about their taxes being too high and are the same ones who scream bloody murder at the thought they their tax money will pay for political campaigns under a pubic finance system.
But there’s no better example of the true cost of the private finance system than what is happening right under our noses at this very moment at the state legislature.
Now that the absurd council of revenues system has played out its predestined, mid-session role in the biennial budget dance of the headless chickens, it’s looking like a tax increase of some kind is a foregone conclusion if they can decide who will get the blame.
But will this tax increase be progressive?- which for the uninformed is an ancient pre-Reagan 20th century concept where those who have the ability to pay, pay progressively proportionally more taxes than the oppressed working poor.
Forget it. That doesn’t even appear to be on the table according to almost every media report.
The one tax increase that seems to be the most popular - shockingly-shockingly with the same reps and sens who voted to increase corporate cash- is the most regressive of all, the general excise tax.
Increase corporate taxes? Cut all business tax credits and subsidies? Raise the income tax on those making more than a quarter-million a year?
No way, not under a system where the people who vote on the tax will be bending over and whipping out their begging bowl as soon as the session ends (and even during sometimes).
And guess whose wallets they have their eyes on to pay the people’s tab- the ones they will be asking for money tomorrow?
Do you really think that the legislators are going to tax those who can afford it instead of taking a penny per dollar out of the pockets of the poor- especially when they are about to ask those fat cats for a lot more than some spare change?
The perfect storm has pulled back the veil for a brief crystallizing moment and sheds light as clear as day on exactly how we pay far more on the back end than we ever would by taking the money out of political campaigns and paying for them ourselves.
The only question is if “we, the marks” in this combo three-card-monte/pocket-picking scam will realize that while we’re winning pennies from the quick-hands con-man, the pickpocket standing behind us has just once again emptied our wallet without us even knowing it.
But really the corporate cash issue is only a part of the corruption of democracy that passes for governance in Hawaii and the US. It’s just as easy to donate individual or even “bundled” cash to buy access and influence.
That’s why most people who aren’t too busy pulling bodies out of the river downstream and follow the money to it’s source have discovered that the only hope we have of fixing the system is full public financing of all campaigns.
Part of the Incumbency Protection package being peddled by the pimps of the legislative brothel this year is a bill to kill the hard fought for Big Island pilot project that is actually pretty watered down from the concept of full public financing, much to the delight of the penny-wise pound-foolish anti-taxation crowd.
The knee jerking “me, me, me” crowd- the ones who want all the government services at current levels and are the first to complain when their permit isn’t issued in minutes or there’s never a cop when you need one- keep up a constant drone about their taxes being too high and are the same ones who scream bloody murder at the thought they their tax money will pay for political campaigns under a pubic finance system.
But there’s no better example of the true cost of the private finance system than what is happening right under our noses at this very moment at the state legislature.
Now that the absurd council of revenues system has played out its predestined, mid-session role in the biennial budget dance of the headless chickens, it’s looking like a tax increase of some kind is a foregone conclusion if they can decide who will get the blame.
But will this tax increase be progressive?- which for the uninformed is an ancient pre-Reagan 20th century concept where those who have the ability to pay, pay progressively proportionally more taxes than the oppressed working poor.
Forget it. That doesn’t even appear to be on the table according to almost every media report.
The one tax increase that seems to be the most popular - shockingly-shockingly with the same reps and sens who voted to increase corporate cash- is the most regressive of all, the general excise tax.
Increase corporate taxes? Cut all business tax credits and subsidies? Raise the income tax on those making more than a quarter-million a year?
No way, not under a system where the people who vote on the tax will be bending over and whipping out their begging bowl as soon as the session ends (and even during sometimes).
And guess whose wallets they have their eyes on to pay the people’s tab- the ones they will be asking for money tomorrow?
Do you really think that the legislators are going to tax those who can afford it instead of taking a penny per dollar out of the pockets of the poor- especially when they are about to ask those fat cats for a lot more than some spare change?
The perfect storm has pulled back the veil for a brief crystallizing moment and sheds light as clear as day on exactly how we pay far more on the back end than we ever would by taking the money out of political campaigns and paying for them ourselves.
The only question is if “we, the marks” in this combo three-card-monte/pocket-picking scam will realize that while we’re winning pennies from the quick-hands con-man, the pickpocket standing behind us has just once again emptied our wallet without us even knowing it.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
NO, PASSOVER IS NEXT MONTH
NO, PASSOVER IS NEXT MONTH: It’s halftime at the Stupidbowl- aka the hurry-up-and-wait 2008 Hawai`i legislative session. when bills "crossover" from one body to the other
Today, after going over the list of all bills that passed, we’ve put together a list of bills that passed the house and senate that either we’ve written about or are of concern to Kaua`i or are otherwise remarkable- in the “able to be remarked upon” sense of the word.
Click on the links for the complete status and click on the bill number when you get there for the text.
This is by no means a comprehensive list and we may have misinterpreted some measures- if so we’d appreciate clarification.
Remarks are below each in bold.
HB128 HD1 RELATING TO ELECTIONS.Elections; Nomination PapersRequires office of elections to create and make available a standard withdrawal and declaration of candidacy form. Requires office of elections to make nomination papers available only until the Friday preceding the filing deadline. Establishes required availability and filing deadlines for nomination papers in the event that no candidates have validly filed nomination papers for an elective office by the original filing deadline. (HB128 HD1)
This is an attempt to fix the broken filing system that exploded in everyone’s faces at the deadline last year. It should help matters.
HB214 HD1 AUTHORIZING THE ISSUANCE OF GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS AND MAKING AN APPROPRIATION FOR WAILUA EMERGENCY BYPASS ROAD REPAIR AND RESURFACING, AND WAIMEA WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT UPGRADES FOR THE COUNTY OF KAUA‘I.General Obligation Bonds; Kaua‘i Capital Improvement ProjectsAppropriates $ in general obligation bonds to the county of Kaua‘i for improvements to the Wailua emergency bypass road and the Waimea wastewater treatment plant. (HB2381 HD1)
We may actually get to use the old cane road from Wailua to Hanama`ulu now although all this does is loan us the money to fix it up.
HB444 HD1 RELATING TO CIVIL UNIONS.Civil UnionsExtends the same rights, benefits, protections, and responsibilities of spouses in a marriage to partners in a civil union. (HB444 HD1)
At least it passed the House so is still alive even though the apparently the gutless wonders in the Senate refused to pull it out of committee.
HB861 HD1 RELATING TO ELECTIONS.Office of Elections; ProcurementExempts the office of elections from procurement code requirements relating to cost or pricing data. Effective 07/01/2020. (HB861 HD1)
Watch out for this one- this is the issue people are suing over in Maui and this actually appears to legitimize an illegitimate process.
HB991 HD2 RELATING TO THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII.UH; Loan RepaymentsEstablishes the Hawaii Medical Doctor Loan Repayment Program for University of Hawaii medical school graduates and medical school graduates with training from Hawaii based medical program working in rural areas of the state. (HB991 HD2)
This, not tort reform, is what is really needed to get attract more doctors on Kaua`i neighbor islands and rural O`ahu . It has failed in past sessions.
HB1008 HD1 RELATING TO LAND USE.Land Use; Agricultural Land; SubdivisionProtects and promotes the proper use of Hawaii's best agricultural lands by requiring conditions of approval for subdivisions of agricultural land into smaller lots and farm dwellings, thereby ensuring meaningful agricultural use. (HB1008 HD1)
The amazing part is that they don’t have to do this now.
HB1148 HD1 RELATING TO PUBLIC AGENCY MEETINGS.Sunshine Law; Meeting; Notice; State Calendar; Lieutenant GovernorWith respect to notice requirements for a public agency hearing, requires state boards to electronically file meeting notices on the state calendar rather than in the Lt. Governor's office. (HB1148 HD1)
Finally all agendas for meetings of all boards and commissions will all be available on line if this passes the senate- the Lt. Governor notification requirement has been a joke- an artifact of pre-information age legislation.
HB1212 HD1 RELATING TO INFORMATION PRACTICES.Public Documents; PrivacyDeletes the exception of a record of complaints with respect to government information relating to an individual's fitness for a license, when balancing an unwarranted invasion of a person's privacy against the public disclosure of the record. Effective January 1, 2046. (HB1212 HD1)
Maybe now we’ll actually be able to see complaints- now they go into as black hole making them useless to the general public.
HB1226 HD1 RELATING TO GENETICALLY MODIFIED PLANT ORGANISMS.Genetically Modified Organisms; Preemption; ExceptionsProhibits state administrative regulatory actions and county regulatory actions from banning or otherwise regulating activities related to genetically modified plant organisms, with certain exceptions (HB1226 HD1)
This is the worst bill in the legislature that would ban counties and even the state from regulating GMOs except for the current taro bill on the Big Island.
HB1271 HD3 RELATING TO GOVERNMENT.Food and Energy Security Program Establishment; Ethanol Content RepealEstablishes the Hawaii economic development task force to address Hawaii's energy and food security needs. Increases the tax collected on each barrel of petroleum product sold by a distributor. Allocates portions of the taxes collected to various funds, including the general fund. Suspends for 36 months the requirement that gasoline sold in the State for use in motor vehicles contain 10% ethanol by volume. (HB1271 HD3)
Some good stuff here although another tasks force may be too little too late. The tax on petroleum products to support it is good and the ethanol in gas bill that would be suspended is and always was a bad joke.
HB1273 HD1 RELATING TO ENERGY.Solar Energy; ClotheslinesAllows the use of clotheslines on any privately owned single-family residential dwelling or townhouse. (HD1)
We thought this no-brainer measure introduced by Senator Hooser passed last year but apparently not- there is a senate version that passed too (see below).
HB1422 HD1 RELATING TO ABANDONED VEHICLES.Abandoned Vehicles; Private Roads; CountiesAllows counties to remove abandoned motor vehicles from private roads; requires owners of private roads to request removal in writing before vehicle is considered abandoned; requires private road owner to pay for removal and indemnify county for claims arising from removal and disposal. (HB1422 HD1)
Can’t hurt- the county always refuses to do it now and we have a lot of “private” roads that the county won’t “accept” because they were made too narrow long ago and can’t be widened easily.
HB1436 HD1 RELATING TO AGRICULTURE.Agricultural District; Permitted UsesAmends the permitted uses of land within the agricultural district with soil classifications of A or B to include educational facilities and agricultural appurtenances. (HB1436 HD1)
We’re not quite sure what “appurtenances” are but watch out for this one- it sets up commercial uses on prime ag lands and knowing the vacation rental lobby could enable them on ag land.
