THE SUBJECT SURE WASN'T ROSES: You won't find a "label" saying "education" at the bottom of any of our columns. As a matter of fact we can't remember it ever being a subject of discussion.
And that's no accident.
We've usually got something to say about everything- learned or devoid of prior inquiry, solicited or unwelcome. But even though we've watched two generations of our own progeny wend their way through the Hawai`i Public School system our opinion regarding how to improve it has been limited to three words... "triple teachers' salaries."
What can you say after that? Assuming that all that;s said about a better educated citizenry and the correlation with productivity, it stands to reason it should easily pay for itself... and more
Not that the ridiculously low wages we pay teachers now is a total deterrent to many who are talented enough to make that treble sum elsewhere. There are an unexplainable slew that are nonetheless dedicated to the thankless, "hardest job you'll ever love" because, well, it's the job they love. But let's not forget that the same low wage has got to be an encouragement to at least a small few who somehow got through college yet would be lucky get a new paper hat each year with their W2.
There ones we're aiming at are those who would become teachers if only they got paid commensurate with their talents. The trick is to properly dispatch the "do you want fries with that" crowd and replace them with professionals by paying teachers like doctors and lawyers, not burger-flippers
Anyway, as usual we digress before we begin.
What caught our attention and convinced us to break our unwritten "don't talk about education" rule is not even just the recent news that the state of Hawai`i has somehow potentially blown the previously promised $75 million through the federal "Race to the Top" program- the only state so designated for reversal. It's that yesterday an article (paywall protected) by Honolulu Star-Advertiser education writer Mary Vorsino zeroed in on why we stand to blow the grant.
After the usual mealy-mouthed mish-mosh of unconvincing reasons why "tings wen' huli" since last year's acceptance into the program, Vorsino "revealed" what anyone who has followed the politics of state education for the last year sensed the day the feds said "not so fast there, Neil."
(I)t's not yet clear whether the state will be able to show movement in one of the biggest areas of concern for federal officials: a continuing labor dispute with the teachers union that has stalled several major projects, including efforts to reach a collective bargaining agreement on improved teacher evaluations...
The U.S. Department of Education review, set for late next month, could make or break Hawaii's grant, whose "high-risk" status reflects federal worries about whether the state is capable of meeting its ambitious Race to the Top promises.
For those who have been in a cave since last summer, the teachers' union- along with most of the other state employee groups- were negotiating for new contracts as they had always done- in fits and stops and threats and other bizarre posturing on both their part and the part of the governor... in this case the newly-elected former educator and liberal lion, former Congressman Neil Abercrombie.
But rather than dicker around as even ultra-conservative Republican Governor Linda Lingle and her predecessors had done, Abercrombie gave the teachers the finger and unilaterally imposed salary and benefit cuts calling it his "best and final offer," telling the teachers to strike if they didn't like it.
The screwiest part was that, within a few cents either way, it was probably what the teachers would have settled for anyway, especially if and when other state workers had accepted the 5% pay cut with a slight raise of the employee contribution to their health care coverage- exactly what Abercrombie had been pushing since the legislative session ended and had already gotten out of the UH teachers and would soon get from the Hawai`i Government Employees Association (HGEA).
Of course the second screwiest was the fact that the $75 million the state stands to lose if the "Race to the Top" money goes south is that, within a few bucks, it's the same amount that the state stands to save on that "best and final offer" to the teachers.
And, if he had settled it rather than impose it, the whole debacle would be over now, not stalled before the labor board where it is being dragged out, ad infinitum, costing a big pile o' cash for lawyers and other legal logistics on both sides.
What the heck Abercrombie was thinking is anyone's guess. It's not the first, nor will it be the last, in a string of seemingly-endless, insanely-tone-deaf decisions he's made since taking office. Apparently he's unable to understand that he can't get away with the same "because I said so" nonsense that just went unnoticed in congress where, as 1 of 435, he didn't have the sole power to enforce his words. Now that he does, as 1 of 1, he stands to be responsible for what he says and does and is uncomfortable with all that power.
And he'd better learn that lesson fast. He's starting to make Lingle look sane.
Showing posts with label Neil Abercrombie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Neil Abercrombie. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
ROOM AT THE TOP
ROOM AT THE TOP: When former County Clerk Peter Nakamura was fired- or, according to some, quit amidst council executive-session-protected investigations of various and sundry allegations of wrong doing- we didn't really expect to hear anything until the decision on a new clerk was a "done deal."
So when our sources at council services told us that ads were placed in both the local and Honolulu newspapers soliciting applications and that there were a significant number of applicants- even from the mainland- though it was nice to think that there might be a little public scrutiny of the list, we didn't hold out much hope.
And we haven't been disappointed in our pessimism.
The job description of the position of clerk is not just "the council's lackey" even though Nakamura's stint under former Chair Kaipo Asing might have given that impressions. He- or she (yeah- that'll happen)- is also the county's chief elections officer and has numerous other important public duties and responsibilities.
But of course the process- and the names of the applicants- has been a tightly held secret with closed-to-the-public, executive sessions the order of the day for review of those seeking the job.
But given the brouhaha over the release of the judicial appointment list and the Office of Information Practices' (OIP) original stance that the names should have been made public- with which a circuit court judge agreed before the judicial selection committee decided was the best policy on their part after all- we wondered if there might be enough of a public interest in release of the names of county clerk applicants to overcome the privacy concerns in the Uniform Information Practices Act (UIPA), HRS Chapter 92F.
Silly wabbit.
We gave a call to the attorney of the day at OIP and got an interesting if negatory answer. Staff Attorney Carlotta Amerino wrote:
This email responds to your telephone call to the Office of Information Practices (OIP) on November 17, 2011. You explained that the Kauai County Council is in the process of filling a vacant county clerk position and would be meeting on this matter on November 21. You asked whether you may know the names of all the applicants.
The Uniform Information Practices Act (Modified), Chapter 92F, Hawaii Revised Statutes (UIPA) requires generally that government records are available to the public. HRS section 92F-11. However, the UIPA does not require disclosure of records which, if disclosed, would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. HRS section 92F-13(1). Applications for government positions carry significant privacy interests under HRS section 92F-14(b)(4), which, when balanced against the public interest in disclosure, have often outweighed the public interest. See OIP Ltrs. No 90-14, 91-8, and 95-2. In Opinion 03-03, OIP found that a list of judicial nominees could be disclosed publicly, but that opinion was based in part upon the fact that judges have a great impact upon the public.
The UIPA also allows government agencies to withhold information if disclosure would cause the frustration of a legitimate government function. HRS section 92F-13(3). While OIP has not been asked to issue a formal opinion on your specific question, and has not discussed this matter with the County Council, it would not unreasonable for the Council to invoke the "frustration" exception if it feels that qualified applicants would not apply for government jobs if that fact is made public even for the unsuccessful applicants.
I hope this information is helpful.
Carlotta Amerino
Staff Attorney
Basically it's not really an answer because although the judicial selection process is cited, that process is detailed in both the Hawai`i State Constitution and in law and administrative rules whereas the county clerk simply serves "at the pleasure" of the council
That leaves what Amerino refers to as the "frustration" exception which says that things may be kept secret if revealing them would "frustrate a legitimate government function."
In the case of the judicial nominees, Governor Neil Abercrombie claimed the frustration clause in that it would have a "chilling effect" on attorneys causing many to decline to apply. But even that doesn't seem to be the case with the county attorney position any more than any other job where one might not want their current employer to know they were seeking another job. And, of course, in any event, the court struck down such an exception in the judicial selection case.
We haven't formally requested the list of applicants mostly because it would take at least a few weeks just to get an answer from the council- which we know would be "no" anyway- and then we would have to submit that refusal to the OIP for disposition and they are so "busy" and toothless these days we'd be lucky to get a "formal opinion" at all and if we did it could take months if not years.
And by then, most likely we'll have a new clerk.
It may be best to wait for the appointment and then ask for the list- we might have more of a chance then because there would be no way the release could effect the outcome due to political pressures, which Amerino suggested to us on the phone might be applicable in this situation.
It's been noted in national surveys that Hawai`i has one of the best sunshine/open records laws in the country- and one of the worst records for actually keeping meetings open and releasing records.
The minotaur thinks the labyrinth is working just the way it's been designed, thank you very much.
So when our sources at council services told us that ads were placed in both the local and Honolulu newspapers soliciting applications and that there were a significant number of applicants- even from the mainland- though it was nice to think that there might be a little public scrutiny of the list, we didn't hold out much hope.
And we haven't been disappointed in our pessimism.
The job description of the position of clerk is not just "the council's lackey" even though Nakamura's stint under former Chair Kaipo Asing might have given that impressions. He- or she (yeah- that'll happen)- is also the county's chief elections officer and has numerous other important public duties and responsibilities.
But of course the process- and the names of the applicants- has been a tightly held secret with closed-to-the-public, executive sessions the order of the day for review of those seeking the job.
But given the brouhaha over the release of the judicial appointment list and the Office of Information Practices' (OIP) original stance that the names should have been made public- with which a circuit court judge agreed before the judicial selection committee decided was the best policy on their part after all- we wondered if there might be enough of a public interest in release of the names of county clerk applicants to overcome the privacy concerns in the Uniform Information Practices Act (UIPA), HRS Chapter 92F.
Silly wabbit.
We gave a call to the attorney of the day at OIP and got an interesting if negatory answer. Staff Attorney Carlotta Amerino wrote:
This email responds to your telephone call to the Office of Information Practices (OIP) on November 17, 2011. You explained that the Kauai County Council is in the process of filling a vacant county clerk position and would be meeting on this matter on November 21. You asked whether you may know the names of all the applicants.
The Uniform Information Practices Act (Modified), Chapter 92F, Hawaii Revised Statutes (UIPA) requires generally that government records are available to the public. HRS section 92F-11. However, the UIPA does not require disclosure of records which, if disclosed, would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. HRS section 92F-13(1). Applications for government positions carry significant privacy interests under HRS section 92F-14(b)(4), which, when balanced against the public interest in disclosure, have often outweighed the public interest. See OIP Ltrs. No 90-14, 91-8, and 95-2. In Opinion 03-03, OIP found that a list of judicial nominees could be disclosed publicly, but that opinion was based in part upon the fact that judges have a great impact upon the public.
The UIPA also allows government agencies to withhold information if disclosure would cause the frustration of a legitimate government function. HRS section 92F-13(3). While OIP has not been asked to issue a formal opinion on your specific question, and has not discussed this matter with the County Council, it would not unreasonable for the Council to invoke the "frustration" exception if it feels that qualified applicants would not apply for government jobs if that fact is made public even for the unsuccessful applicants.
I hope this information is helpful.
Carlotta Amerino
Staff Attorney
Basically it's not really an answer because although the judicial selection process is cited, that process is detailed in both the Hawai`i State Constitution and in law and administrative rules whereas the county clerk simply serves "at the pleasure" of the council
That leaves what Amerino refers to as the "frustration" exception which says that things may be kept secret if revealing them would "frustrate a legitimate government function."
In the case of the judicial nominees, Governor Neil Abercrombie claimed the frustration clause in that it would have a "chilling effect" on attorneys causing many to decline to apply. But even that doesn't seem to be the case with the county attorney position any more than any other job where one might not want their current employer to know they were seeking another job. And, of course, in any event, the court struck down such an exception in the judicial selection case.