HB1495 HD1 RELATING TO STATE INCOME TAX.Hawaii State Income Tax; Repeal Wagering Loss DeductionRepeals the deduction of wagering losses for Hawaii state income tax purposes. (HB1495 HD1)
Another “and this is now legal???” bill
HB1611 HD2 RELATING TO LABELING OF MEAT AND FISH PRODUCTS.Fish; Meat; LabelingRequires gas-treated meat and fish to be labeled as such. (HB1611 HD2)
This would make sure you know that the bright red beautiful ahi and other fish in the supermarket is red because it’s fresh, not because it was gassed with all sorts of crap so it looks that way forever. There is a senate version (below). Quite remarkable in this “don’t ask don’t tell” era of food labeling
HB1663 HD1 RELATING TO TARO SECURITY.Genetically Modified Taro; ProhibitionProhibits the development, testing, propagation, release, importation, planting, or growing of genetically modified Hawaiian taro in the state. Prohibits certain activities related to genetically modified non-Hawaiian taro. (HB1663 HD1)
This is the bad version of the GMO taro ban that only pertains to Hawaiian taro, not other varieties. Apparently the senate version (see below) pertains to all varieties.
HB1763 HD2 RELATING TO THE HAWAII TOURISM AUTHORITY.HTA Repeal; Department of Tourism EstablishmentRepeals the Hawaii Tourism Authority. Establishes the Department of Tourism. Transfers the Convention Center Enterprise Special Fund, Tourism Special Fund, and Tourism Emergency Trust Fund to the Department of Tourism. Renames the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism to the Department of Business and Economic Development. (HB1763 HD2)
The HTA is and always was a joke but then again is using our tax money to promote tourism. Seem the right wing nut pols are all for free enterprise and market self-reliance except when it comes to throwing money at they big campaign contributors
SB93 SD1 RELATING TO CAMPAIGN FINANCING.Campaign Contributions; Preliminary ReportsEstablishes a grace period during which a candidate or candidate's committee may return or refund contributions. Changes 20% contributions cap to an unspecified amount. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)
Speaking of Incumbency Preservation Acts, here’s another courtesy of Senator Hamabusa. This would allow pols to use illegal contributions as a slush fund loan until long(er) after they’ve been re-elected when they can collect more money as re-elected incumbents.
SB133 SD2 RELATING TO UTILITIES.Utilities; Lifeline Electricity Rates; PUCRequires the public utilities commission to implement a program to achieve lifeline electricity rates for qualified residential electricity customers. (SD2)
For the working poor this would be a god send to keep the lights on- something really needed on Kaua`i with out highest in the world rates... which are scheduled to increase soon.
SB153 SD1 RELATING TO PUBLIC ACCESS.Public AccessRequires state and county agencies to ensure that a public right-of-way is available prior to the approval of any development project, subdivision, or zoning change. (SD1)
Even though the county has a provision like this (although some are still under the impression we don’t) they don’t always enforce it. Maybe another law at the state level will help.. yeah, right.
SB350 SD1 RELATING TO USE OF FORCE.Self-Defense; Deadly Force; Duty to RetreatPermits the use of deadly force by the resident of a dwelling against a person not lawfully in the dwelling who uses force against the resident. Expands the exemption from the duty to retreat from the home and workplace to any place where the actor may lawfully be present. Effective July 1, 2050. (SD1)
We’ve all heard the story on Kaua`i about how the cops used to tell people if you shoot someone in your yard you’d better drag him into your house if you don’t want to go to jail. Now you won’t have to.
SB468 SD1 RELATING TO COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT.Shoreline SetbackRequires affected agencies to account for sea level rise and minimize risks from coastal hazards such as erosion, storm inundation, hurricanes, and tsunamis. Preserves public access and public shoreline access. Extends shoreline setback to not less than forty feet from shoreline and requires counties to account for annual erosion rates. (SD1)
Sounds good. Any help we can get in prodding the council to pass a decent setback law can’t hurt.
SB474 SD1 PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE V, SECTION 6, OF THE HAWAII CONSTITUTION, TO CLARIFY THE GUBERNATORIAL APPOINTMENT PROCESS.Department Heads; Boards and Commissions; AppointmentsAmends article V, section 6, of the state constitution to clarify the appointment process for department heads and members of boards and commissions by requiring the Governor to nominate successors within the time limits required by law. (SD1)
This would codify the recent supreme court ruling although it’s unclear how long they’ll hold their breath and turn blue if the gov doesn’t do it.
SB635 SD1 RELATING TO STATE PARKS.Office of Hawaiian Affairs; State Parks; Kahana ValleyTransfers jurisdiction and management of Kahana valley from the department of land and natural resources, parks division, to the office of Hawaiian affairs. (SD1)
Bad DLNR- no jurisdiction for you after trying to kick the Kahana family out of Kahana valley.
SB643 SD2 RELATING TO PUBLIC LANDS.DLNR; DHHL; Transfer of Management; Kahana Valley State ParkTransfers management of Kahana valley state park from the department of land and natural resources to the department of Hawaiian home lands. (SD2)
Or management if that’s not covered under jurisdiction.
SB638 SD2 RELATING TO PUBLIC LANDS.Kahana Valley State Park; Eviction MoratoriumEstablishes a two year moratorium on evictions of residents from Kahana valley state park; establishes the planning council to create and implement a living park master plan for Kahana valley state park. (SD2)
And don’t try to evict them before the jurisdiction transfers- we’ve seen Laura Thielen’s handiwork.
SB639 SD1 RELATING TO PUBLIC LANDS.State Parks; Residential Leases; Planning CouncilAuthorizes the department of land and natural resources to issue residential leases in state parks; establishes a planning council to monitor compliance with the leases. (SD1)
This would takes away DLNR’s excuse for not renewing the Koke`e leases.
SB646 SD1 RELATING TO PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY.Public Accountability; Executive Decisions; TransparencyAmends the governor's power to unilaterally limit appropriations that were previously approved by the legislature to require the governor to explain in writing any decisions to reduce, withhold, or otherwise limit appropriations approved by the legislature. (SD1)
Another “or we’ll hold our breath until we turn blue” measure. How putting it in writing will help is anyone’s guess but it would take a constitutional amendment to take away this uniquely Hawai`i method of funding distribution where the governor gets two bites of the apple the second to which there is no check or balance.
SB654 RELATING TO VOTING.Voter Registration; Election Day RegistrationAllows election-day voter registration.
It’s about time- lots of other states have same day registration why can’t we. Oh, yeah-we forget about that Incumbency Preservation Act.
SB667 SD2 RELATING TO WHISTLEBLOWERS' PROTECTION.Employment Practices; Whistleblowers' Protection Provides additional protection to public employees who report violations of the law, and other improper activities such as waste, gross misconduct, incompetence, or inefficiency. Expands the DLNR's responsibilities regarding whistleblowers. (SD2)
Anything that helps encourage county employees to expose the every day corruption they encounter will help.
SB709 SD2 RELATING TO AGRICULTURE.Genetically Engineered Organisms; TaroProhibits the development, testing, propagation, release, importation, planting, or growing of genetically engineered taro in the State of Hawaii. Effective 7/1/50. (SD2)
This is the good one- it seemingly refers to all taro not just the Hawaiian variety.
SB786 SD1 RELATING TO HISTORIC PLACES.Historic Places; Trespass; Property DamageMakes the entering or remaining unlawfully on property listed in the Hawaii register of historic places after warning or request to leave, an offense of criminal trespass in the first degree. Makes the intentional or knowing damage to property on the Hawaii register of historic places an offense of criminal property damage in the first degree. (SD1)
This is to keep Hawaiian sovereignty groups off `Iolani Palace grounds- another nail in the genocide coffin.
SB906 RELATING TO PUBLIC MEETINGS.Sunshine Law; Testimony; Quorum; MeetingsExpands ability of a board or commission to facilitate public meetings through available interactive conferencing technology.
Any sunshine law amendment sends up a red flag. But actually this is a good bill- it would allow councilmembers, for instance, who are away on county junkets to attend and officially participate in meetings via teleconference so they don’t have the “I wasn’t there” excuse and bills don’t spend forever in committee waiting for all the members to be there.
SB1058 SD2 RELATING TO CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES.Controlled Substances; Diversion; TreatmentDirects the attorney general to coordinate a review of the impact of diverting marijuana and low-level felony drug offenders out of the criminal justice system into treatment. (SD2)
This unfortunately seems to be the only bill from the cannabis reform package to survive. Not that we think the Attorney General is at all competent to do a fair job.
SB1083 SD1 RELATING TO BURIAL SITES.Burial SitesIncludes additional native Hawaiian organizations for the DLNR to consult with to determine whether a burial site should be preserved in place or relocated and to develop a list of candidates for the burial councils. (SD1)
It’s not the bill that’s really needed because it doesn’t empower the burial councils as everyone, including Judge Wantanbe seems to want. But it can’t hurt to have more groups to participate in the “advisory” process.
SB1085 SD2 RELATING TO CEDED LANDS.Ceded Lands; Public Land Trust; ManagementProhibits the sale or transfer of ceded lands until the unrelinquished claims of the native Hawaiian people are resolved, reconciliation between the State and the native Hawaiian people is no longer supported, or until December 31, 2014, whichever occurs first; establishes a process for the sale or transfer of ceded lands, to be implemented only when one of the foregoing conditions occurs. Effective 7/1/50. (SD2)
Great bill- exactly what’s needed to overturn any US Supreme Court ruling...except for that little detail of a “defective effective date” of 2050.
SB1088 SD2 RELATING TO PUBLIC ACCESS.Public Property; Beach and Shoreline AccessAmends definition of obstruction for access to public property. Creates a private right of action for a person to enforce the prohibition of obstruction. (SD2)
Wow- allowing private action to enforce obstruction of public access. This sounds too good to actually pass.
SB1122 SD2 RELATING TO PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT.Public Employment; Exempt Civil ServiceAmends various sections of the HRS to comply with Act 253, Session Laws of Hawaii 2000, which places restrictions on the creation of civil service exempt positions and requires an annual review of exempt positions to determine whether they should be converted to civil service positions. (SD2)
Less civil service exemptions equals less opportunity for Kaua`i style patronage system corruption
SB1215 PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO THE HAWAII CONSTITUTION RELATED TO RESIDENCE REQUIREMENTS FOR MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATURE.Elections; Candidates; Residency RequirementsAmends the state constitution to require candidates for the state senate or house of representatives to be a resident of the legislative district from which the person is a candidate for not less than twelve consecutive months prior to the general election.
Another Incumbent Preservation Act- at least we get to vote it down in November although a lot of knee jerk ditto heads will probably vote for it.
SB1265 SD1 RELATING TO LABELING OF MEAT AND FISH PRODUCTS.Fish; Meat; LabelingRequires truthful labeling of meat and fish that has been gas‑treated. (SD1)
The companion to the house “red ahi” gassing bill cited above.
SB1318 SD1 RELATING TO PLANNING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.Coastal Zone Management; State Planning; RepealRepeals the chapters relating to coastal zone management and state planning, and transfers the authority and functions of the office of planning to DBEDT. (SD1)
Check that- THIS is the worst bill of the year- it would repeal Sect 205(A) and with it the shoreline management area rules.
SB1338 SD2 RELATING TO HOUSEHOLD ENERGY DEMAND.Solar Energy, Clotheslines, Household Energy DemandAllows for the use of clotheslines at any privately owned single-family residential dwelling or townhouse. Allows reasonable restrictions on the use of clotheslines for aesthetic purposes. (SD2)
Companion to the house bill cited above that we thought passed last year.
SB1621 SD2 RELATING TO COLLECTIVE BARGAINING.Collective BargainingProvides a union representation privilege to protect the functions of the union as an exclusive bargaining representative to allow the union to perform its role in negotiations and contract enforcement; allows certification of union representatives through a card-check authorization; requires collective bargaining to begin upon union certification; sets certain deadlines for initial collective bargaining agreement procedures and conciliation of disputes; sets civil penalty for unfair labor practices; extends certain authorities to labor organizations representing employees for collective bargaining; allows labor disputes to be defenses against prosecution for certain violations of law. (SD2)
This is the good “card check” bill allowing unions to form with enough signatures. Now it’s up to the house.
SB1645 SD1 RELATING TO STATE BUILDING CODE.State Building Code; BambooDirects the state building code council to review studies and structural tests of bamboo as a construction material, and to recommend standards and criteria for the use of bamboo as an accepted construction material. (SD1)
Bamboo is the natural strongest building material in the world and is legally used almost everywhere- except Hawai`i. People have been trying to get this passed for years- maybe this is the one. but don’t count on it with the lumber lobby desperate to keep their tree murdering business alive.
SB1661 SD1 RELATING TO PUBLIC AGENCY MEETINGS.Public Agency Meetings; Board MembersClarifies permissible attendance and procedures for board members to attend meetings of other boards, departments, agencies, and hearings of the legislature. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)
This again is a Sunshine law revision but a good one. It clarifies that members of councils for instance can attend other meetings as long they don’t participate and report it. It will again take away a common excuse to try to change the law in a more fundamental manner as the councils want to do.
SB1675 SD2 RELATING TO RENEWABLE ENERGY.Net Energy Metering; Renewable Energy; Electricity; Public Utilities CommissionPermits existing net metered customers to remain with net metering program once alternative credits or compensation mechanisms are created. Prohibits electric utility from unreasonably denying, burdening, or delaying net energy metering contracts. (SD2)
The utilities- KIUC included- have been intent on throwing up obstacles to individuals generating and selling excess alternative electricity back to the company. This seems to tell them to cut the crap. Thank you Mina.
SB1677 SD1 RELATING TO LANDS CONTROLLED BY THE STATE.Ceded Lands; Public Lands; SaleRequires two-thirds majority vote of the legislature to adopt a concurrent resolution to sell or exchange certain public lands. (SD1)
Oh you bad governor, trying to sell the Hawaiian’s land. Only WE can do that.
Today, after going over the list of all bills that passed, we’ve put together a list of bills that passed the house and senate that either we’ve written about or are of concern to Kaua`i or are otherwise remarkable- in the “able to be remarked upon” sense of the word.
Click on the links for the complete status and click on the bill number when you get there for the text.
This is by no means a comprehensive list and we may have misinterpreted some measures- if so we’d appreciate clarification.
Remarks are below each in bold.
HB128 HD1 RELATING TO ELECTIONS.Elections; Nomination PapersRequires office of elections to create and make available a standard withdrawal and declaration of candidacy form. Requires office of elections to make nomination papers available only until the Friday preceding the filing deadline. Establishes required availability and filing deadlines for nomination papers in the event that no candidates have validly filed nomination papers for an elective office by the original filing deadline. (HB128 HD1)
This is an attempt to fix the broken filing system that exploded in everyone’s faces at the deadline last year. It should help matters.
HB214 HD1 AUTHORIZING THE ISSUANCE OF GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS AND MAKING AN APPROPRIATION FOR WAILUA EMERGENCY BYPASS ROAD REPAIR AND RESURFACING, AND WAIMEA WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT UPGRADES FOR THE COUNTY OF KAUA‘I.General Obligation Bonds; Kaua‘i Capital Improvement ProjectsAppropriates $ in general obligation bonds to the county of Kaua‘i for improvements to the Wailua emergency bypass road and the Waimea wastewater treatment plant. (HB2381 HD1)
We may actually get to use the old cane road from Wailua to Hanama`ulu now although all this does is loan us the money to fix it up.
HB444 HD1 RELATING TO CIVIL UNIONS.Civil UnionsExtends the same rights, benefits, protections, and responsibilities of spouses in a marriage to partners in a civil union. (HB444 HD1)
At least it passed the House so is still alive even though the apparently the gutless wonders in the Senate refused to pull it out of committee.
HB861 HD1 RELATING TO ELECTIONS.Office of Elections; ProcurementExempts the office of elections from procurement code requirements relating to cost or pricing data. Effective 07/01/2020. (HB861 HD1)
Watch out for this one- this is the issue people are suing over in Maui and this actually appears to legitimize an illegitimate process.
HB991 HD2 RELATING TO THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII.UH; Loan RepaymentsEstablishes the Hawaii Medical Doctor Loan Repayment Program for University of Hawaii medical school graduates and medical school graduates with training from Hawaii based medical program working in rural areas of the state. (HB991 HD2)
This, not tort reform, is what is really needed to get attract more doctors on Kaua`i neighbor islands and rural O`ahu . It has failed in past sessions.
HB1008 HD1 RELATING TO LAND USE.Land Use; Agricultural Land; SubdivisionProtects and promotes the proper use of Hawaii's best agricultural lands by requiring conditions of approval for subdivisions of agricultural land into smaller lots and farm dwellings, thereby ensuring meaningful agricultural use. (HB1008 HD1)
The amazing part is that they don’t have to do this now.
HB1148 HD1 RELATING TO PUBLIC AGENCY MEETINGS.Sunshine Law; Meeting; Notice; State Calendar; Lieutenant GovernorWith respect to notice requirements for a public agency hearing, requires state boards to electronically file meeting notices on the state calendar rather than in the Lt. Governor's office. (HB1148 HD1)
Finally all agendas for meetings of all boards and commissions will all be available on line if this passes the senate- the Lt. Governor notification requirement has been a joke- an artifact of pre-information age legislation.
HB1212 HD1 RELATING TO INFORMATION PRACTICES.Public Documents; PrivacyDeletes the exception of a record of complaints with respect to government information relating to an individual's fitness for a license, when balancing an unwarranted invasion of a person's privacy against the public disclosure of the record. Effective January 1, 2046. (HB1212 HD1)
Maybe now we’ll actually be able to see complaints- now they go into as black hole making them useless to the general public.
HB1226 HD1 RELATING TO GENETICALLY MODIFIED PLANT ORGANISMS.Genetically Modified Organisms; Preemption; ExceptionsProhibits state administrative regulatory actions and county regulatory actions from banning or otherwise regulating activities related to genetically modified plant organisms, with certain exceptions (HB1226 HD1)
This is the worst bill in the legislature that would ban counties and even the state from regulating GMOs except for the current taro bill on the Big Island.
HB1271 HD3 RELATING TO GOVERNMENT.Food and Energy Security Program Establishment; Ethanol Content RepealEstablishes the Hawaii economic development task force to address Hawaii's energy and food security needs. Increases the tax collected on each barrel of petroleum product sold by a distributor. Allocates portions of the taxes collected to various funds, including the general fund. Suspends for 36 months the requirement that gasoline sold in the State for use in motor vehicles contain 10% ethanol by volume. (HB1271 HD3)
Some good stuff here although another tasks force may be too little too late. The tax on petroleum products to support it is good and the ethanol in gas bill that would be suspended is and always was a bad joke.
HB1273 HD1 RELATING TO ENERGY.Solar Energy; ClotheslinesAllows the use of clotheslines on any privately owned single-family residential dwelling or townhouse. (HD1)
We thought this no-brainer measure introduced by Senator Hooser passed last year but apparently not- there is a senate version that passed too (see below).
HB1422 HD1 RELATING TO ABANDONED VEHICLES.Abandoned Vehicles; Private Roads; CountiesAllows counties to remove abandoned motor vehicles from private roads; requires owners of private roads to request removal in writing before vehicle is considered abandoned; requires private road owner to pay for removal and indemnify county for claims arising from removal and disposal. (HB1422 HD1)
Can’t hurt- the county always refuses to do it now and we have a lot of “private” roads that the county won’t “accept” because they were made too narrow long ago and can’t be widened easily.
HB1436 HD1 RELATING TO AGRICULTURE.Agricultural District; Permitted UsesAmends the permitted uses of land within the agricultural district with soil classifications of A or B to include educational facilities and agricultural appurtenances. (HB1436 HD1)
We’re not quite sure what “appurtenances” are but watch out for this one- it sets up commercial uses on prime ag lands and knowing the vacation rental lobby could enable them on ag land.
HB1495 HD1 RELATING TO STATE INCOME TAX.Hawaii State Income Tax; Repeal Wagering Loss DeductionRepeals the deduction of wagering losses for Hawaii state income tax purposes. (HB1495 HD1)
Another “and this is now legal???” bill
HB1611 HD2 RELATING TO LABELING OF MEAT AND FISH PRODUCTS.Fish; Meat; LabelingRequires gas-treated meat and fish to be labeled as such. (HB1611 HD2)
This would make sure you know that the bright red beautiful ahi and other fish in the supermarket is red because it’s fresh, not because it was gassed with all sorts of crap so it looks that way forever. There is a senate version (below). Quite remarkable in this “don’t ask don’t tell” era of food labeling
HB1663 HD1 RELATING TO TARO SECURITY.Genetically Modified Taro; ProhibitionProhibits the development, testing, propagation, release, importation, planting, or growing of genetically modified Hawaiian taro in the state. Prohibits certain activities related to genetically modified non-Hawaiian taro. (HB1663 HD1)
This is the bad version of the GMO taro ban that only pertains to Hawaiian taro, not other varieties. Apparently the senate version (see below) pertains to all varieties.