We haven't formally requested the list of applicants mostly because it would take at least a few weeks just to get an answer from the council- which we know would be "no" anyway- and then we would have to submit that refusal to the OIP for disposition and they are so "busy" and toothless these days we'd be lucky to get a "formal opinion" at all and if we did it could take months if not years.
And by then, most likely we'll have a new clerk.
It may be best to wait for the appointment and then ask for the list- we might have more of a chance then because there would be no way the release could effect the outcome due to political pressures, which Amerino suggested to us on the phone might be applicable in this situation.
It's been noted in national surveys that Hawai`i has one of the best sunshine/open records laws in the country- and one of the worst records for actually keeping meetings open and releasing records.
The minotaur thinks the labyrinth is working just the way it's been designed, thank you very much.
Friday, October 14, 2011
MEET THE NEW BOSS...
MEET THE NEW BOSS...: It wasn't that long ago that we all laughed at the prospect of former Governor Lingle running for senate whether Senator Dan Akaka decided to run again or not.
One debacle after another had left most of the state's voters with a distinct "don't let the door hit ya in the ass on the way out" attitude toward her future in Hawai`i politics.
And why not? In arguably the most Democratic state in the country she had cozied up to the national Republicans two years earlier, opposing our "native son" in the presidential race. Then she dissed every teacher and somehow every parent in the state too with her "Furlough Fridays" in a manner that belied her usual and notorious PR perfect pitch. She had made a show- one that no one really believed- of trying to convince people her veto of civil unions was a "tough decision." And no one had forgotten the SuperFerry debacle which left both sides blaming her for either trying to force the doomed-from-the-start "H4" down our throats or, in "entitled" Honolulu, bungling the effort.
Yet this week's archetypical Stepford Wife announcement of her candidacy caused not just the usually out-of-touch-with-Hawai`i-politics Cook Political Report to call the race a "toss-up" but had many local pundits treating her candidacy with credibility.
So assuming something changed, what was it? Still the same robotic and vaguely spooky Lingle? Check. Still the same predominately Democratic "fool me twice.. ya can't get fooled again" electorate? Check. Still the same draconian congressional Republican cabal that she cozied up to in '08? Check.
So what's the difference? It well may be the rocky row her replacement has hoed.
As Governor, Neil Abercrombie couldn't have mimicked more of her specific blunders if he tried. Suspending the state's environmental protection laws for fishy reasons? Although declaring an emergency to move Nene geese that had been causing the same problems at Lihu`e Airport for a decade isn't exactly the SuperFerry, it was the same thread of political expediency that runs through both in the minds of the electorate.
But in the one place where Abercrombie could have put a wedge between "what a Democrat in office will do" and "what the Republican did," his tin-ear handling of the teachers' union negotiations left many asking what the difference is.
Abercrombie's now infamous "I'm not your pal" statement to the unions and the viral YouTube screaming match with a nurse were followed by the same imposition of a contract and violation of the tenets of collective bargaining that caused massive protests at state capitols in Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio after Republican governors in those states imposed similar anti-union measures.
Even though criticism of the actions of the teachers' union's tactics in fighting Abercrombie's unilaterally-imposed, force-fed contract got most of the press, the antipathy toward Abercrombie still simmers just beneath the surface among the unions whose support will be crucial if either Mazie Hirono or (god no) Ed Case is to send Lingle back out to national Republican pastures.
It's a long time between now and a year from November and it's said voters' memories are long in Hawai`i. But those memories are made not just in broad sweeping brush strokes but in the daily paint splotches and, to mix metaphors, once a crack appears in the veneer it's hard to plaster it over to keep the wood from splitting right down the middle.
Abercrombie would do well to keep, if not a low profile next January when the legislature meets, at least one that doesn't rock his own party's boat. Because if Hirono or Case loses to Lingle many Democratic fingers will be pointing his way and it will be a short two years until the '14 gubernatorial election where he'll need all the party support he can get.
One debacle after another had left most of the state's voters with a distinct "don't let the door hit ya in the ass on the way out" attitude toward her future in Hawai`i politics.
And why not? In arguably the most Democratic state in the country she had cozied up to the national Republicans two years earlier, opposing our "native son" in the presidential race. Then she dissed every teacher and somehow every parent in the state too with her "Furlough Fridays" in a manner that belied her usual and notorious PR perfect pitch. She had made a show- one that no one really believed- of trying to convince people her veto of civil unions was a "tough decision." And no one had forgotten the SuperFerry debacle which left both sides blaming her for either trying to force the doomed-from-the-start "H4" down our throats or, in "entitled" Honolulu, bungling the effort.
Yet this week's archetypical Stepford Wife announcement of her candidacy caused not just the usually out-of-touch-with-Hawai`i-politics Cook Political Report to call the race a "toss-up" but had many local pundits treating her candidacy with credibility.
So assuming something changed, what was it? Still the same robotic and vaguely spooky Lingle? Check. Still the same predominately Democratic "fool me twice.. ya can't get fooled again" electorate? Check. Still the same draconian congressional Republican cabal that she cozied up to in '08? Check.
So what's the difference? It well may be the rocky row her replacement has hoed.
As Governor, Neil Abercrombie couldn't have mimicked more of her specific blunders if he tried. Suspending the state's environmental protection laws for fishy reasons? Although declaring an emergency to move Nene geese that had been causing the same problems at Lihu`e Airport for a decade isn't exactly the SuperFerry, it was the same thread of political expediency that runs through both in the minds of the electorate.
But in the one place where Abercrombie could have put a wedge between "what a Democrat in office will do" and "what the Republican did," his tin-ear handling of the teachers' union negotiations left many asking what the difference is.
Abercrombie's now infamous "I'm not your pal" statement to the unions and the viral YouTube screaming match with a nurse were followed by the same imposition of a contract and violation of the tenets of collective bargaining that caused massive protests at state capitols in Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio after Republican governors in those states imposed similar anti-union measures.
Even though criticism of the actions of the teachers' union's tactics in fighting Abercrombie's unilaterally-imposed, force-fed contract got most of the press, the antipathy toward Abercrombie still simmers just beneath the surface among the unions whose support will be crucial if either Mazie Hirono or (god no) Ed Case is to send Lingle back out to national Republican pastures.
It's a long time between now and a year from November and it's said voters' memories are long in Hawai`i. But those memories are made not just in broad sweeping brush strokes but in the daily paint splotches and, to mix metaphors, once a crack appears in the veneer it's hard to plaster it over to keep the wood from splitting right down the middle.
Abercrombie would do well to keep, if not a low profile next January when the legislature meets, at least one that doesn't rock his own party's boat. Because if Hirono or Case loses to Lingle many Democratic fingers will be pointing his way and it will be a short two years until the '14 gubernatorial election where he'll need all the party support he can get.
Monday, October 10, 2011
TIPPECANOE AND ABERCROMBIE TOO
TIPPECANOE AND ABERCROMBIE TOO: It might have been impossible to throw a rock at our mouse this weekend without reading someone- make that everyone- weighing in on the weekend's bloodbath on the 5th floor of the state capitol.
In case you were in a cave, apparently anyone not eligible for social security was ousted from Governor Neil Abercrombie's administration. But the official word was that the first two, chief of staff Amy Asselbaye and deputy chief of staff Andrew Aoki, left "to spend more time with their families," causing gut-busting laughter to echo through the homes and offices of anyone who has followed the administration's gaffe-filled first nine months.
The pundits have had a field day over the weekend listing all the governor's communications foibles, most of which also had people doubled over whenever his spokesperson Donalyn Dela Cruz opened her mouth.
Even Henry Curtis, not known for humorous takes on the PUC dockets with which he usually occupies himself, went to town listing Abercrombie's aberrations.
Whether it was the "fact" that the head of the OIP wasn't fired for not agreeing with the governor about not revealing the list of judicial nominees or the seeing nothing wrong with not bothering to announce emergency declarations, the governor's team seemed to shoot themselves in the foot in a "that's my story and I'm sticking to it" kind of way at every opportunity.
That was the theme once again this weekend as Dela Cruz not only stuck to the "more time with their families" line but essentially called Honolulu Star Advertiser capitol correspondent Derrick DePledge a liar, in calling any other explanation merely "speculation."
Though we won't excerpt it here, DePledge on Friday extensively cited "sources close to the administration" in explaining the way the older generation of Abercrombie's advisers pushed the youngsters out essentially blaming them, rather than the governor himself, for the foibles.
The most absurd part of this weekend's festivities was the fact that the "grown-ups" who had apparently taken over, did exactly what had led up to the the youngsters being "quitted"- trying to cover up some bad news or boneheaded move with a batch of totally unbelievable bullsh*t.
Even after two others left- essentially in protest for the firings of Asselbaye and Aoki- Dela Cruz was still pretty much asking if we were gonna believe her or our own lyin' eyes.
Abercrombie has gotten off to a bad start, not because of any policy, although the way he allowed the press to characterize him as flip-flopping his way through the last legislative session didn't help. It's because even with a cadre of capitol correspondents that could meet in a phone booth (what's a phone booth, grandpa?), he and his team couldn't control his message.
It's gotten trite to point out that it's rarely the act itself that gets pols in trouble- it's the coverup. All the firings in the world won't help if Abercrombie can't get used to the added scrutiny that comes with a switch from legislation to administration.
In case you were in a cave, apparently anyone not eligible for social security was ousted from Governor Neil Abercrombie's administration. But the official word was that the first two, chief of staff Amy Asselbaye and deputy chief of staff Andrew Aoki, left "to spend more time with their families," causing gut-busting laughter to echo through the homes and offices of anyone who has followed the administration's gaffe-filled first nine months.
The pundits have had a field day over the weekend listing all the governor's communications foibles, most of which also had people doubled over whenever his spokesperson Donalyn Dela Cruz opened her mouth.
Even Henry Curtis, not known for humorous takes on the PUC dockets with which he usually occupies himself, went to town listing Abercrombie's aberrations.
Whether it was the "fact" that the head of the OIP wasn't fired for not agreeing with the governor about not revealing the list of judicial nominees or the seeing nothing wrong with not bothering to announce emergency declarations, the governor's team seemed to shoot themselves in the foot in a "that's my story and I'm sticking to it" kind of way at every opportunity.
That was the theme once again this weekend as Dela Cruz not only stuck to the "more time with their families" line but essentially called Honolulu Star Advertiser capitol correspondent Derrick DePledge a liar, in calling any other explanation merely "speculation."
Though we won't excerpt it here, DePledge on Friday extensively cited "sources close to the administration" in explaining the way the older generation of Abercrombie's advisers pushed the youngsters out essentially blaming them, rather than the governor himself, for the foibles.
The most absurd part of this weekend's festivities was the fact that the "grown-ups" who had apparently taken over, did exactly what had led up to the the youngsters being "quitted"- trying to cover up some bad news or boneheaded move with a batch of totally unbelievable bullsh*t.
Even after two others left- essentially in protest for the firings of Asselbaye and Aoki- Dela Cruz was still pretty much asking if we were gonna believe her or our own lyin' eyes.
Abercrombie has gotten off to a bad start, not because of any policy, although the way he allowed the press to characterize him as flip-flopping his way through the last legislative session didn't help. It's because even with a cadre of capitol correspondents that could meet in a phone booth (what's a phone booth, grandpa?), he and his team couldn't control his message.