HB1763 HD2 RELATING TO THE HAWAII TOURISM AUTHORITY.HTA Repeal; Department of Tourism EstablishmentRepeals the Hawaii Tourism Authority. Establishes the Department of Tourism. Transfers the Convention Center Enterprise Special Fund, Tourism Special Fund, and Tourism Emergency Trust Fund to the Department of Tourism. Renames the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism to the Department of Business and Economic Development. (HB1763 HD2)
The HTA is and always was a joke but then again is using our tax money to promote tourism. Seem the right wing nut pols are all for free enterprise and market self-reliance except when it comes to throwing money at they big campaign contributors
SB93 SD1 RELATING TO CAMPAIGN FINANCING.Campaign Contributions; Preliminary ReportsEstablishes a grace period during which a candidate or candidate's committee may return or refund contributions. Changes 20% contributions cap to an unspecified amount. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)
Speaking of Incumbency Preservation Acts, here’s another courtesy of Senator Hamabusa. This would allow pols to use illegal contributions as a slush fund loan until long(er) after they’ve been re-elected when they can collect more money as re-elected incumbents.
SB133 SD2 RELATING TO UTILITIES.Utilities; Lifeline Electricity Rates; PUCRequires the public utilities commission to implement a program to achieve lifeline electricity rates for qualified residential electricity customers. (SD2)
For the working poor this would be a god send to keep the lights on- something really needed on Kaua`i with out highest in the world rates... which are scheduled to increase soon.
SB153 SD1 RELATING TO PUBLIC ACCESS.Public AccessRequires state and county agencies to ensure that a public right-of-way is available prior to the approval of any development project, subdivision, or zoning change. (SD1)
Even though the county has a provision like this (although some are still under the impression we don’t) they don’t always enforce it. Maybe another law at the state level will help.. yeah, right.
SB350 SD1 RELATING TO USE OF FORCE.Self-Defense; Deadly Force; Duty to RetreatPermits the use of deadly force by the resident of a dwelling against a person not lawfully in the dwelling who uses force against the resident. Expands the exemption from the duty to retreat from the home and workplace to any place where the actor may lawfully be present. Effective July 1, 2050. (SD1)
We’ve all heard the story on Kaua`i about how the cops used to tell people if you shoot someone in your yard you’d better drag him into your house if you don’t want to go to jail. Now you won’t have to.
SB468 SD1 RELATING TO COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT.Shoreline SetbackRequires affected agencies to account for sea level rise and minimize risks from coastal hazards such as erosion, storm inundation, hurricanes, and tsunamis. Preserves public access and public shoreline access. Extends shoreline setback to not less than forty feet from shoreline and requires counties to account for annual erosion rates. (SD1)
Sounds good. Any help we can get in prodding the council to pass a decent setback law can’t hurt.
SB474 SD1 PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE V, SECTION 6, OF THE HAWAII CONSTITUTION, TO CLARIFY THE GUBERNATORIAL APPOINTMENT PROCESS.Department Heads; Boards and Commissions; AppointmentsAmends article V, section 6, of the state constitution to clarify the appointment process for department heads and members of boards and commissions by requiring the Governor to nominate successors within the time limits required by law. (SD1)
This would codify the recent supreme court ruling although it’s unclear how long they’ll hold their breath and turn blue if the gov doesn’t do it.
SB635 SD1 RELATING TO STATE PARKS.Office of Hawaiian Affairs; State Parks; Kahana ValleyTransfers jurisdiction and management of Kahana valley from the department of land and natural resources, parks division, to the office of Hawaiian affairs. (SD1)
Bad DLNR- no jurisdiction for you after trying to kick the Kahana family out of Kahana valley.
SB643 SD2 RELATING TO PUBLIC LANDS.DLNR; DHHL; Transfer of Management; Kahana Valley State ParkTransfers management of Kahana valley state park from the department of land and natural resources to the department of Hawaiian home lands. (SD2)
Or management if that’s not covered under jurisdiction.
SB638 SD2 RELATING TO PUBLIC LANDS.Kahana Valley State Park; Eviction MoratoriumEstablishes a two year moratorium on evictions of residents from Kahana valley state park; establishes the planning council to create and implement a living park master plan for Kahana valley state park. (SD2)
And don’t try to evict them before the jurisdiction transfers- we’ve seen Laura Thielen’s handiwork.
SB639 SD1 RELATING TO PUBLIC LANDS.State Parks; Residential Leases; Planning CouncilAuthorizes the department of land and natural resources to issue residential leases in state parks; establishes a planning council to monitor compliance with the leases. (SD1)
This would takes away DLNR’s excuse for not renewing the Koke`e leases.
SB646 SD1 RELATING TO PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY.Public Accountability; Executive Decisions; TransparencyAmends the governor's power to unilaterally limit appropriations that were previously approved by the legislature to require the governor to explain in writing any decisions to reduce, withhold, or otherwise limit appropriations approved by the legislature. (SD1)
Another “or we’ll hold our breath until we turn blue” measure. How putting it in writing will help is anyone’s guess but it would take a constitutional amendment to take away this uniquely Hawai`i method of funding distribution where the governor gets two bites of the apple the second to which there is no check or balance.
SB654 RELATING TO VOTING.Voter Registration; Election Day RegistrationAllows election-day voter registration.
It’s about time- lots of other states have same day registration why can’t we. Oh, yeah-we forget about that Incumbency Preservation Act.
SB667 SD2 RELATING TO WHISTLEBLOWERS' PROTECTION.Employment Practices; Whistleblowers' Protection Provides additional protection to public employees who report violations of the law, and other improper activities such as waste, gross misconduct, incompetence, or inefficiency. Expands the DLNR's responsibilities regarding whistleblowers. (SD2)
Anything that helps encourage county employees to expose the every day corruption they encounter will help.
SB709 SD2 RELATING TO AGRICULTURE.Genetically Engineered Organisms; TaroProhibits the development, testing, propagation, release, importation, planting, or growing of genetically engineered taro in the State of Hawaii. Effective 7/1/50. (SD2)
This is the good one- it seemingly refers to all taro not just the Hawaiian variety.
SB786 SD1 RELATING TO HISTORIC PLACES.Historic Places; Trespass; Property DamageMakes the entering or remaining unlawfully on property listed in the Hawaii register of historic places after warning or request to leave, an offense of criminal trespass in the first degree. Makes the intentional or knowing damage to property on the Hawaii register of historic places an offense of criminal property damage in the first degree. (SD1)
This is to keep Hawaiian sovereignty groups off `Iolani Palace grounds- another nail in the genocide coffin.
SB906 RELATING TO PUBLIC MEETINGS.Sunshine Law; Testimony; Quorum; MeetingsExpands ability of a board or commission to facilitate public meetings through available interactive conferencing technology.
Any sunshine law amendment sends up a red flag. But actually this is a good bill- it would allow councilmembers, for instance, who are away on county junkets to attend and officially participate in meetings via teleconference so they don’t have the “I wasn’t there” excuse and bills don’t spend forever in committee waiting for all the members to be there.
SB1058 SD2 RELATING TO CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES.Controlled Substances; Diversion; TreatmentDirects the attorney general to coordinate a review of the impact of diverting marijuana and low-level felony drug offenders out of the criminal justice system into treatment. (SD2)
This unfortunately seems to be the only bill from the cannabis reform package to survive. Not that we think the Attorney General is at all competent to do a fair job.
SB1083 SD1 RELATING TO BURIAL SITES.Burial SitesIncludes additional native Hawaiian organizations for the DLNR to consult with to determine whether a burial site should be preserved in place or relocated and to develop a list of candidates for the burial councils. (SD1)
It’s not the bill that’s really needed because it doesn’t empower the burial councils as everyone, including Judge Wantanbe seems to want. But it can’t hurt to have more groups to participate in the “advisory” process.
SB1085 SD2 RELATING TO CEDED LANDS.Ceded Lands; Public Land Trust; ManagementProhibits the sale or transfer of ceded lands until the unrelinquished claims of the native Hawaiian people are resolved, reconciliation between the State and the native Hawaiian people is no longer supported, or until December 31, 2014, whichever occurs first; establishes a process for the sale or transfer of ceded lands, to be implemented only when one of the foregoing conditions occurs. Effective 7/1/50. (SD2)
Great bill- exactly what’s needed to overturn any US Supreme Court ruling...except for that little detail of a “defective effective date” of 2050.
SB1088 SD2 RELATING TO PUBLIC ACCESS.Public Property; Beach and Shoreline AccessAmends definition of obstruction for access to public property. Creates a private right of action for a person to enforce the prohibition of obstruction. (SD2)
Wow- allowing private action to enforce obstruction of public access. This sounds too good to actually pass.
SB1122 SD2 RELATING TO PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT.Public Employment; Exempt Civil ServiceAmends various sections of the HRS to comply with Act 253, Session Laws of Hawaii 2000, which places restrictions on the creation of civil service exempt positions and requires an annual review of exempt positions to determine whether they should be converted to civil service positions. (SD2)
Less civil service exemptions equals less opportunity for Kaua`i style patronage system corruption
SB1215 PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO THE HAWAII CONSTITUTION RELATED TO RESIDENCE REQUIREMENTS FOR MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATURE.Elections; Candidates; Residency RequirementsAmends the state constitution to require candidates for the state senate or house of representatives to be a resident of the legislative district from which the person is a candidate for not less than twelve consecutive months prior to the general election.
Another Incumbent Preservation Act- at least we get to vote it down in November although a lot of knee jerk ditto heads will probably vote for it.
SB1265 SD1 RELATING TO LABELING OF MEAT AND FISH PRODUCTS.Fish; Meat; LabelingRequires truthful labeling of meat and fish that has been gas‑treated. (SD1)
The companion to the house “red ahi” gassing bill cited above.
SB1318 SD1 RELATING TO PLANNING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.Coastal Zone Management; State Planning; RepealRepeals the chapters relating to coastal zone management and state planning, and transfers the authority and functions of the office of planning to DBEDT. (SD1)
Check that- THIS is the worst bill of the year- it would repeal Sect 205(A) and with it the shoreline management area rules.
SB1338 SD2 RELATING TO HOUSEHOLD ENERGY DEMAND.Solar Energy, Clotheslines, Household Energy DemandAllows for the use of clotheslines at any privately owned single-family residential dwelling or townhouse. Allows reasonable restrictions on the use of clotheslines for aesthetic purposes. (SD2)
Companion to the house bill cited above that we thought passed last year.
SB1621 SD2 RELATING TO COLLECTIVE BARGAINING.Collective BargainingProvides a union representation privilege to protect the functions of the union as an exclusive bargaining representative to allow the union to perform its role in negotiations and contract enforcement; allows certification of union representatives through a card-check authorization; requires collective bargaining to begin upon union certification; sets certain deadlines for initial collective bargaining agreement procedures and conciliation of disputes; sets civil penalty for unfair labor practices; extends certain authorities to labor organizations representing employees for collective bargaining; allows labor disputes to be defenses against prosecution for certain violations of law. (SD2)
This is the good “card check” bill allowing unions to form with enough signatures. Now it’s up to the house.
SB1645 SD1 RELATING TO STATE BUILDING CODE.State Building Code; BambooDirects the state building code council to review studies and structural tests of bamboo as a construction material, and to recommend standards and criteria for the use of bamboo as an accepted construction material. (SD1)
Bamboo is the natural strongest building material in the world and is legally used almost everywhere- except Hawai`i. People have been trying to get this passed for years- maybe this is the one. but don’t count on it with the lumber lobby desperate to keep their tree murdering business alive.
SB1661 SD1 RELATING TO PUBLIC AGENCY MEETINGS.Public Agency Meetings; Board MembersClarifies permissible attendance and procedures for board members to attend meetings of other boards, departments, agencies, and hearings of the legislature. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)
This again is a Sunshine law revision but a good one. It clarifies that members of councils for instance can attend other meetings as long they don’t participate and report it. It will again take away a common excuse to try to change the law in a more fundamental manner as the councils want to do.
SB1675 SD2 RELATING TO RENEWABLE ENERGY.Net Energy Metering; Renewable Energy; Electricity; Public Utilities CommissionPermits existing net metered customers to remain with net metering program once alternative credits or compensation mechanisms are created. Prohibits electric utility from unreasonably denying, burdening, or delaying net energy metering contracts. (SD2)
The utilities- KIUC included- have been intent on throwing up obstacles to individuals generating and selling excess alternative electricity back to the company. This seems to tell them to cut the crap. Thank you Mina.
SB1677 SD1 RELATING TO LANDS CONTROLLED BY THE STATE.Ceded Lands; Public Lands; SaleRequires two-thirds majority vote of the legislature to adopt a concurrent resolution to sell or exchange certain public lands. (SD1)
Oh you bad governor, trying to sell the Hawaiian’s land. Only WE can do that.
Friday, March 6, 2009
SCUMDOG MILLIONAIRES
SCUMDOG MILLIONAIRES: One of the most absurd contentions in the current legislative debate over corporate funding of campaigns is the bromide that claims that limits are unnecessary as long as there’s full disclosure.
But just who is it that is paying the necessary attention to those disclosures?
Please raise your hand if you’ve ever gone to the web site where the contributions are detailed? OK, we just eliminated 99.99% of the people arguing for disclosure.
And how many have ever tried to read through them, make sense of them and write any kind of researched compilation on even one aspect?
We just eliminated 99% of the .01%.
Oh, you say you’ve read an article where someone reported on it? And how comprehensive was that report? Sure you’ll read or hear about something occasionally when a reporter suspects a connection and then spends hours if not days pawing through the reports, tracing money all over the place.... unless of course they came up empty on their hunch
Disclosure is nothing- nada- bupkis- zilch. At best they are not just in practice useless they give a false sense of adequacy and even compliance.
And when someone does get “caught” by a campaign spending enforcement body it’s usually month if not years after the election and then usually only if a complaint was filed
If Senator Deepockets is shown to be taking big-ol’ sacks o’ cash from say the real estate or tourism industry, who is going to know unless some intrepid journalist is up to the time consuming task- or even cares- or has an editor who will let them spend the time telling them they’re “not being paid do that kind of work”?.
And that just goes for direct corporate money. When 10 corporate executives add their maximum per election cycle who’s going to know who they work for? Are you going to google every single name on the list? And if you do will you find them when their name is John Smith?
That’s of course yet another reason why there’s a need to get all private donations out of campaigns and move to a public finance system.
Remember this as you read the excuses in the upcoming debate and vote on HB 215 in the house. For more keep checking in with Larry Geller at Disappeared News who has been focusing on the process recently.
But just who is it that is paying the necessary attention to those disclosures?
Please raise your hand if you’ve ever gone to the web site where the contributions are detailed? OK, we just eliminated 99.99% of the people arguing for disclosure.
And how many have ever tried to read through them, make sense of them and write any kind of researched compilation on even one aspect?
We just eliminated 99% of the .01%.
Oh, you say you’ve read an article where someone reported on it? And how comprehensive was that report? Sure you’ll read or hear about something occasionally when a reporter suspects a connection and then spends hours if not days pawing through the reports, tracing money all over the place.... unless of course they came up empty on their hunch
Disclosure is nothing- nada- bupkis- zilch. At best they are not just in practice useless they give a false sense of adequacy and even compliance.
And when someone does get “caught” by a campaign spending enforcement body it’s usually month if not years after the election and then usually only if a complaint was filed
If Senator Deepockets is shown to be taking big-ol’ sacks o’ cash from say the real estate or tourism industry, who is going to know unless some intrepid journalist is up to the time consuming task- or even cares- or has an editor who will let them spend the time telling them they’re “not being paid do that kind of work”?.
And that just goes for direct corporate money. When 10 corporate executives add their maximum per election cycle who’s going to know who they work for? Are you going to google every single name on the list? And if you do will you find them when their name is John Smith?
That’s of course yet another reason why there’s a need to get all private donations out of campaigns and move to a public finance system.
Remember this as you read the excuses in the upcoming debate and vote on HB 215 in the house. For more keep checking in with Larry Geller at Disappeared News who has been focusing on the process recently.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
A GOOD RAP ON THE SNOUT SHOULD DO IT
A GOOD RAP ON THE SNOUT SHOULD DO IT: Our over the top tirade in defense of Larry Geller against a personal attack by Ian Lind- apparently because Ian thought Larry “personally attacked” someone- was met by an ”ouch” from Ian today, saying
Whew. I’ve got pretty thick skin, but that was pretty harsh.
We just wanted to show what a personal attack really is and obtusely question the prevalent practice of personally attacking humorous ridicule by calling it a personal attack.
Actually our attitude is that using the English language to its full descriptive potential is not a personal attack and the only sin in poking- or even stabbing- fun is if it’s not funny... even if an especially unconventional sense of humor is required to find it such..
Larry’s sin was presumably a chart showing money bags as check marks for those legislators who support more corporate money in politics and smiley faces on those who would kill the measures in HB 539
And yesterday, after excoriating House Judiciary Chair Jon Riki Karamtsu, the poster child for corporate cash and the author of the now dead, HB 539, for holding an apparent corporate fundraiser- in session, downtown (not in his blue-collar district), and for $150 a pop- Geller warns us that though HB 539 was killed on the floor of the house, some reps aren’t giving up on opening the spigot further instead of banning corporate contributions by inserting the meat of HB 539 in HB 215..
But this morning Lind continued to defend corporate cash still deriding those who would try to take advantage of the fact that the legislature is at present dealing with a flawed law that is currently in the courts. Depending on how you look at it, the law either limits corporate money to $1000 a corporation or takes the caps off entirely.
Lind describes the legal situation quite well but first he says:
To be honest, I don’t think I qualify as a reactionary corporate stooge for trying to deal with some of the complexities of the campaign law and for pointing out where the public debate has gone off track. Nor do I apologize for taking the position that an assessment of risks and rewards should be a natural part of political strategizing.
What is clear is that how people view the proposed “limits” on corporate campaign contributions that were part of HB 539 depends a great deal on how you understand the status quo.
In describing the “status quo” Lind only expounds on the judicial case and the Campaign Spending Commission ruling that caused the circuit court to put the kibosh on the commission’s interpretation until a higher court decides.
But the core of his contention is an argument of misdirection. The court case might be the only “status” that counts if the legislature made the ambiguous law and was refusing to do anything about it.
The real “status quo” is that the people who made the law are at this very moment trying to deal with any “flaw” in the current law and in dong so are deciding the future of corporate money in Hawai`i politics.
And whatever they decide during this session it’s highly unlikely to be changed again any time soon
The broad view shows that as we write some are trying to flood the system with a massive moolah infusion from special interests instead of serving the public interest and just banning it completely, as 22 other states have done.
Does it really matter what the law currently says when the actual status quo is that the legislature is in the process of changing it? And if they are changing it should we sit still for legitimizing what, as Geller points out, is the virtual lifting of all limits by allowing unlimited numbers of $25,000 chunks to go to any number of political action committees as HB 539 would have done?
We and Geller- and dare we say just about anyone not greasing or getting greased under the current system- think that even one corporate dollar to one corporate PAC is one dollar and one PAC too many. But Lind says any limit- apparently even if it’s a fake one- is better than none at all and for some reason he thinks that that precludes any attempt to fully ban corporate money because he seems to think we won’t ever get a ban.
Well, you certainly won’t if you don’t demand or even ask for one.
Even in the name of the political expediency Lind cites, supporting a certain amount of corporate cash instead of a ban makes no sense. You don’t start bargaining over the amount an armed mugger will take from you by offering him five dollars when he wants it all.
It reminds us of the old joke that ends with the punch line “we’ve established what kind of girl you are, now we’re just haggling over price”.
Corporate cash in elections- and corporate influence in general- is actually the result of a uniquely American concept that is cited by many as the root of the dysfunction of not just the US campaign finance system but that of democratic capitalism in general
Its called corporate personhood and can be traced back to a somewhat bizarre ruling - and some say corruptly-divined misinterpretation of the constitution- by the US Supreme Court in 1886 called , Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad.whereby corporations were given the same full consttional rights as actual people whereas previously corporate rights were limited to those of “articifical persons”.
Check out the wilipedia entry linked above if you want to know what’s at the core of the corporate takeover of the country.
But in the absence of an unlikey reversal of the decisions (actually the infamous “Buckley v Vallejo” is based on it in part) or some sort of legislation or constitutional amendment one thing we can do is to eliminate the legalized bribery that is pervelnet in 28 states including Hawai`i.