It's gotten trite to point out that it's rarely the act itself that gets pols in trouble- it's the coverup. All the firings in the world won't help if Abercrombie can't get used to the added scrutiny that comes with a switch from legislation to administration.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
TRY WAIT
TRY WAIT: The kvetch-fest over Governor Neil Abercrombie's "emergency" declarations- and the fact that he failed to tell anyone about one of them for months- suspending environmental and planning laws to clear ordinance from the beaches and oceans and nene from the Kaua`i Airport area would be deafening if it weren't for the paywall blocking the state's "newspaper of record," making it an unproductive endeavor to link to columnist Dave Shapiro’s traditional harangue or, surprisingly, Cynthia Oi's tome on the subject.
But while some debate whether these are in fact emergencies under state law, another "emergency" proclamation by his Governorship has got to be the slowest developing crisis in history showing that if you wait until the molehill becomes a mountain you can create a pressing matter of epic proportions out of anything.
The fact that a stretch of the highway near Lumahai has been falling into the ocean is no surprise to anyone who has driven the stretch in the past decade. But Abercrombie's "emergency declaration" on September 7 would make you believe that rather than it being a result of glacial-paced erosion, some menehune came in last month with pickaxes and chopped away at the coastline all in one night.
The fact is that the declaration is the result of almost a decade of trying to get the state to get its act together. We can remember current State Senator Ron Kouchi as Kaua`i County Council Chair- that would place it before 2003- grilling then County Engineer Cesar Portugal about what was thought to be the imminent loss of the northbound lane of the state highway.
What should be a state problem has since been a subject of concern for every council and county engineer ever since. While the county has been making temporary fixes, the state has dragged its feet in moving the highway 40 feet inland- the current "emergency" solution which was first proposed 10 years ago.
But that would have taken due process, pubic hearings and most importantly environmental impact statements, certified shoreline determinations and, quite probably, a plan to be approved by the Army Corps of Engineers, as we heard in council testimony over the years.
But noooo. The state's solution is to wait until it is an actual emergency and give the finger to due process, public hearings, transparency and, most importantly, any thoughtful review of the fact that if this section is falling into the ocean, what's next? That might raise the nasty problem of why we're putting things like bike paths- and even new homes under the county's new process for granting exemption from what had been widely acknowledged to be the strongest shoreline protection law in the country- 10 feet away from the shoreline in an age when climate change could well remove that 10 feet in as many years.
Is this the future of how the state's environmental and shoreline protection laws will be handled when the ocean come in to stay? Wait long enough to suspend them?
Apparently.
But while some debate whether these are in fact emergencies under state law, another "emergency" proclamation by his Governorship has got to be the slowest developing crisis in history showing that if you wait until the molehill becomes a mountain you can create a pressing matter of epic proportions out of anything.
The fact that a stretch of the highway near Lumahai has been falling into the ocean is no surprise to anyone who has driven the stretch in the past decade. But Abercrombie's "emergency declaration" on September 7 would make you believe that rather than it being a result of glacial-paced erosion, some menehune came in last month with pickaxes and chopped away at the coastline all in one night.
The fact is that the declaration is the result of almost a decade of trying to get the state to get its act together. We can remember current State Senator Ron Kouchi as Kaua`i County Council Chair- that would place it before 2003- grilling then County Engineer Cesar Portugal about what was thought to be the imminent loss of the northbound lane of the state highway.
What should be a state problem has since been a subject of concern for every council and county engineer ever since. While the county has been making temporary fixes, the state has dragged its feet in moving the highway 40 feet inland- the current "emergency" solution which was first proposed 10 years ago.
But that would have taken due process, pubic hearings and most importantly environmental impact statements, certified shoreline determinations and, quite probably, a plan to be approved by the Army Corps of Engineers, as we heard in council testimony over the years.
But noooo. The state's solution is to wait until it is an actual emergency and give the finger to due process, public hearings, transparency and, most importantly, any thoughtful review of the fact that if this section is falling into the ocean, what's next? That might raise the nasty problem of why we're putting things like bike paths- and even new homes under the county's new process for granting exemption from what had been widely acknowledged to be the strongest shoreline protection law in the country- 10 feet away from the shoreline in an age when climate change could well remove that 10 feet in as many years.
Is this the future of how the state's environmental and shoreline protection laws will be handled when the ocean come in to stay? Wait long enough to suspend them?
Apparently.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
OXYMORONICALLY SPEAKING
OXYMORONICALLY SPEAKING: Little kids and we old futs have something in common- we both refuse to fall for BS conundrums.
While sophomoric angst-ridden teens may obsess over questions like "if a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does make a sound " any wise-ass seven year old will suggest using a tape recorder to show it does and the crotchety crowd will just say "of course it does- what are you an idiot?".
But today that very question- or an approximation thereof- presents itself by asking "if a newspaper that has a 'paywall' sues the the governor's for his refusal to release the list of judicial nominees, does anyone hear about it?".
The answer is only if you find out through "'Civil Beath'" which, though similarly paywalled, offers as many free one-month subscriptions as you have email addresses.
That's a long way to go to say that the news itself is certainly welcome in that the Honolulu Star-Advertiser (S-A) is dipping into it's monopolistically-engorged pockets to do what they should have done the first time Governor Neil Abercrombie decided to flout tradition- and an Office of Information Practices (OIP) opinion- by refusing to release the list (after state senate approval).
The suit itself- provided in copy-protected form by Civil Beat which has come under fire for copy-protecting other public documents- attempts to refute the governor's claim that to release the list would, as the law says, "frustrate a legitimate government function"- that of appointing judges from a list provided by a judicial selection committee.
But strangely enough the suit fails to try to refute Abercrombie's contention other than essentially saying "no it doesn't."
Are we to assume the hearing will feature ten year old attorneys alternately screaming "yes it does... no it doesn't... yes it does... no it doesn't." until one grabs the others hair and the other bites the first one on the leg?
Abercrombie claims is that attorneys will be less willing to submit their names to the selection committee because they risk the ire of their employers, partners or even clients- both current and future- by letting them know they might be leaving.
But the S-A suit simply ignores the argument itself by refusing to address either of the two issues- first, whether a public announcement will in fact cause problems for the applicant and two, if that's true- whether it rise to the level of "frustration of a legitimate government function."
Now we're normally an unqualified supporter of the preamble to the Sunshine Law which presumes that government documents are to be made public unless they are specifically exempted by law- and that the law should be "liberally applied."
But we've got to admit that, after talking about this with five different attorneys over the past few months, we have come around to the governor's thinking. All five said that the fact that their names would become public has colored their decisions as to whether or not to apply for a judgeship.
The five include lawyers, who both work with partners and without, are in the government's employ and in private practice and do both criminal and civil law. And all said that the release of their names is a consideration and some said that indeed it has influenced their decision not to apply.
That means that- our admittedly small sample notwithstanding- the only question is whether, assuming the "fact" that what Abercrombie claims is true, does it actually "frustrate a legitimate government function?".
Whenever we've seen these kinds of determinations the "function" is stated. In this case it would be "the appointment of judges by the governor."
But the problem for the governor is that the law does not state that his job is to appoint judges from the widest possible pool, just that he pick from a list provided by the selection committee.
Attorneys will make the decision as to whether to seek a judgeship for any number of reasons. Certainly the usual drop in pay is a consideration so should the law require the state to make up the difference to widen the pool? Suppose the appointment requires a move from a neighbor island to Honolulu and the attorney has children who are in an excellent public school? Should he or she be compensated for having to put them in a private school if there is no comparable public school available?
Of course not. The legitimate government function is to provide a list, not to insure that the list includes every attorney in the state who otherwise would consider a judicial appointment.
The governor's claim regarding the release of the names of attorneys who aren't selected may be true. But it is for all intent and purpose it is irrelevant because unless the attorney general comes up with a heretofore unspoken rationale to say that this actually frustrates a legitimate government function Abercrombie's claim doesn't really stand up to scrutiny.
While sophomoric angst-ridden teens may obsess over questions like "if a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does make a sound " any wise-ass seven year old will suggest using a tape recorder to show it does and the crotchety crowd will just say "of course it does- what are you an idiot?".
But today that very question- or an approximation thereof- presents itself by asking "if a newspaper that has a 'paywall' sues the the governor's for his refusal to release the list of judicial nominees, does anyone hear about it?".
The answer is only if you find out through "'Civil Beath'" which, though similarly paywalled, offers as many free one-month subscriptions as you have email addresses.
That's a long way to go to say that the news itself is certainly welcome in that the Honolulu Star-Advertiser (S-A) is dipping into it's monopolistically-engorged pockets to do what they should have done the first time Governor Neil Abercrombie decided to flout tradition- and an Office of Information Practices (OIP) opinion- by refusing to release the list (after state senate approval).
The suit itself- provided in copy-protected form by Civil Beat which has come under fire for copy-protecting other public documents- attempts to refute the governor's claim that to release the list would, as the law says, "frustrate a legitimate government function"- that of appointing judges from a list provided by a judicial selection committee.
But strangely enough the suit fails to try to refute Abercrombie's contention other than essentially saying "no it doesn't."
Are we to assume the hearing will feature ten year old attorneys alternately screaming "yes it does... no it doesn't... yes it does... no it doesn't." until one grabs the others hair and the other bites the first one on the leg?
Abercrombie claims is that attorneys will be less willing to submit their names to the selection committee because they risk the ire of their employers, partners or even clients- both current and future- by letting them know they might be leaving.
But the S-A suit simply ignores the argument itself by refusing to address either of the two issues- first, whether a public announcement will in fact cause problems for the applicant and two, if that's true- whether it rise to the level of "frustration of a legitimate government function."
Now we're normally an unqualified supporter of the preamble to the Sunshine Law which presumes that government documents are to be made public unless they are specifically exempted by law- and that the law should be "liberally applied."
But we've got to admit that, after talking about this with five different attorneys over the past few months, we have come around to the governor's thinking. All five said that the fact that their names would become public has colored their decisions as to whether or not to apply for a judgeship.
The five include lawyers, who both work with partners and without, are in the government's employ and in private practice and do both criminal and civil law. And all said that the release of their names is a consideration and some said that indeed it has influenced their decision not to apply.
That means that- our admittedly small sample notwithstanding- the only question is whether, assuming the "fact" that what Abercrombie claims is true, does it actually "frustrate a legitimate government function?".
Whenever we've seen these kinds of determinations the "function" is stated. In this case it would be "the appointment of judges by the governor."
But the problem for the governor is that the law does not state that his job is to appoint judges from the widest possible pool, just that he pick from a list provided by the selection committee.
Attorneys will make the decision as to whether to seek a judgeship for any number of reasons. Certainly the usual drop in pay is a consideration so should the law require the state to make up the difference to widen the pool? Suppose the appointment requires a move from a neighbor island to Honolulu and the attorney has children who are in an excellent public school? Should he or she be compensated for having to put them in a private school if there is no comparable public school available?
Of course not. The legitimate government function is to provide a list, not to insure that the list includes every attorney in the state who otherwise would consider a judicial appointment.
The governor's claim regarding the release of the names of attorneys who aren't selected may be true. But it is for all intent and purpose it is irrelevant because unless the attorney general comes up with a heretofore unspoken rationale to say that this actually frustrates a legitimate government function Abercrombie's claim doesn't really stand up to scrutiny.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
STRIKE THREE?
STRIKE THREE?: What's really unfortunate about the underhanded, secretive and sleazy way Kaua`i Island Utilities Co-op (KIUC) and their partners in corruption Free Flow Partners (FFP) have gone about hydroelectric development is that it will inevitably delay- if not kill- immanent development of the cheapest, most dependable of carbon-free energy systems.