As we tried to point out in our origianal piece if you start with a “we’re defeated already so we’d better get behind something that sucks” .attitude you may well be a “reactionary corporate stooge”- although we would never stoop to that kind of name calling since reactionary is much too strong to be accurate
No matter what the current law says you can help put a cork in corporate infuence by sending an email to reps@capitol.hawaii.gov telling them to stop the madness and chuck any bill, including HB 215, that doesn’t ban corporate cash in elections into the same trash can onto which they threw HB 539.
Whew. I’ve got pretty thick skin, but that was pretty harsh.
We just wanted to show what a personal attack really is and obtusely question the prevalent practice of personally attacking humorous ridicule by calling it a personal attack.
Actually our attitude is that using the English language to its full descriptive potential is not a personal attack and the only sin in poking- or even stabbing- fun is if it’s not funny... even if an especially unconventional sense of humor is required to find it such..
Larry’s sin was presumably a chart showing money bags as check marks for those legislators who support more corporate money in politics and smiley faces on those who would kill the measures in HB 539
And yesterday, after excoriating House Judiciary Chair Jon Riki Karamtsu, the poster child for corporate cash and the author of the now dead, HB 539, for holding an apparent corporate fundraiser- in session, downtown (not in his blue-collar district), and for $150 a pop- Geller warns us that though HB 539 was killed on the floor of the house, some reps aren’t giving up on opening the spigot further instead of banning corporate contributions by inserting the meat of HB 539 in HB 215..
But this morning Lind continued to defend corporate cash still deriding those who would try to take advantage of the fact that the legislature is at present dealing with a flawed law that is currently in the courts. Depending on how you look at it, the law either limits corporate money to $1000 a corporation or takes the caps off entirely.
Lind describes the legal situation quite well but first he says:
To be honest, I don’t think I qualify as a reactionary corporate stooge for trying to deal with some of the complexities of the campaign law and for pointing out where the public debate has gone off track. Nor do I apologize for taking the position that an assessment of risks and rewards should be a natural part of political strategizing.
What is clear is that how people view the proposed “limits” on corporate campaign contributions that were part of HB 539 depends a great deal on how you understand the status quo.
In describing the “status quo” Lind only expounds on the judicial case and the Campaign Spending Commission ruling that caused the circuit court to put the kibosh on the commission’s interpretation until a higher court decides.
But the core of his contention is an argument of misdirection. The court case might be the only “status” that counts if the legislature made the ambiguous law and was refusing to do anything about it.
The real “status quo” is that the people who made the law are at this very moment trying to deal with any “flaw” in the current law and in dong so are deciding the future of corporate money in Hawai`i politics.
And whatever they decide during this session it’s highly unlikely to be changed again any time soon
The broad view shows that as we write some are trying to flood the system with a massive moolah infusion from special interests instead of serving the public interest and just banning it completely, as 22 other states have done.
Does it really matter what the law currently says when the actual status quo is that the legislature is in the process of changing it? And if they are changing it should we sit still for legitimizing what, as Geller points out, is the virtual lifting of all limits by allowing unlimited numbers of $25,000 chunks to go to any number of political action committees as HB 539 would have done?
We and Geller- and dare we say just about anyone not greasing or getting greased under the current system- think that even one corporate dollar to one corporate PAC is one dollar and one PAC too many. But Lind says any limit- apparently even if it’s a fake one- is better than none at all and for some reason he thinks that that precludes any attempt to fully ban corporate money because he seems to think we won’t ever get a ban.
Well, you certainly won’t if you don’t demand or even ask for one.
Even in the name of the political expediency Lind cites, supporting a certain amount of corporate cash instead of a ban makes no sense. You don’t start bargaining over the amount an armed mugger will take from you by offering him five dollars when he wants it all.
It reminds us of the old joke that ends with the punch line “we’ve established what kind of girl you are, now we’re just haggling over price”.
Corporate cash in elections- and corporate influence in general- is actually the result of a uniquely American concept that is cited by many as the root of the dysfunction of not just the US campaign finance system but that of democratic capitalism in general
Its called corporate personhood and can be traced back to a somewhat bizarre ruling - and some say corruptly-divined misinterpretation of the constitution- by the US Supreme Court in 1886 called , Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad.whereby corporations were given the same full consttional rights as actual people whereas previously corporate rights were limited to those of “articifical persons”.
Check out the wilipedia entry linked above if you want to know what’s at the core of the corporate takeover of the country.
But in the absence of an unlikey reversal of the decisions (actually the infamous “Buckley v Vallejo” is based on it in part) or some sort of legislation or constitutional amendment one thing we can do is to eliminate the legalized bribery that is pervelnet in 28 states including Hawai`i.
As we tried to point out in our origianal piece if you start with a “we’re defeated already so we’d better get behind something that sucks” .attitude you may well be a “reactionary corporate stooge”- although we would never stoop to that kind of name calling since reactionary is much too strong to be accurate
No matter what the current law says you can help put a cork in corporate infuence by sending an email to reps@capitol.hawaii.gov telling them to stop the madness and chuck any bill, including HB 215, that doesn’t ban corporate cash in elections into the same trash can onto which they threw HB 539.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
A QUICK ONE WHILE HE’S AWAY
A QUICK ONE WHILE HE’S AWAY: One of the hallmarks of a good con game is misdirection. On the street-corner of course there is no pea under any shell because the hand is only quicker then the eye if the eye is distracted at a crucial moment.
And in the legislature while thousands are distracted by the civil unions bill the other measure we mentioned yesterday- the one to open the flood gates to corporate cash for politicians- has received little if any attention..
The Sierra Club finally woke up to this sleight of hand, sending out an appeal to it’s members this morning to contact legislators to try to kill off the outrageous attempt to open the spigot of corporate cash via House Bill HB 539.
Citing a Feb 22 Honolulu Star-Bulletin Editorial they told members that
With all of the recent attention on “clean” elections, ethics, and money in politics, HB 539 is a huge step in the wrong direction.
and asked they write and say to their reps
What does campaign finance reform have to do with Hawaii’s environment? Plenty! When campaign contributions influence how elected leaders vote on environmental policy, the environment usually loses. Many of the largest campaign contributors in Hawai`i have a significant impact on the environment, such as the utilities, oil companies, and developers. That’s why I am opposed to HB 539, which would allow corporations to give an unlimited amount of money to Political Action Committees.
But the biggest bombshell was Dave Shapiro’s column in today’s Honolulu Advertiser where he referred to House Judiciary Committee Chair Jon Riki Karamatu as “Cal Kawamoto Jr.”
For those who don’t remember Kawamoto he was the Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee who was charged with all sorts of fundraising and financial mischief and was the reason that “CleanElections” reforms died in the legislature for almost a decade until he was dumped by voters fed up with his self-serving paternalism.
The column contains the best brief description of the specifics of history and dangers of the bill we’ve read yet saying the Bill would:
increase the limit on corporate PAC contributions from $1,000 to $25,000 per election, but ended up approving unlimited corporate donations...
Legislative leaders claim their passage of the $1,000 limit on corporations in 2005 was inadvertent, but reformers like Sen. Les Ihara say that alleged mistake was "the most significant campaign reform legislation in the last two decades."
The bill would also repeal the ban on out-of-state contributions, some say to allow Congressman Neil Abercrombie to fill his war chest for his reported run for governor in 2010.
Shapiro then describes Karamatsu’s rational as “outrageous reasoning”. and describes his “rambling lecture to Barbara Polk of Americans for Democratic Action Hawai`i.”
Shapiro writes
Lawmakers usually defend special-interest campaign donations by piously citing the free-speech rights of the special interests.
But Karamatsu defended legislators' rights to collect more corporate money — and for uses other than campaigning.
Karamatsu said, "The costs (are) rising. I mean all of us here know what it is like ... it costs thousands of dollars to just do mailings. Those costs have gone up extraordinarily."
Nonsense. Campaign spending is already too high. A study of the 2006 election by the Campaign Spending Commission found that winning House candidates spent a hefty average of $40,000 and winning Senate candidates spent $80,000.
The big bucks are easy for incumbents to raise from special interests and a major barrier to challengers — a big part of the reason 40 percent of incumbent legislators ran unopposed in 2008 and most of the rest had only token opposition.
Such lack of accountability at the polls is exactly why legislators feel free to enrich themselves with impunity by taking 36-percent pay raises while the rest of the community sucks it up, and pursuing more corporate cash that will make it even harder for challengers to take them on.
Karamatsu said legislators need more corporate money so they can donate more to their political parties and district charities....
Karamatsu invoked fond memories of discredited former Sen. Cal Kawamoto, who was cited by the Campaign Spending Commission for buying votes with charitable donations, among other violations, and then tried to pass legislation limiting the commission's oversight of legislators.
"You guys put pressures ... on how much we can give to nonprofits. If not, we get busted like Cal Kawamoto," Karamatsu griped. "Every time we're getting sex-abuse fundraising letter and domestic violence fundraising letter ... He helped all these kids, and he got blasted for it. You're tying our hands on what we can do here."
The “outrageous” part of all this is that is it a rationale for the insanely corrupt practice of in Hawai`i where pols are allowed to collect campaign contributions and then turn around and give unlimited amounts to “community groups”- especially those that get out the vote for them.
This Chicago-style, practice of out-and-out vote buying was the reason Kawamoto was dumped and it again raises the question of what the ditzy Karamatsu is doing in the Judiciary Chair, especially in light of some of the bizarre pseudo new-age/Buddhist religious rambling at his blog where he also complained about being strong-armed by Honolulu Prosecutor Peter Carlisle earlier in the session before removing the post after it drew a lot of attention in various blogs..
HB 539 Draft 1 was passed out of Karamatsu’s committee and is up for second and third reading after tomorrow’s five day recess and before the Match 12 “crossover” of bills to and from the senate.
And in the legislature while thousands are distracted by the civil unions bill the other measure we mentioned yesterday- the one to open the flood gates to corporate cash for politicians- has received little if any attention..
The Sierra Club finally woke up to this sleight of hand, sending out an appeal to it’s members this morning to contact legislators to try to kill off the outrageous attempt to open the spigot of corporate cash via House Bill HB 539.
Citing a Feb 22 Honolulu Star-Bulletin Editorial they told members that
With all of the recent attention on “clean” elections, ethics, and money in politics, HB 539 is a huge step in the wrong direction.
and asked they write and say to their reps
What does campaign finance reform have to do with Hawaii’s environment? Plenty! When campaign contributions influence how elected leaders vote on environmental policy, the environment usually loses. Many of the largest campaign contributors in Hawai`i have a significant impact on the environment, such as the utilities, oil companies, and developers. That’s why I am opposed to HB 539, which would allow corporations to give an unlimited amount of money to Political Action Committees.