Add to that the fact that, because of the unique position of Kaua`i as the world capitol of various endangered bird species, there will never be large scale wind farms on the island and even backyard windmills may eventually be banned, once the county catches on to the fact that our "probation" with the feds- as a result of a settlement federal suit- probably requires us to severely restrict, if not ban, them too without prohibitively costly "take permits."
And with home windmills gone that leaves roof-top solar as the last, best bet to reverse the "we sell you electricity" business model KIUC seems to be hell-bent on perpetuating as if it were an investor based utility.
But today any hope for making it easy to put photovoltaic systems on people's homes took a kick in the nuts when Governor Neil Abercrombie put HB 1520 on the "Intent to Veto" list.
In April, as the bill went to conference committee, we detailed a decade long fight, first with the solar installation firms and currently with the utility companies to pass a bill requiring on-bill financing for home solar electric systems.
And even though the bill was watered down further in committee- changing the wording from directing the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to "consider implementing an on-bill financing program for residential electric utility customers" to "investigate an On-bill Financing Program (Program),"- and passed the legislature it appears on today's list.
Strangely it is one of a very few bills on the potential veto list for which a reason hasn't been given, as yet.
But a veto isn’t certain and you can call Abercrombie at 808-586-0034 or write him him using a handy-dandy form (http://hawaii.gov/gov/contact/contact-gov) and urge him to get the ball rolling on home solar generation with on-bill financing.
Add to that the fact that, because of the unique position of Kaua`i as the world capitol of various endangered bird species, there will never be large scale wind farms on the island and even backyard windmills may eventually be banned, once the county catches on to the fact that our "probation" with the feds- as a result of a settlement federal suit- probably requires us to severely restrict, if not ban, them too without prohibitively costly "take permits."
And with home windmills gone that leaves roof-top solar as the last, best bet to reverse the "we sell you electricity" business model KIUC seems to be hell-bent on perpetuating as if it were an investor based utility.
But today any hope for making it easy to put photovoltaic systems on people's homes took a kick in the nuts when Governor Neil Abercrombie put HB 1520 on the "Intent to Veto" list.
In April, as the bill went to conference committee, we detailed a decade long fight, first with the solar installation firms and currently with the utility companies to pass a bill requiring on-bill financing for home solar electric systems.
And even though the bill was watered down further in committee- changing the wording from directing the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to "consider implementing an on-bill financing program for residential electric utility customers" to "investigate an On-bill Financing Program (Program),"- and passed the legislature it appears on today's list.
Strangely it is one of a very few bills on the potential veto list for which a reason hasn't been given, as yet.
But a veto isn’t certain and you can call Abercrombie at 808-586-0034 or write him him using a handy-dandy form (http://hawaii.gov/gov/contact/contact-gov) and urge him to get the ball rolling on home solar generation with on-bill financing.
Monday, April 4, 2011
MORE MONKEYS, LESS WEASELS
MORE MONKEYS, LESS WEASELS: As we first reported last Monday the magical "Recusalgate" transformation of one Foster Ducker from selector to candidate for the vacated 14th District State House Seat vacated by Mina Morita, finally got the Leo Azumbuja treatment Sunday in the local newspaper, providing a series of the usual half-assed factoids (Factoid: Did you know that a factoid is not really a fact?), unresearched pronouncements and irrelevant quotes and citations.
But one quote did catch our eye describing the prestidigitation involved in Ducker's metamorphosis:
“It came a little bit out of the left field for me,” he said. “I was sitting in the selection committee and all of a sudden I was sitting in front of the selection committee.”
Yup, he was just sitting there minding his own business and, as if in a dream, "all of a sudden" he replaced Morita's choice for replacement, Joel Guy who has been the presumed replacement.
That of course made room for the golden boy Derek Kawakami to follow his ancestral destiny. Gee, why would anyone claim that the the whole process has the smell of a backroom deal?
The problem is that when it comes to conflicts of interest it becomes hard to see the forest for your own personal tree.
For the Democratic Party it looked like a matter of their rules for recusals, according to Azumbuja's mish-mosh which quoted our friend District 14 Democratic Party Chair, Susan Wilson, as saying:
“Do you know what the rule is on the council?” she said. “The rule on the council is you just say, ‘Gosh I have a conflict of interest,’ and then you’re allowed to vote on it.”
Of course Wilson- and Azumbuja- obviously missed the 2008 County Charter amendment which modified the Code of Ethics' Section 20.04D, Disclosure, to say, in relevant part
Any elected official, appointed officer, employee, or any member of a board or commission who possesses or acquires such interest as might reasonably tend to create a conflict with his duties or authority... shall make full disclosure of the conflict of interest and shall not participate in said matter.
So, we decided to drop Wilson an email setting the record straight.
But Wilson was more interested in setting the record straight on the reason why Ducker was permitted to run and vote despite the conflict of interest, since, as is the usual complaint about Azumbuja, she was haphazardly quoted.
We agreed to let Wilson have her say so here's what she wrote- in full- about the situation. See ya on the other side.
State of Hawaii Democratic Party Constitution does not require recusal, but I think at its next state convention the issue could be worth discussion again. Right away, in mid February, I posed the recusal question to the Democratic Party Central committee. An answer came back from a central committee member. In essence it was, with so few registered democratic voters coming forward to hold precinct offices all over the state it was advised precedent has been inclusion rather than the opposite. In the specifics of District 14, I welcomed that answer as I needed full district council member participation on all levels of what I hoped would be a serious process. For example there is only one precinct officer in one of district 14's biggest precincts. If he would have decided to be a candidate and recusal was required about 400 or so registered democrats in his precinct would have had no vote at the table. Likewise, at one point two district council members were considering throwing their names in the pot. Again, I looked to the Party's core value and was comfortable with precedent. All council members were in accordance, and we are a council of eight. I then took it a step further and set up a very fair leveling voting procedure. What came out of this process was a standard of civic involvement worthy of emulation. And, yes, Foster Ducker participated in the voting. And, yes, he did become one of the three names forwarded on to the governor as one of District14 Council choices for the governor to consider for appointment. Our council did not have the power of appointment. And, yes, one candidate who seemingly had considerable headwind coming in was not chosen to move forward. I have no idea who voted for who. It was a secret ballot. Three clear winners were chosen on the first ballot. And, yes, a candidate who supposedly was favored by our former Representative to take over her unfilled position, even before the process had started, did not move forward. I'd say what happened was anything but politics as usual. It was democracy in action. And, finally, grace in defeat, is a sign of maturity and leadership.
It's not like Wilson would be the first to miss what the problematic part is in your typical "conflict of interest." Certainly some of the recent appointments of Governor Neil Abercrombie have raised eyebrows when big contributors and campaign leaders received nods for various positions. And when it comes to the champion of cronyism, our own warbling Warrior, Mayor Bernard Carvalho, few can hold a candle to his penchant for promoting his pals.
What they all seem to miss is that any conflict of interest is anathema to good governance way before it ever leads to corruption.
It's the very potential for that "tit for tat" and "quid pro quo" that raises the hackles of voters leaving the perception of the opportunity for wrongdoing to appear to be the reality of illicit dealings.
The potential conflict of interest is an actual conflict of interest. Appointees should not come prepackaged with baggage that causes people to roll their eyes and shake their heads back and forth. Rather they should be like Caesar's wife... beyond reproach.
The message from the good governance community is that if your laws- or rules- allow conflicts of interest to be, not just the exception but, the norm perhaps it's time to change that rule.
But one quote did catch our eye describing the prestidigitation involved in Ducker's metamorphosis:
“It came a little bit out of the left field for me,” he said. “I was sitting in the selection committee and all of a sudden I was sitting in front of the selection committee.”
Yup, he was just sitting there minding his own business and, as if in a dream, "all of a sudden" he replaced Morita's choice for replacement, Joel Guy who has been the presumed replacement.
That of course made room for the golden boy Derek Kawakami to follow his ancestral destiny. Gee, why would anyone claim that the the whole process has the smell of a backroom deal?
The problem is that when it comes to conflicts of interest it becomes hard to see the forest for your own personal tree.
For the Democratic Party it looked like a matter of their rules for recusals, according to Azumbuja's mish-mosh which quoted our friend District 14 Democratic Party Chair, Susan Wilson, as saying:
“Do you know what the rule is on the council?” she said. “The rule on the council is you just say, ‘Gosh I have a conflict of interest,’ and then you’re allowed to vote on it.”
Of course Wilson- and Azumbuja- obviously missed the 2008 County Charter amendment which modified the Code of Ethics' Section 20.04D, Disclosure, to say, in relevant part
Any elected official, appointed officer, employee, or any member of a board or commission who possesses or acquires such interest as might reasonably tend to create a conflict with his duties or authority... shall make full disclosure of the conflict of interest and shall not participate in said matter.
So, we decided to drop Wilson an email setting the record straight.
But Wilson was more interested in setting the record straight on the reason why Ducker was permitted to run and vote despite the conflict of interest, since, as is the usual complaint about Azumbuja, she was haphazardly quoted.
We agreed to let Wilson have her say so here's what she wrote- in full- about the situation. See ya on the other side.
State of Hawaii Democratic Party Constitution does not require recusal, but I think at its next state convention the issue could be worth discussion again. Right away, in mid February, I posed the recusal question to the Democratic Party Central committee. An answer came back from a central committee member. In essence it was, with so few registered democratic voters coming forward to hold precinct offices all over the state it was advised precedent has been inclusion rather than the opposite. In the specifics of District 14, I welcomed that answer as I needed full district council member participation on all levels of what I hoped would be a serious process. For example there is only one precinct officer in one of district 14's biggest precincts. If he would have decided to be a candidate and recusal was required about 400 or so registered democrats in his precinct would have had no vote at the table. Likewise, at one point two district council members were considering throwing their names in the pot. Again, I looked to the Party's core value and was comfortable with precedent. All council members were in accordance, and we are a council of eight. I then took it a step further and set up a very fair leveling voting procedure. What came out of this process was a standard of civic involvement worthy of emulation. And, yes, Foster Ducker participated in the voting. And, yes, he did become one of the three names forwarded on to the governor as one of District14 Council choices for the governor to consider for appointment. Our council did not have the power of appointment. And, yes, one candidate who seemingly had considerable headwind coming in was not chosen to move forward. I have no idea who voted for who. It was a secret ballot. Three clear winners were chosen on the first ballot. And, yes, a candidate who supposedly was favored by our former Representative to take over her unfilled position, even before the process had started, did not move forward. I'd say what happened was anything but politics as usual. It was democracy in action. And, finally, grace in defeat, is a sign of maturity and leadership.
It's not like Wilson would be the first to miss what the problematic part is in your typical "conflict of interest." Certainly some of the recent appointments of Governor Neil Abercrombie have raised eyebrows when big contributors and campaign leaders received nods for various positions. And when it comes to the champion of cronyism, our own warbling Warrior, Mayor Bernard Carvalho, few can hold a candle to his penchant for promoting his pals.
What they all seem to miss is that any conflict of interest is anathema to good governance way before it ever leads to corruption.
It's the very potential for that "tit for tat" and "quid pro quo" that raises the hackles of voters leaving the perception of the opportunity for wrongdoing to appear to be the reality of illicit dealings.
The potential conflict of interest is an actual conflict of interest. Appointees should not come prepackaged with baggage that causes people to roll their eyes and shake their heads back and forth. Rather they should be like Caesar's wife... beyond reproach.
The message from the good governance community is that if your laws- or rules- allow conflicts of interest to be, not just the exception but, the norm perhaps it's time to change that rule.
Monday, March 28, 2011
THE THIRD ONE IS THE HARM
THE THIRD ONE IS THE HARM: Yesterday morning we received a couple of cryptic comments that were quickly deleted by the poster, "Belisa," saying
What do you think about a voter board member being subjected to position (1 of the 3 to be appointed to Abercrombie)? Aka-Foster Ducker
Not being able to make heads or tails out of the text- and wondering if Aka-Foster Ducker was some kind of bass-ackwards, Chuck you Farley, Fuzzy-Duck signature- we went about our day until a source close to the Democratic Party dropped the news on us that the three selections being submitted to Governor Neil Abercrombie to replace Mina Morita as the North Shore- Kapa`a District 14 State House representative are North Shore physician Dr. Neil Clendeninn, Kaua`i County Councilmember Derek Kawakami and one Foster Ducker.
As did our source, a later post from Belisa made it clearer- if not clear-what the question was, asking
How do you feel about a voting board member being subjected to position (1 of the 3 appointed to Abercrombie for district 14 rep) Aka- Foster Ducker
Seems Ducker is one of the three Democratic Party board members who, as required by law, searched and searched and, like Dick Cheney's vice presidential search committee did in 2000 when searching for a veep for The Shrub, found the best candidate- what a coincidence- sitting right there at the table.
Though our source framed the choice as being a matter of "should we exclude people just because they are board members" it would seem that if you're going to toss your chapeau in the cesspool you ought to at least stay far enough away to to avoid picking up the stank.
The other problem is that, although the names of Clendeninn and Kawakami were expected the other name being bandied about, Joel Guy- a Morita staff member who was rumored to be her choice and therefore presumed by many to be the "favorite"- was nowhere to be seen.
Well isn't that just Duckie, er Ducker... we're asking because we have no idea who Foster Ducker is.
A quick search shows- surprise surprise- Ducker is a North Shore real estate agent. But, according to his profile at realtor.com,
Foster J Ducker is not just any real estate agent. To be called a Realtor, Foster J Ducker has shown that they carry a higher level of knowledge and experience than legally required. Additionally, Realtors like Foster J Ducker are bound to adhere to the best professional practices when dealing with your real estate needs. Although not every real estate agent is a Realtor, you can trust that Foster J Ducker is a Realtor, and that a Realtor is your best choice when selling or buying a property.
He also- according to meetup. com's Kaua`i Community Math Club page-
ran windsurfing school (and) was raised in Denver. I moved to Kauai in 1985. I live in Kilauea... I am a MOP student, member of Phi Theta Kappa, and the environment club. I am a lib arts declared ntred (sic) planning to transfer to UH Manoa to study engineering and economics. I tutor math, english (sic) and physics in the LC and I teach ABE math at KCC for KCSFA.
Which is why we urge you to call (808-586-0034) fax (808-586-0006) or contact (http://hawaii.gov/gov/contact/contact-gov) Governor Neil Abercrombie and ask him to appoint Hanalei internist Dr. Neil Clendeninn to the open 14th House District seat.
Clendeninn has shown himself to be a brilliant and progressive thinker with whom we have rarely if ever disagreed on major issues and the fact that he is willing to serve speaks even more about his commitment to the community.
The choice is as easy as... well you get the idea.
----
Our beautiful and talented editor-supreme got herself one of those new fancy schmancy I-phones and can now edit on the run so as of today we're going to try to move up our "press time" from 3-4 p.m. to Noon-1 p.m.
What do you think about a voter board member being subjected to position (1 of the 3 to be appointed to Abercrombie)? Aka-Foster Ducker
Not being able to make heads or tails out of the text- and wondering if Aka-Foster Ducker was some kind of bass-ackwards, Chuck you Farley, Fuzzy-Duck signature- we went about our day until a source close to the Democratic Party dropped the news on us that the three selections being submitted to Governor Neil Abercrombie to replace Mina Morita as the North Shore- Kapa`a District 14 State House representative are North Shore physician Dr. Neil Clendeninn, Kaua`i County Councilmember Derek Kawakami and one Foster Ducker.
As did our source, a later post from Belisa made it clearer- if not clear-what the question was, asking
How do you feel about a voting board member being subjected to position (1 of the 3 appointed to Abercrombie for district 14 rep) Aka- Foster Ducker
Seems Ducker is one of the three Democratic Party board members who, as required by law, searched and searched and, like Dick Cheney's vice presidential search committee did in 2000 when searching for a veep for The Shrub, found the best candidate- what a coincidence- sitting right there at the table.
Though our source framed the choice as being a matter of "should we exclude people just because they are board members" it would seem that if you're going to toss your chapeau in the cesspool you ought to at least stay far enough away to to avoid picking up the stank.
The other problem is that, although the names of Clendeninn and Kawakami were expected the other name being bandied about, Joel Guy- a Morita staff member who was rumored to be her choice and therefore presumed by many to be the "favorite"- was nowhere to be seen.
Well isn't that just Duckie, er Ducker... we're asking because we have no idea who Foster Ducker is.
A quick search shows- surprise surprise- Ducker is a North Shore real estate agent. But, according to his profile at realtor.com,
Foster J Ducker is not just any real estate agent. To be called a Realtor, Foster J Ducker has shown that they carry a higher level of knowledge and experience than legally required. Additionally, Realtors like Foster J Ducker are bound to adhere to the best professional practices when dealing with your real estate needs. Although not every real estate agent is a Realtor, you can trust that Foster J Ducker is a Realtor, and that a Realtor is your best choice when selling or buying a property.
He also- according to meetup. com's Kaua`i Community Math Club page-
ran windsurfing school (and) was raised in Denver. I moved to Kauai in 1985. I live in Kilauea... I am a MOP student, member of Phi Theta Kappa, and the environment club. I am a lib arts declared ntred (sic) planning to transfer to UH Manoa to study engineering and economics. I tutor math, english (sic) and physics in the LC and I teach ABE math at KCC for KCSFA.
Which is why we urge you to call (808-586-0034) fax (808-586-0006) or contact (http://hawaii.gov/gov/contact/contact-gov) Governor Neil Abercrombie and ask him to appoint Hanalei internist Dr. Neil Clendeninn to the open 14th House District seat.
Clendeninn has shown himself to be a brilliant and progressive thinker with whom we have rarely if ever disagreed on major issues and the fact that he is willing to serve speaks even more about his commitment to the community.
The choice is as easy as... well you get the idea.
----
Our beautiful and talented editor-supreme got herself one of those new fancy schmancy I-phones and can now edit on the run so as of today we're going to try to move up our "press time" from 3-4 p.m. to Noon-1 p.m.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
WEARING PROTECTION
WEARING PROTECTION: The reporters’ shield law passed by the legislature last year has quickly become an essential tool in the dissemination of information. It has allowed us to give the same confidentiality to sources this year that we have given in past decades only without the fear of having to go to jail for protecting the identities of whistleblowers.
Although we were never put in that situation it’s something that has happened to reporters across the country in states without a shield law. And there is no federal shield law for cases in federal courts.
The new law has allowed us to turn what used to be sometimes agonizing decisions into no-brainers, not just for we reporters but for sources as well who can now pass on information without fear of repercussions.
Of course we’d prefer to always name our sources but, especially on a small island like Kaua`i, we understand some people’s reluctance to come forward and attach their names. It does make our job a little bit more difficult since it often requires extra diligent double-checking for anonymously reported information, especially if there is no document involved.
But in their infinite lack of wisdom legislators put a “sunset date” of June 30, 2011 on the law meaning it must be passed one more time this year without any sunset date.
The good news is that House Bill 1376 passed out of the House Judiciary Committee yesterday with a unanimous vote and seems destined to move over to the Senate where it should have clear sailing.
But the bad news is that, as Civil Beat’s Sara Lin reported yesterday:
The final decision on any proposed extension of the law could ultimately lie with Gov. Neil Abercrombie. We've noted that he was the only Democrat in the U.S. House to vote against a bill that would have protected the confidentiality of reporters' sources in most federal court cases.
It’s hard to imagine his objections but it’s more important than ever that the bill pass both the house and senate with veto-proof majorities. Although no other hearings are currently scheduled it can’t hurt to send letters of support to all representatives (reps@capitol.hawaii.gov) and senators (sens@capitol.hawaii.gov).
Though the law has perceptibly helped us in our reporting over the last year, the assurance of a shield law is doubly important for sources who are now assured that a reporter will not have pick between spending weeks in jail or caving to prosecutors bent on digging out their sources, as has happened in some cases recently.
Help us help you and support HB 1376.
Although we were never put in that situation it’s something that has happened to reporters across the country in states without a shield law. And there is no federal shield law for cases in federal courts.
The new law has allowed us to turn what used to be sometimes agonizing decisions into no-brainers, not just for we reporters but for sources as well who can now pass on information without fear of repercussions.
Of course we’d prefer to always name our sources but, especially on a small island like Kaua`i, we understand some people’s reluctance to come forward and attach their names. It does make our job a little bit more difficult since it often requires extra diligent double-checking for anonymously reported information, especially if there is no document involved.
But in their infinite lack of wisdom legislators put a “sunset date” of June 30, 2011 on the law meaning it must be passed one more time this year without any sunset date.
The good news is that House Bill 1376 passed out of the House Judiciary Committee yesterday with a unanimous vote and seems destined to move over to the Senate where it should have clear sailing.
But the bad news is that, as Civil Beat’s Sara Lin reported yesterday:
The final decision on any proposed extension of the law could ultimately lie with Gov. Neil Abercrombie. We've noted that he was the only Democrat in the U.S. House to vote against a bill that would have protected the confidentiality of reporters' sources in most federal court cases.
It’s hard to imagine his objections but it’s more important than ever that the bill pass both the house and senate with veto-proof majorities. Although no other hearings are currently scheduled it can’t hurt to send letters of support to all representatives (reps@capitol.hawaii.gov) and senators (sens@capitol.hawaii.gov).
Though the law has perceptibly helped us in our reporting over the last year, the assurance of a shield law is doubly important for sources who are now assured that a reporter will not have pick between spending weeks in jail or caving to prosecutors bent on digging out their sources, as has happened in some cases recently.
Help us help you and support HB 1376.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
UNDER FURTHER REVIEW
UNDER FURTHER REVIEW: Our, shall we say, less than enthusiastic “endorsement” of now Governor-elect Neil Abercrombie was partially based on years of disappointment in the appointments of appointed appointees.
Though those of the departing Republican Governor Linda “Ding-a” Lingle were particularly egregious we’ve watched equally in horror at most of the democratic governors’ department heads, especially those at the helm of the all powerful position of the head of the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR).
And though we saw the petition effort to see former Kaua`i State Senator Gary Hooser appointed DLNR director as a nice thought but doomed to failure, we couldn’t believe our ears last night when we heard that Waianae harbormaster and environmental and kanaka activist Bill Aila will be in charge of the many-tentacled department- if he’s confirmed by the state senate.
Laura Thielen, the current DLNR Director- who also sits as Chair of the Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) where most of the nitty gritty decisions effecting the future of “land and power in Hawai`i” are made- has been an unmitigated disaster. Under her mismanagement developers have received rubber stamps from republican appointees to the Board like developer’s friend Ron Agor, our Kaua`i Rep.
Aila, a former Sierra Club Executive Committee member who ran for governor in 2006 will have a chance to, among other things, fix the broken State Historic Preservation Division (SHPD) which has bungled the treatment of `iwi kupuna (burials), kill the planned commercialization of Koke`e and stop the onslaught of state redistricting of agricultural lands that are now required under the Judge Ibarra Hokulia ruling ending de facto resorts on ag lands.