But the biggest bombshell was Dave Shapiro’s column in today’s Honolulu Advertiser where he referred to House Judiciary Committee Chair Jon Riki Karamatu as “Cal Kawamoto Jr.”
For those who don’t remember Kawamoto he was the Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee who was charged with all sorts of fundraising and financial mischief and was the reason that “CleanElections” reforms died in the legislature for almost a decade until he was dumped by voters fed up with his self-serving paternalism.
The column contains the best brief description of the specifics of history and dangers of the bill we’ve read yet saying the Bill would:
increase the limit on corporate PAC contributions from $1,000 to $25,000 per election, but ended up approving unlimited corporate donations...
Legislative leaders claim their passage of the $1,000 limit on corporations in 2005 was inadvertent, but reformers like Sen. Les Ihara say that alleged mistake was "the most significant campaign reform legislation in the last two decades."
The bill would also repeal the ban on out-of-state contributions, some say to allow Congressman Neil Abercrombie to fill his war chest for his reported run for governor in 2010.
Shapiro then describes Karamatsu’s rational as “outrageous reasoning”. and describes his “rambling lecture to Barbara Polk of Americans for Democratic Action Hawai`i.”
Shapiro writes
Lawmakers usually defend special-interest campaign donations by piously citing the free-speech rights of the special interests.
But Karamatsu defended legislators' rights to collect more corporate money — and for uses other than campaigning.
Karamatsu said, "The costs (are) rising. I mean all of us here know what it is like ... it costs thousands of dollars to just do mailings. Those costs have gone up extraordinarily."
Nonsense. Campaign spending is already too high. A study of the 2006 election by the Campaign Spending Commission found that winning House candidates spent a hefty average of $40,000 and winning Senate candidates spent $80,000.
The big bucks are easy for incumbents to raise from special interests and a major barrier to challengers — a big part of the reason 40 percent of incumbent legislators ran unopposed in 2008 and most of the rest had only token opposition.
Such lack of accountability at the polls is exactly why legislators feel free to enrich themselves with impunity by taking 36-percent pay raises while the rest of the community sucks it up, and pursuing more corporate cash that will make it even harder for challengers to take them on.
Karamatsu said legislators need more corporate money so they can donate more to their political parties and district charities....
Karamatsu invoked fond memories of discredited former Sen. Cal Kawamoto, who was cited by the Campaign Spending Commission for buying votes with charitable donations, among other violations, and then tried to pass legislation limiting the commission's oversight of legislators.
"You guys put pressures ... on how much we can give to nonprofits. If not, we get busted like Cal Kawamoto," Karamatsu griped. "Every time we're getting sex-abuse fundraising letter and domestic violence fundraising letter ... He helped all these kids, and he got blasted for it. You're tying our hands on what we can do here."
The “outrageous” part of all this is that is it a rationale for the insanely corrupt practice of in Hawai`i where pols are allowed to collect campaign contributions and then turn around and give unlimited amounts to “community groups”- especially those that get out the vote for them.
This Chicago-style, practice of out-and-out vote buying was the reason Kawamoto was dumped and it again raises the question of what the ditzy Karamatsu is doing in the Judiciary Chair, especially in light of some of the bizarre pseudo new-age/Buddhist religious rambling at his blog where he also complained about being strong-armed by Honolulu Prosecutor Peter Carlisle earlier in the session before removing the post after it drew a lot of attention in various blogs..
HB 539 Draft 1 was passed out of Karamatsu’s committee and is up for second and third reading after tomorrow’s five day recess and before the Match 12 “crossover” of bills to and from the senate.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
CAN A THREE-LEGGED DOG COUNT TO FOUR?
CAN A THREE-LEGGED DOG COUNT TO FOUR? There actually are ongoing local Kaua`i political campaigns but with a little more than a month go you wouldn’t know it from the coverage by the local newspaper.
In the last two days they’ve told us the explosive “news” about quilting, Easter Seals (in October), baking, the bold-faced name-dropping exploits of the Happy Camper, promos for the Mokihana Festival, student music programs, Jewish New Years and new bus routes but nary a word about the doings, statements and activities of the 16 people running for council and mayor on Kaua`i.
Though we’re not expecting much at least they have, after a little PNN prodding, re-scheduled their formerly cancelled “forum” (look for it way way way down at the bottom buried in a separate article) we reported on last week, even now calling it a “debate”.
99% of their political coverage has been comprised of fluff pieces of basically free advertising for all the candidates (the first one’s free) and a batch of laughably-naive, softball questions and rote, stump-speech non-answers to their candidates’ questionnaire.
The one recent attempt at analysis was a somewhat strange district by district analysis of the precinct reports – an out of context examination of the numbers with no exhibited knowledge or analysis of Kaua`i demographics and no island-wide comparisons at all, just some random, useless regurgitation of the stats within artificially drawn state house districts.
And we certainly haven’t seen any analysis or even mention of campaign contributions and expenditures in this or any election year from the local paper despite the fact that they are now readily available on-line and, as we were reminded today, carry heavier fines for non-compliance this year.
According to Derrick DePledge’s blog post today
(S)ome may have overlooked that the bill passed by the state Legislature last session also included increases in the penalties for filing late campaign-finance reports.
Brian Schatz, chairman of the Democratic Party of Hawai`i, said he has been hit with a $500 fine for a late report for his old campaign committee. “We made an error in missing the deadline,” he explained.
The state Campaign Spending Commission has posted a warning about the larger fines on its Web site.
The fine for a late report is $50 per day for the first seven days and then $200 per day thereafter. The fine is $300 per day for filing late second preliminary primary and preliminary general election reports for candidates and late preliminary primary and general election reports for PACs. There is a cap on fines so as not to exceed 25 percent of the contributions or expenditures in the report, whichever is greater.
But our local newspaper seems fixated on serving its advertisers, rather than the electorate with not one mention of the campaign spending reports that pour in every few weeks..
But that s tradition at the local paper as was evidenced in the way for years Kaua`i candidates routinely broke the law by buying votes from non-profit organizations via the illegal disbursing of more money than the limits allow or actually doing it during campaign season.... until Bryan Baptiste was caught doing it on a massive level never seem before in the state.
It’s just one example of what can happen when a newspaper doesn’t do its job.
Seems that although contributions to community organizations and non-profits from campaign coffers are limited to $4000 a year in total and “no contribution from campaign funds shall be made from the date the candidate files nomination papers to the date of the general election.” Baptiste “spread it around” while on the campaign trail nonetheless
And the commission didn’t fool around (remove tongue from cheek). After Baptiste was safely ensconced in a second term in office they fined him “$6,000 for exceeding the state limit for contributions to community groups by $17,255 over four years.” according to a one and off article in the local paper in 2007.
As the campaign spending commission found in a 2007 “Conciliation Agreement”
7. Mr. Baptiste filed nomination papers for office on July 18, 2006.
8. The Respondents made contributions of $21,226.14 to various community groups, during the election period.
9. Respondents made $17,226.14 in contributions to community groups which exceeded the $4,000 “cap” in sections 11-200(b)(3) and 11-206(c)(3), HRS.CA 07-14
10. Respondents made seven contributions totaling $730 to community groups after filing nomination papers.
According to the article:
Barbara Wong, executive director of the Campaign Spending Commission, said the group had the authority to levy a fine three times that of the excess amount donated.“He could have paid $51,000 (in fines),” she said, adding that many of the contributions in question were between $10 and $15.
But as usual, despite its responsibility as the only newspaper in town to delve into these things TGI once again didn’t live up to it’s professional obligations.
Almost all real newspapers routinely assign reporters to take the time to peruse the records and dig out this kind of thing- and do it while it matters, in the middle of the campaign, not just report on the actions taken to punish the perpetrators years later
This was not easy in the past- records were slow in being filed and were not available on-line. But that was true everywhere yet newspapers across the country would routinely do the leg work to uncover these kinds of things as they were happening.
But now that half the leg work is “click work” there is no excuse for this kind of slap in the face to the community the local paper supposedly “serves”, according to it’s masthead
Why? Well as we said last week anyone who can add 2 and 2 can see that the lack of investigative efforts is one “2” and the revenue generated by candidate ads in the paper every day for months on end is the other “2”.
Baptiste’s $6000 slap on the wrists was nothing compared to what a story about him buying votes from community groups would have done if it was discovered during the campaign.
When all you need to pull the wool over the electorate’s eyes is a compliant lap dog in the watch dog’s house, it again makes us ask “can’t anyone play this game”.
In the last two days they’ve told us the explosive “news” about quilting, Easter Seals (in October), baking, the bold-faced name-dropping exploits of the Happy Camper, promos for the Mokihana Festival, student music programs, Jewish New Years and new bus routes but nary a word about the doings, statements and activities of the 16 people running for council and mayor on Kaua`i.
Though we’re not expecting much at least they have, after a little PNN prodding, re-scheduled their formerly cancelled “forum” (look for it way way way down at the bottom buried in a separate article) we reported on last week, even now calling it a “debate”.
99% of their political coverage has been comprised of fluff pieces of basically free advertising for all the candidates (the first one’s free) and a batch of laughably-naive, softball questions and rote, stump-speech non-answers to their candidates’ questionnaire.
The one recent attempt at analysis was a somewhat strange district by district analysis of the precinct reports – an out of context examination of the numbers with no exhibited knowledge or analysis of Kaua`i demographics and no island-wide comparisons at all, just some random, useless regurgitation of the stats within artificially drawn state house districts.
And we certainly haven’t seen any analysis or even mention of campaign contributions and expenditures in this or any election year from the local paper despite the fact that they are now readily available on-line and, as we were reminded today, carry heavier fines for non-compliance this year.
According to Derrick DePledge’s blog post today
(S)ome may have overlooked that the bill passed by the state Legislature last session also included increases in the penalties for filing late campaign-finance reports.
Brian Schatz, chairman of the Democratic Party of Hawai`i, said he has been hit with a $500 fine for a late report for his old campaign committee. “We made an error in missing the deadline,” he explained.
The state Campaign Spending Commission has posted a warning about the larger fines on its Web site.
The fine for a late report is $50 per day for the first seven days and then $200 per day thereafter. The fine is $300 per day for filing late second preliminary primary and preliminary general election reports for candidates and late preliminary primary and general election reports for PACs. There is a cap on fines so as not to exceed 25 percent of the contributions or expenditures in the report, whichever is greater.
But our local newspaper seems fixated on serving its advertisers, rather than the electorate with not one mention of the campaign spending reports that pour in every few weeks..