For the uninitiated, Hawai`i has two levels of approval for land classification. While the county “zones” land in classifications like agricultural, rural, open, urban and resort, laid on top of that is a template of state “districting” which classifies land in the four basic categories that dictate county zoning.
While in law zoning is supposed to follow districting the practice has been to have counties approve zoning and the state follow suit with redistricting. But sometimes the applicants have been afraid of rejection by the DLNR-chief-chaired Land Use Commission (LUC) for redistricting so they just don’t apply once they have “bought” county approval, especially in the case of ag lands that have been cut up into high-priced “gentleman farmers' estates”.
But recently, because of the Ibarra ruling which said “no- you can’t do that anymore,” projects have been going before the LUC before the counties get to rubber stamp these projects.
We’re used to being disappointed and will certainly be watching and holding Aila’s feet to the fire- just as we would have done were Gary to have been appointed. But with Aila at the head of the table it might just be possible to do things like stop the theft of access at Lepe`uli or reverse the theft and sale of Koke`e cabin leases to the highest bidder.
We’ve seen the position corrupt people with good intentions before. But then we’ve never started from this kind of “advantage: environment” arrangement before.
We aren’t exactly ready to break out the rose colored glasses but we can’t imagine anyone better in the seat from which springs all clout in the islands.
Though those of the departing Republican Governor Linda “Ding-a” Lingle were particularly egregious we’ve watched equally in horror at most of the democratic governors’ department heads, especially those at the helm of the all powerful position of the head of the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR).
And though we saw the petition effort to see former Kaua`i State Senator Gary Hooser appointed DLNR director as a nice thought but doomed to failure, we couldn’t believe our ears last night when we heard that Waianae harbormaster and environmental and kanaka activist Bill Aila will be in charge of the many-tentacled department- if he’s confirmed by the state senate.
Laura Thielen, the current DLNR Director- who also sits as Chair of the Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) where most of the nitty gritty decisions effecting the future of “land and power in Hawai`i” are made- has been an unmitigated disaster. Under her mismanagement developers have received rubber stamps from republican appointees to the Board like developer’s friend Ron Agor, our Kaua`i Rep.
Aila, a former Sierra Club Executive Committee member who ran for governor in 2006 will have a chance to, among other things, fix the broken State Historic Preservation Division (SHPD) which has bungled the treatment of `iwi kupuna (burials), kill the planned commercialization of Koke`e and stop the onslaught of state redistricting of agricultural lands that are now required under the Judge Ibarra Hokulia ruling ending de facto resorts on ag lands.
For the uninitiated, Hawai`i has two levels of approval for land classification. While the county “zones” land in classifications like agricultural, rural, open, urban and resort, laid on top of that is a template of state “districting” which classifies land in the four basic categories that dictate county zoning.
While in law zoning is supposed to follow districting the practice has been to have counties approve zoning and the state follow suit with redistricting. But sometimes the applicants have been afraid of rejection by the DLNR-chief-chaired Land Use Commission (LUC) for redistricting so they just don’t apply once they have “bought” county approval, especially in the case of ag lands that have been cut up into high-priced “gentleman farmers' estates”.
But recently, because of the Ibarra ruling which said “no- you can’t do that anymore,” projects have been going before the LUC before the counties get to rubber stamp these projects.
We’re used to being disappointed and will certainly be watching and holding Aila’s feet to the fire- just as we would have done were Gary to have been appointed. But with Aila at the head of the table it might just be possible to do things like stop the theft of access at Lepe`uli or reverse the theft and sale of Koke`e cabin leases to the highest bidder.
We’ve seen the position corrupt people with good intentions before. But then we’ve never started from this kind of “advantage: environment” arrangement before.
We aren’t exactly ready to break out the rose colored glasses but we can’t imagine anyone better in the seat from which springs all clout in the islands.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
BRINING IN THE SHEAVES
BRINING IN THE SHEAVES: Since our a.m. agenda failed to materialize we had time to read the sum of the Hawai`i punditry trying to analyze why the Republicans failed so miserably here, not just losing both major races in which they ran allegedly viable candidates but in failing to pick up more state house seats and dropping down to one senate member.
We’re not talking abut the devastating loss in contrast to the national insanity but in terms of Hawai`i politics where the huge margins of the Democratic victories belied the polls that had both the governor and first congressional races neck and neck.
So why the difference?
It’s clear to us that it was the over the top religious statements and affiliations of Republican gubernatorial candidate Duke Aiona and, even worse, the way when Aiona tried to play down his ties to some of the worst of the worst of the evangelical nut job organizations, the International Transformation Network, his party’s Chairman Jonah Ka`auwai, chose to up the ante with his infamous “Duke will win because the Church has been behind him the entire time operating in the POWER and the AUTHORITY of the NAME OF JESUS!” essay.
While many look to the way the Aiona campaign and his outside supporters pushed the devilization of Barack Obama or the gravity driven approval ratings of current Republican Governor Linda Lingle those factors might helped but could have been overcome.
We’re not just talking the kind of “my faith is important to me” type of religious mumbo jumbo that can easily slide by but it was the rabid, bible-thumping, nonsensical rantings of the Kaua`i born and bred Ka`auwai that turned what could have been a close race into a runaway for Abercrombie.
With Ka`auwai representing the party in general it not only addled Aiona’s campaign but hurt the party up and down the line with many who might have considered changing over in the current national political climate shying away from supporting the kind of radical Christian agenda represented by the party leadership itself.
Ka`auwai isn’t just one of those “Hawaiian” loyalists who have traditionally been Republicans for a century or even one combined with the 200% Christian element held over from missionary days.
He’s taken that political demographic, which is normally acceptable in the islands, and added the mainland-style, nutcase, religious fanatic element to establish an image in voters’ minds of some kind of Christian Taliban governing though literal interpretations of the bible.
And that’s just too much for multi-cultural Hawai`i voters who just shook their heads and voted Democrat as they have for generations.
Ka`auwai’s time as party boss is over if for no other reason than, when you lose that badly- and do so while the rest of your national party is grabbing power- your welcome is always worn out.
But if the Hawai`i Republican party is smart they’ll run, not walk, away from the brand they’ve been selling this election cycle. Even Eric Ryan might be an improvement.
We’re not talking abut the devastating loss in contrast to the national insanity but in terms of Hawai`i politics where the huge margins of the Democratic victories belied the polls that had both the governor and first congressional races neck and neck.
So why the difference?
It’s clear to us that it was the over the top religious statements and affiliations of Republican gubernatorial candidate Duke Aiona and, even worse, the way when Aiona tried to play down his ties to some of the worst of the worst of the evangelical nut job organizations, the International Transformation Network, his party’s Chairman Jonah Ka`auwai, chose to up the ante with his infamous “Duke will win because the Church has been behind him the entire time operating in the POWER and the AUTHORITY of the NAME OF JESUS!” essay.
While many look to the way the Aiona campaign and his outside supporters pushed the devilization of Barack Obama or the gravity driven approval ratings of current Republican Governor Linda Lingle those factors might helped but could have been overcome.
We’re not just talking the kind of “my faith is important to me” type of religious mumbo jumbo that can easily slide by but it was the rabid, bible-thumping, nonsensical rantings of the Kaua`i born and bred Ka`auwai that turned what could have been a close race into a runaway for Abercrombie.
With Ka`auwai representing the party in general it not only addled Aiona’s campaign but hurt the party up and down the line with many who might have considered changing over in the current national political climate shying away from supporting the kind of radical Christian agenda represented by the party leadership itself.
Ka`auwai isn’t just one of those “Hawaiian” loyalists who have traditionally been Republicans for a century or even one combined with the 200% Christian element held over from missionary days.
He’s taken that political demographic, which is normally acceptable in the islands, and added the mainland-style, nutcase, religious fanatic element to establish an image in voters’ minds of some kind of Christian Taliban governing though literal interpretations of the bible.
And that’s just too much for multi-cultural Hawai`i voters who just shook their heads and voted Democrat as they have for generations.
Ka`auwai’s time as party boss is over if for no other reason than, when you lose that badly- and do so while the rest of your national party is grabbing power- your welcome is always worn out.
But if the Hawai`i Republican party is smart they’ll run, not walk, away from the brand they’ve been selling this election cycle. Even Eric Ryan might be an improvement.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
VOTE AGAINST “DUKE" AIONA
VOTE AGAINST “DUKE" AIONA
There is little to recommend Neil Abercrombie as the next Hawai`i governor. He has been part of our congressional delegation’s pro-militarism and anti-kanaka maoli (native Hawaiian) support of the US armed forces’ occupation of the islands for many years and his support for thieving Akaka bill alone make him tough to vote for.
But he has one big thing going for him- he is NOT James “Duke” Aiona, the Republican religious yahoo and scion of the Lingle administration.
While we are usually loath to play the “hold-your-nose/lesser-of-two-evils” game, we reluctantly must urge you to assure Aiona will not serve as governor by voting for Abercrombie.
Despite recent lame denials, Aiona has been exposed as a scary zealot and as Dave Shapiro detailed in detail today:
has been neck deep for at least five years in the International Transformation Network and its local offshoot, Transformation Hawai`i, which stated a goal of introducing Christian values into all aspects of Hawai`i society, including government.
If you want to see something really scary watch the video posted by Ian Lind this week.
But even worse, if possible, is the likelihood that an Aiona administration would be like Lingle on steroids with most of the current crop of her incompetent and corrupt, crony department heads remaining on the job.
Or even worse they will likely be replaced by people like Kaua`i born and raised Republican state Chairman Jonah Ka`auwai who, according to Shapiro’s piece, said “Duke will win because the Church has been behind him the entire time operating in the POWER and the AUTHORITY of the NAME OF JESUS!”.
Abercrombie is even opposed to same gender marriage- though he has said he would sign the compromise civil unions bill- and has voted to fund both the Iraq and Afganistan wars.
Though he claims he will govern with more compassion that Lingle by reversing many of her more draconinan budget cuts, he has exhibited behavior that leads us to think he’d be all too ready to throw progressives under the bus should the politcal winds blow that way.
All we can say is you’ll be sorry of you don’t stop “Dookie” by voting for Democrat Neil Abercrombie.
There is little to recommend Neil Abercrombie as the next Hawai`i governor. He has been part of our congressional delegation’s pro-militarism and anti-kanaka maoli (native Hawaiian) support of the US armed forces’ occupation of the islands for many years and his support for thieving Akaka bill alone make him tough to vote for.
But he has one big thing going for him- he is NOT James “Duke” Aiona, the Republican religious yahoo and scion of the Lingle administration.
While we are usually loath to play the “hold-your-nose/lesser-of-two-evils” game, we reluctantly must urge you to assure Aiona will not serve as governor by voting for Abercrombie.
Despite recent lame denials, Aiona has been exposed as a scary zealot and as Dave Shapiro detailed in detail today:
has been neck deep for at least five years in the International Transformation Network and its local offshoot, Transformation Hawai`i, which stated a goal of introducing Christian values into all aspects of Hawai`i society, including government.
If you want to see something really scary watch the video posted by Ian Lind this week.
But even worse, if possible, is the likelihood that an Aiona administration would be like Lingle on steroids with most of the current crop of her incompetent and corrupt, crony department heads remaining on the job.
Or even worse they will likely be replaced by people like Kaua`i born and raised Republican state Chairman Jonah Ka`auwai who, according to Shapiro’s piece, said “Duke will win because the Church has been behind him the entire time operating in the POWER and the AUTHORITY of the NAME OF JESUS!”.
Abercrombie is even opposed to same gender marriage- though he has said he would sign the compromise civil unions bill- and has voted to fund both the Iraq and Afganistan wars.
Though he claims he will govern with more compassion that Lingle by reversing many of her more draconinan budget cuts, he has exhibited behavior that leads us to think he’d be all too ready to throw progressives under the bus should the politcal winds blow that way.
All we can say is you’ll be sorry of you don’t stop “Dookie” by voting for Democrat Neil Abercrombie.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
GREAT EXPECTORATIONS:
GREAT EXPECTORATIONS: By Sunday morning it had become “conventional wisdom” that Mufi Hannemann’s negative campaigning blew up in his face, some of the later praises of Democratic gubernatorial primary winner Neil Abercrombie’s campaign style notwithstanding.
Those who followed the campaign- and even those who didn’t- couldn’t help but hear about Mufi’s fiascos starting with the “Atomic Money” parody cartoon web site pegged to Hannemann aide and campaign volunteer Keith Rollman which attempted to ridicule Abercrombie... the key word being attempted.
Then Mufi’s widely reported “I look like you” speech- a thinly veiled reference to Mufi’s and Neil’s comparative skin colors- led right into the “Compare and Decide” flyer which compounded the “local vs. haole” storyline.
That was followed by Hannemann’s “Island Values” flyer which was an Atomic Monkey redux later found to be the work of another Hannemann campaign member Ken Wong whose name magically disappeared from Mufi’s web site after he was linked to the flyer.
Though much the information first appeared in blogs like Ian Lind’s and Dave Shapiro’s it didn’t stay there for long with TV news and newspaper stories focusing on Mufi’s “dirty campaigning”.
So if most pundits agree that “going negative” works, why didn’t it work for Hannemann?
The story was written even before Abercrombie resigned his congressional seat to come “home” to run. The media, almost as a group, were publicly asking the question as to when, not if, Hannemann would be going negative.
And for good reason. His political history was one of pulling victory from the jaws of defeat through last minute, usually “underground”, stink-talk and rumor campaigns run, it was later found, by the Hannemann campaign’s “dirty tricks” division.
But each time the revelations of these dirty tricks came only after the election or at best a day or two before the election when it was too late to do anything to lessen their effects.
It’s not as if this run for governor was unexpected- all but the malahini knew six years ago that this was coming.
And that gave people like Rollman and Wong and the rest of the “Mufiosi” as they’ve been called during the campaign, to come up with enough negative stuff to get an early jump and plan them to spread throughout the campaign.
So what was different in 2010? The expectations. And the influence of the on-line media.
Everyone in the mainstream media was champing at the bit, ready, willing and able to spread the word of Mufi’s latest negative campaigning and dirty tricks. So when the blogs began to question and investigate each move from the Hannemann camp what was the underground nature of these tactics in past campaigns was plastered all over the front page of the paper and on the 6 and 10 o’clock news programs.
Whereas in the past there was little above board comprehension of the Hannemann campaign “rumor and ridicule” machine, this time, as each new revelation was exposed, they began to snowball with the media directing the storyline of the campaign which became a ‘there he goes again“... a fulfillment of their- and so the public’s- earlier expectations.
Recently Jon Stewart of the Daily Show has created a running joke comparing to the media- specifically Fox News- to the talking dog in the movie “Up” who carries on intelligent conversations until he suddenly looks around and screams “Squirrel” and takes off after it.
So when the previously imprinted “squirrel” of negative campaigning surfaced it was impossible for them to curtail the instinct to dash off after it.
Many criticize the media for “following the horse race” instead of the issues in political campaigns. But of course in reality they couldn’t do that unless they had already set up the gates and packed the racetrack and of course “handicapped” the favorites.
In this case despite the fact that it was obvious to all that Hannemann was being set up like a bowling pin by the media, he and his campaign braintrust was so enthralled by past successes and had planned their underhanded tactics for so long that avoiding becoming their own bowling ball was the one trick they apparently couldn’t perform.
Those who followed the campaign- and even those who didn’t- couldn’t help but hear about Mufi’s fiascos starting with the “Atomic Money” parody cartoon web site pegged to Hannemann aide and campaign volunteer Keith Rollman which attempted to ridicule Abercrombie... the key word being attempted.
Then Mufi’s widely reported “I look like you” speech- a thinly veiled reference to Mufi’s and Neil’s comparative skin colors- led right into the “Compare and Decide” flyer which compounded the “local vs. haole” storyline.
That was followed by Hannemann’s “Island Values” flyer which was an Atomic Monkey redux later found to be the work of another Hannemann campaign member Ken Wong whose name magically disappeared from Mufi’s web site after he was linked to the flyer.
Though much the information first appeared in blogs like Ian Lind’s and Dave Shapiro’s it didn’t stay there for long with TV news and newspaper stories focusing on Mufi’s “dirty campaigning”.
So if most pundits agree that “going negative” works, why didn’t it work for Hannemann?
The story was written even before Abercrombie resigned his congressional seat to come “home” to run. The media, almost as a group, were publicly asking the question as to when, not if, Hannemann would be going negative.
And for good reason. His political history was one of pulling victory from the jaws of defeat through last minute, usually “underground”, stink-talk and rumor campaigns run, it was later found, by the Hannemann campaign’s “dirty tricks” division.
But each time the revelations of these dirty tricks came only after the election or at best a day or two before the election when it was too late to do anything to lessen their effects.
It’s not as if this run for governor was unexpected- all but the malahini knew six years ago that this was coming.
And that gave people like Rollman and Wong and the rest of the “Mufiosi” as they’ve been called during the campaign, to come up with enough negative stuff to get an early jump and plan them to spread throughout the campaign.
So what was different in 2010? The expectations. And the influence of the on-line media.
Everyone in the mainstream media was champing at the bit, ready, willing and able to spread the word of Mufi’s latest negative campaigning and dirty tricks. So when the blogs began to question and investigate each move from the Hannemann camp what was the underground nature of these tactics in past campaigns was plastered all over the front page of the paper and on the 6 and 10 o’clock news programs.
Whereas in the past there was little above board comprehension of the Hannemann campaign “rumor and ridicule” machine, this time, as each new revelation was exposed, they began to snowball with the media directing the storyline of the campaign which became a ‘there he goes again“... a fulfillment of their- and so the public’s- earlier expectations.
Recently Jon Stewart of the Daily Show has created a running joke comparing to the media- specifically Fox News- to the talking dog in the movie “Up” who carries on intelligent conversations until he suddenly looks around and screams “Squirrel” and takes off after it.
So when the previously imprinted “squirrel” of negative campaigning surfaced it was impossible for them to curtail the instinct to dash off after it.
Many criticize the media for “following the horse race” instead of the issues in political campaigns. But of course in reality they couldn’t do that unless they had already set up the gates and packed the racetrack and of course “handicapped” the favorites.
In this case despite the fact that it was obvious to all that Hannemann was being set up like a bowling pin by the media, he and his campaign braintrust was so enthralled by past successes and had planned their underhanded tactics for so long that avoiding becoming their own bowling ball was the one trick they apparently couldn’t perform.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
GOING FOR THE GUSTO
GOING FOR THE GUSTO: To hear the talk from the churchies last May there was fire and brimstone a’comin’ at the polls for those legislators who voted to make gays and lesbians first class citizens– albeit with a “civil union” asterisk- when it comes to the rights bestowed in marriage.
But a look at the results of Saturday’s elections shows that not only was the bigot community’s empty threat to “remember those who voted yes to Bill 444 in election day” given way too much credence by the media, but also by the legislators themselves- most of whom, if you’ll remember, had conniption fits to keep from voting on the record until being forced to do so on the last day of the session.
But a few key races show that not only were some who voted “aye” not punished but those who voted “no” were.
Of course on Kaua`i one of those “no” votes, Roland Sagum, was not just ousted by an unknown, Dee Morikawa, but lost in a landslide. Morikawa won with 55.2% of the vote to Sagum’s 37.8% and another 7.0% left their vote blank, always an indication of dissatisfaction with the incumbent.
The funny thing there is that, in talking to westsiders over the past few days, we haven’t really been able to find any other reasons for Sagum’s dismissal other than that he just “did do anything”- that and, to some extent and for those who even knew about it, his recent representation of an unpopular projects by a North Shore developer before the planning commission.
Even though Sagum’s 16th district of the south and west sides of Kaua`i is known to be more conservative than the north and east sides the talk last May of the vote on 444 being a key to proponents’ votes was apparently indicative of the result.
Perhaps THE key race was between the openly gay introducer of HB 444, Representative Blake Oshiro and the leader of the religious homophobes, former Honolulu Councilpersons Gary Okino who specifically ran against Oshiro over the civil unions bill.
Oshiro similarly trounced Okino 53.3% to 42.0% with 10 0.2% blank.
Both statewide races also went the way of HB 444 proponents.
Former Congressperson Neil Abercrombie, who said he’s sign it in a minute, crushed Mufi Hannemann who, although he hemmed and hawed, was seen as opposing civil unions. The last minute push- or punch as it turned out- to get Republicans to crossover to the more “righteous” Mufi coming from the head of the Hawai`i Republican Party, nutso bible thumper and Kaua`i boy, Jonah Ka`auwai, is seen by many as cinching Hannemann’s rout.
Finally there was the lieutenant governor’s race where Brian Schatz, a civil rights proponent who said unequivocally that he supported 444, trounced the two biggest anti-civil rights members of the state senate, former Senators Bobby Bunda- who successfully blocked the bill in committee only to see it “ripped” to the floor- and Norman Sakamoto who made opposition to civil rights his signature issue.
Not only did Schatz win in what can be considered a landslide in a plurality vote with 34.8% of the vote to Bunda’s 19.2% and Sakamoto’s 18.5% but former Senator Gary Hooser- who made his support of the bill his top issue in ads- led the pack of also-rans pulling in 9.5% of the vote.
With the other candidates for lt. governor also supportive of civil unions, the anti civil rights voters accounted for only 37 .7% of the vote.
But let’s not forget that while “civil unions” was adopted by the progressive community as the fight du jour at last year’s legislative session it is still just another way to treat gays and lesbians as second-class citizens. And it may well be a moot issue as the “Prop 8” case recently decided in federal district court wends it’s way to the 9th Circuit appellate court where a decision upholding full same gender marriage would be binding on Hawai`i.
If we learned one thing this year it’s that these religion-addled bigots will see that any attempt to secure people’s right to love anyone they want is turned into some idiotic “sanctity of marriage” argument. Despite common wisdom of the past decade there are apparently few, if any, that are for civil unions but against same gender marriage.
The court’s decision may or may not come before next May but it’s time to decide whether to fight for full civil rights in this year’s legislature based on the results last Saturday and presumably in November where a landslide Abercrombie victory over religious nutcase Duke Aiona is likely.
That decision is, well, way above our paygrade. But those who are planning strategy for the ’11 legislative session would do well to take the legislative and election results to heart, stop pushing an incremental, fear-based agenda and reach for the brass ring.
But a look at the results of Saturday’s elections shows that not only was the bigot community’s empty threat to “remember those who voted yes to Bill 444 in election day” given way too much credence by the media, but also by the legislators themselves- most of whom, if you’ll remember, had conniption fits to keep from voting on the record until being forced to do so on the last day of the session.