But that s tradition at the local paper as was evidenced in the way for years Kaua`i candidates routinely broke the law by buying votes from non-profit organizations via the illegal disbursing of more money than the limits allow or actually doing it during campaign season.... until Bryan Baptiste was caught doing it on a massive level never seem before in the state.
It’s just one example of what can happen when a newspaper doesn’t do its job.
Seems that although contributions to community organizations and non-profits from campaign coffers are limited to $4000 a year in total and “no contribution from campaign funds shall be made from the date the candidate files nomination papers to the date of the general election.” Baptiste “spread it around” while on the campaign trail nonetheless
And the commission didn’t fool around (remove tongue from cheek). After Baptiste was safely ensconced in a second term in office they fined him “$6,000 for exceeding the state limit for contributions to community groups by $17,255 over four years.” according to a one and off article in the local paper in 2007.
As the campaign spending commission found in a 2007 “Conciliation Agreement”
7. Mr. Baptiste filed nomination papers for office on July 18, 2006.
8. The Respondents made contributions of $21,226.14 to various community groups, during the election period.
9. Respondents made $17,226.14 in contributions to community groups which exceeded the $4,000 “cap” in sections 11-200(b)(3) and 11-206(c)(3), HRS.CA 07-14
10. Respondents made seven contributions totaling $730 to community groups after filing nomination papers.
According to the article:
Barbara Wong, executive director of the Campaign Spending Commission, said the group had the authority to levy a fine three times that of the excess amount donated.“He could have paid $51,000 (in fines),” she said, adding that many of the contributions in question were between $10 and $15.
But as usual, despite its responsibility as the only newspaper in town to delve into these things TGI once again didn’t live up to it’s professional obligations.
Almost all real newspapers routinely assign reporters to take the time to peruse the records and dig out this kind of thing- and do it while it matters, in the middle of the campaign, not just report on the actions taken to punish the perpetrators years later
This was not easy in the past- records were slow in being filed and were not available on-line. But that was true everywhere yet newspapers across the country would routinely do the leg work to uncover these kinds of things as they were happening.
But now that half the leg work is “click work” there is no excuse for this kind of slap in the face to the community the local paper supposedly “serves”, according to it’s masthead
Why? Well as we said last week anyone who can add 2 and 2 can see that the lack of investigative efforts is one “2” and the revenue generated by candidate ads in the paper every day for months on end is the other “2”.
Baptiste’s $6000 slap on the wrists was nothing compared to what a story about him buying votes from community groups would have done if it was discovered during the campaign.
When all you need to pull the wool over the electorate’s eyes is a compliant lap dog in the watch dog’s house, it again makes us ask “can’t anyone play this game”.
Monday, August 4, 2008
CHECK FOR TICKS WHILE YOU’RE AT IT, LYNDON
CHECK FOR TICKS WHILE YOU’RE AT IT, LYNDON: It could have been a Hamlet ending with bodies strewn over the county building lawn but instead it’s Much Ado About Nothing and All’s Well That Ends Well for mayoral candidate Mel Rapozo who, the Kaua`i Elections office conformed today after our request , did indeed withdraw in writing from the County Council race before filing for mayor.
Rapozo’s withdrawal letter was dated, received and time-stamped on July 7 at 12:29 p.m., the same day he “pulled” his papers to run in this year’s special mayoral election. He filed his papers to run for Mayor at 2:13 p.m. on July 22, the day of the filing deadline.
Rapozo’s filing status was complicated by Hawai`i Chief Election’s Office Kevin Cronin’s recent ruling that all withdrawals must be in writing.
Also. as many predicted, Rapozo has apparently joined all the others in the politician-blogger graveyard by abandoning the blog he started on March 9. His last post was on June 27 (hey who had 3 months 18 days in the pool) after the site became a magnet for crazies on both sides of the “dog path” debate drawing 202 comments, some threatening his personal safety in addition to his electoral status.
But Rapozo does have the edge in the money race as of June 30 , according to the latest numbers released by candidates as posted at the Campaign Spending Commission’s “Standard Reports” web site
As of the last day of June Rapozo had $11,988.96 in his campaign war chest but that amount is just a smidgen more than the $11,578.77 it appears that his opponent Joann Yukimura has.
We say “it appears” because although all the various reports of the particulars of her finances are posted, her main “disclosure report” is missing. We do have a request in to the commission for that paperwork but had to “do the math” adding her “surplus” from Dec. 13, 2007 to her “contributions” and subtracting her “expenditures”.
Bernard Carvalho and Rolf Bieber II, the third and fourth candidates in he mayor’s race, did not file reports because as of June 30-eight days after the death of Mayor Baptiste- neither had become candidates.
But some of the amounts of “surplus” reported by council candidates are in for those who are incumbents or announced earlier than the deadline for filing.
In the Council race most candidates did not have a campaign as of June 30 so did not file. But for many that did there is a hole in their bucket- some quite large for one reason or another.
The champion debtor is incumbent Tim Bynum who reported a deficit of $12,572.47 much of it apparently after buying all his various bumper stickers yard signs and the like.
Next is Jay Furfaro who is indented to the tune of $8,555.86.
We’re not sure what is going on with KipuKai Kualii, who officially reports he is $4,006.07 in the hole but if we read it right he’s actually is in the black by amount. He loaned himself $9493.54 and collected $5,030.00 but spent $9,036.07 according to his report. Another problem is that he doesn’t detail who gave him the money in his report.
Another one complicated, like Yukimura, by his lack of posting of a main disclosure form is Derrick Kawakami who between he and his “Big Save” immediate family members loaned his campaign $11,107. He received $1250 in contributions and spent $7142.94 which should leave him with 3,965.06 and would make his the richest candidate in not only personal; and campaign wealth.
Kaipo Asing is also in the red to the tune of $1,350.00 but that appears to be a long standing debt.
Joining Asing are Ron Agor who has a $55.84 debt and Darryl Kaneshiro at a minus $40.55, both apparently from previous campaigns although neither filed for this year.
Those is in the black include Ron Kouchi who, even though he apparently had over $23,00 at one time, is down to $2,951.89- although his “expenses” report is mysteriously missing.
Then there’s Christobel Kealoha who has $1,351.00 and finally Bruce Pleas whose $84.94 surplus from his last campaign is still there.
The rest as we said did not file except for Nancy McMahon who filed for public financing although she didn’t report any money collected in qualifying contributions.
We’ll be doing a little more digging in the near future and list some of the more eyebrow raising contributions and expenses but it is important to note that some who are in debt already paid for a lot of their campaign materials and even advertising while those that are flush might not have.
Anyone who really wants to shovel out the barn can visit the reports at the Campaign Spending Commission’s “Standard Report” page.
And don’t forget to go to the Eco-Roundtable Candidate Forum’s tomorrow (Tuesday) evening at 5:30 at the Convention Hall.
Rapozo’s withdrawal letter was dated, received and time-stamped on July 7 at 12:29 p.m., the same day he “pulled” his papers to run in this year’s special mayoral election. He filed his papers to run for Mayor at 2:13 p.m. on July 22, the day of the filing deadline.
Rapozo’s filing status was complicated by Hawai`i Chief Election’s Office Kevin Cronin’s recent ruling that all withdrawals must be in writing.
Also. as many predicted, Rapozo has apparently joined all the others in the politician-blogger graveyard by abandoning the blog he started on March 9. His last post was on June 27 (hey who had 3 months 18 days in the pool) after the site became a magnet for crazies on both sides of the “dog path” debate drawing 202 comments, some threatening his personal safety in addition to his electoral status.
But Rapozo does have the edge in the money race as of June 30 , according to the latest numbers released by candidates as posted at the Campaign Spending Commission’s “Standard Reports” web site
As of the last day of June Rapozo had $11,988.96 in his campaign war chest but that amount is just a smidgen more than the $11,578.77 it appears that his opponent Joann Yukimura has.
We say “it appears” because although all the various reports of the particulars of her finances are posted, her main “disclosure report” is missing. We do have a request in to the commission for that paperwork but had to “do the math” adding her “surplus” from Dec. 13, 2007 to her “contributions” and subtracting her “expenditures”.
Bernard Carvalho and Rolf Bieber II, the third and fourth candidates in he mayor’s race, did not file reports because as of June 30-eight days after the death of Mayor Baptiste- neither had become candidates.
But some of the amounts of “surplus” reported by council candidates are in for those who are incumbents or announced earlier than the deadline for filing.
In the Council race most candidates did not have a campaign as of June 30 so did not file. But for many that did there is a hole in their bucket- some quite large for one reason or another.
The champion debtor is incumbent Tim Bynum who reported a deficit of $12,572.47 much of it apparently after buying all his various bumper stickers yard signs and the like.
Next is Jay Furfaro who is indented to the tune of $8,555.86.
We’re not sure what is going on with KipuKai Kualii, who officially reports he is $4,006.07 in the hole but if we read it right he’s actually is in the black by amount. He loaned himself $9493.54 and collected $5,030.00 but spent $9,036.07 according to his report. Another problem is that he doesn’t detail who gave him the money in his report.
Another one complicated, like Yukimura, by his lack of posting of a main disclosure form is Derrick Kawakami who between he and his “Big Save” immediate family members loaned his campaign $11,107. He received $1250 in contributions and spent $7142.94 which should leave him with 3,965.06 and would make his the richest candidate in not only personal; and campaign wealth.
Kaipo Asing is also in the red to the tune of $1,350.00 but that appears to be a long standing debt.
Joining Asing are Ron Agor who has a $55.84 debt and Darryl Kaneshiro at a minus $40.55, both apparently from previous campaigns although neither filed for this year.
Those is in the black include Ron Kouchi who, even though he apparently had over $23,00 at one time, is down to $2,951.89- although his “expenses” report is mysteriously missing.
Then there’s Christobel Kealoha who has $1,351.00 and finally Bruce Pleas whose $84.94 surplus from his last campaign is still there.
The rest as we said did not file except for Nancy McMahon who filed for public financing although she didn’t report any money collected in qualifying contributions.
We’ll be doing a little more digging in the near future and list some of the more eyebrow raising contributions and expenses but it is important to note that some who are in debt already paid for a lot of their campaign materials and even advertising while those that are flush might not have.
Anyone who really wants to shovel out the barn can visit the reports at the Campaign Spending Commission’s “Standard Report” page.
And don’t forget to go to the Eco-Roundtable Candidate Forum’s tomorrow (Tuesday) evening at 5:30 at the Convention Hall.
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