But a few key races show that not only were some who voted “aye” not punished but those who voted “no” were.
Of course on Kaua`i one of those “no” votes, Roland Sagum, was not just ousted by an unknown, Dee Morikawa, but lost in a landslide. Morikawa won with 55.2% of the vote to Sagum’s 37.8% and another 7.0% left their vote blank, always an indication of dissatisfaction with the incumbent.
The funny thing there is that, in talking to westsiders over the past few days, we haven’t really been able to find any other reasons for Sagum’s dismissal other than that he just “did do anything”- that and, to some extent and for those who even knew about it, his recent representation of an unpopular projects by a North Shore developer before the planning commission.
Even though Sagum’s 16th district of the south and west sides of Kaua`i is known to be more conservative than the north and east sides the talk last May of the vote on 444 being a key to proponents’ votes was apparently indicative of the result.
Perhaps THE key race was between the openly gay introducer of HB 444, Representative Blake Oshiro and the leader of the religious homophobes, former Honolulu Councilpersons Gary Okino who specifically ran against Oshiro over the civil unions bill.
Oshiro similarly trounced Okino 53.3% to 42.0% with 10 0.2% blank.
Both statewide races also went the way of HB 444 proponents.
Former Congressperson Neil Abercrombie, who said he’s sign it in a minute, crushed Mufi Hannemann who, although he hemmed and hawed, was seen as opposing civil unions. The last minute push- or punch as it turned out- to get Republicans to crossover to the more “righteous” Mufi coming from the head of the Hawai`i Republican Party, nutso bible thumper and Kaua`i boy, Jonah Ka`auwai, is seen by many as cinching Hannemann’s rout.
Finally there was the lieutenant governor’s race where Brian Schatz, a civil rights proponent who said unequivocally that he supported 444, trounced the two biggest anti-civil rights members of the state senate, former Senators Bobby Bunda- who successfully blocked the bill in committee only to see it “ripped” to the floor- and Norman Sakamoto who made opposition to civil rights his signature issue.
Not only did Schatz win in what can be considered a landslide in a plurality vote with 34.8% of the vote to Bunda’s 19.2% and Sakamoto’s 18.5% but former Senator Gary Hooser- who made his support of the bill his top issue in ads- led the pack of also-rans pulling in 9.5% of the vote.
With the other candidates for lt. governor also supportive of civil unions, the anti civil rights voters accounted for only 37 .7% of the vote.
But let’s not forget that while “civil unions” was adopted by the progressive community as the fight du jour at last year’s legislative session it is still just another way to treat gays and lesbians as second-class citizens. And it may well be a moot issue as the “Prop 8” case recently decided in federal district court wends it’s way to the 9th Circuit appellate court where a decision upholding full same gender marriage would be binding on Hawai`i.
If we learned one thing this year it’s that these religion-addled bigots will see that any attempt to secure people’s right to love anyone they want is turned into some idiotic “sanctity of marriage” argument. Despite common wisdom of the past decade there are apparently few, if any, that are for civil unions but against same gender marriage.
The court’s decision may or may not come before next May but it’s time to decide whether to fight for full civil rights in this year’s legislature based on the results last Saturday and presumably in November where a landslide Abercrombie victory over religious nutcase Duke Aiona is likely.
That decision is, well, way above our paygrade. But those who are planning strategy for the ’11 legislative session would do well to take the legislative and election results to heart, stop pushing an incremental, fear-based agenda and reach for the brass ring.
Friday, September 3, 2010
VOTE FOR NEIL ABERCROMBIE FOR GOVERNOR
VOTE FOR NEIL ABERCROMBIE FOR GOVERNOR
Neil Abercrombie is the best candidate for governor we’ve seen in a generation or two- perhaps ever- and PNN wholeheartedly supports his candidacy in the September 18 democratic primary.
While we have been severely disappointed with Neil for things like his support for war funding and the militarization of the islands along with his recent flip flop on off-shore oil drilling, he presents a genuine chance for the kind of progressive leadership we seek from the fifth floor of the capitol.
His opponent Mufi Hannemann is a master of corrupt “pay to play” politics and one of the sleaziest politicians in the political history of the islands. Mufi is a corrupt, ego-driven, heartless braggart and bully that could be actually somehow be worse for the state than current governor Linda Lingle.
He has managed to take an extremely popular idea, a rail system for the city and county, and turn it into a divisive project by insisting on a “my way or the highway” elevated design that has been rejected in almost every major city in the country of late- one designed to enrich favored developers and construction companies rather than one derived through good planning and a public-input-based buy-in.
His horrific rousting and demonization of the homeless of Honolulu makes the damage he could do to these poor souls as governor alarming. His penchant for dirty politics is legendary as is his fondness for surrounding himself with “yes-men” to carry out his policies designed only to further his political career.
While we’ve been around the block enough times to know that campaign promises don’t mean much, Abercrombie’s support for sustainable practices and a clean-energy future for the state along with his stand on civil rights and other issues makes him an obvious choice for governor.
While it does say something about the choices we are routinely faced with at the polls, Neil Abercrombie is the probably the best option for governor we’ve ever had on the ballot and we’re happy to support him.
--------
Note: Because 14 of the 14 candidates for Kaua`i County Council will be moving on to the November elections we will NOT be picking council candidates for the primary elections.
(The date of the primary in the original post was incorrect. This version has been corrected)
Neil Abercrombie is the best candidate for governor we’ve seen in a generation or two- perhaps ever- and PNN wholeheartedly supports his candidacy in the September 18 democratic primary.
While we have been severely disappointed with Neil for things like his support for war funding and the militarization of the islands along with his recent flip flop on off-shore oil drilling, he presents a genuine chance for the kind of progressive leadership we seek from the fifth floor of the capitol.
His opponent Mufi Hannemann is a master of corrupt “pay to play” politics and one of the sleaziest politicians in the political history of the islands. Mufi is a corrupt, ego-driven, heartless braggart and bully that could be actually somehow be worse for the state than current governor Linda Lingle.
He has managed to take an extremely popular idea, a rail system for the city and county, and turn it into a divisive project by insisting on a “my way or the highway” elevated design that has been rejected in almost every major city in the country of late- one designed to enrich favored developers and construction companies rather than one derived through good planning and a public-input-based buy-in.
His horrific rousting and demonization of the homeless of Honolulu makes the damage he could do to these poor souls as governor alarming. His penchant for dirty politics is legendary as is his fondness for surrounding himself with “yes-men” to carry out his policies designed only to further his political career.
While we’ve been around the block enough times to know that campaign promises don’t mean much, Abercrombie’s support for sustainable practices and a clean-energy future for the state along with his stand on civil rights and other issues makes him an obvious choice for governor.
While it does say something about the choices we are routinely faced with at the polls, Neil Abercrombie is the probably the best option for governor we’ve ever had on the ballot and we’re happy to support him.
--------
Note: Because 14 of the 14 candidates for Kaua`i County Council will be moving on to the November elections we will NOT be picking council candidates for the primary elections.
(The date of the primary in the original post was incorrect. This version has been corrected)
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
SITTING ON A SOFA ON A SUNDAY AFTERNOON
SITTING ON A SOFA ON A SUNDAY AFTERNOON...: Few who saw it would deny that Monday’s gubernatorial debate was a disgusting display of ego-driven bravado, and rabblerousing, childish repartee with an emphasis on zingers and gotcha moments that made no one look good.
And the candidates themselves were pretty out there too.
Of course we’re not talking about Neil and Mufi but the (what passes for) Hawai`i News Now(a'days) production which was more reminiscent of a World Wrestling Federation event than a political forum.
The circus extravaganza- led by Kaua`i-born Keahi Tucker in the “Lets’ get ready to grumble” Vince McMahon role- wasn’t something that just got out of hand but was apparently a preplanned attempt to keep an audience glued to the tube through an hour and a half of “you stink, no you stink, nani-nani-boo-boo, halahhh!” rather than inform the electorate.
First they invited an audience straight out of Jerry Springer even setting up “sides” of the room with the most rabid of supporters of each candidate. Then they told them they could whoop and holler in a cheering manner but no hissing and booing.
Yeah, that’ll work.
Then there was Tucker, running around like Phil Donahue on steroids during the “lightening round”. After not asking but telling the two candidates that he was going to address them by their first names- eliciting a slight scowl from both- he proceeded to whip the crowd into a frenzy with insipid questions straight out of an MTV “news” segment.
It was a good thing he ran out of time before asking “boxers or briefs”.
And the questions from the so-called distinguished panel- including the “weather-bunny” turned anchor, the hack reporter/analyst from the co-sponsoring Star(ved for actual news) Advertiser that hasn’t had a political insight since the Burns administration. Only Dan Boylan’s presence prevented the group from having the cumulative political IQ of a sea cucumber.
We fully expected a scantily clad model to waltz across the stage holding up cards indicating which round it was..
Not that political races are by any means dignified affairs these day but you’d think the sponsors would do all they could to encourage a semblance of decorum rather than pulling up to the stage in a tiny car and unloading a group of clowns to ask the questions.
We expect bread and circuses from the pols but when the media provides the big top and the virtual popcorn. it’s no wonder campaigns are decided by who, issues be damned, is the least objectionable.
And the candidates themselves were pretty out there too.
Of course we’re not talking about Neil and Mufi but the (what passes for) Hawai`i News Now(a'days) production which was more reminiscent of a World Wrestling Federation event than a political forum.
The circus extravaganza- led by Kaua`i-born Keahi Tucker in the “Lets’ get ready to grumble” Vince McMahon role- wasn’t something that just got out of hand but was apparently a preplanned attempt to keep an audience glued to the tube through an hour and a half of “you stink, no you stink, nani-nani-boo-boo, halahhh!” rather than inform the electorate.
First they invited an audience straight out of Jerry Springer even setting up “sides” of the room with the most rabid of supporters of each candidate. Then they told them they could whoop and holler in a cheering manner but no hissing and booing.
Yeah, that’ll work.
Then there was Tucker, running around like Phil Donahue on steroids during the “lightening round”. After not asking but telling the two candidates that he was going to address them by their first names- eliciting a slight scowl from both- he proceeded to whip the crowd into a frenzy with insipid questions straight out of an MTV “news” segment.
It was a good thing he ran out of time before asking “boxers or briefs”.
And the questions from the so-called distinguished panel- including the “weather-bunny” turned anchor, the hack reporter/analyst from the co-sponsoring Star(ved for actual news) Advertiser that hasn’t had a political insight since the Burns administration. Only Dan Boylan’s presence prevented the group from having the cumulative political IQ of a sea cucumber.
We fully expected a scantily clad model to waltz across the stage holding up cards indicating which round it was..
Not that political races are by any means dignified affairs these day but you’d think the sponsors would do all they could to encourage a semblance of decorum rather than pulling up to the stage in a tiny car and unloading a group of clowns to ask the questions.
We expect bread and circuses from the pols but when the media provides the big top and the virtual popcorn. it’s no wonder campaigns are decided by who, issues be damned, is the least objectionable.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
GOT UGLY?
GOT UGLY?: Not being a Democrat has it’s benefits.
The biggest perk is that while party members have to bite their lip in order to repress chuckles at the more buffoonish character traits and activities of some of their candidates we can partake in full fledged guffaws.
So we got a kick out of news blogger Dave Shapiro’s “exclusive” report on a leaked letter sent by Democratic Party Chairman Dante Carpenter to some party faithful detailing some of the more outrageous posturings of gubernatorial candidate Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann at the recent party convention.
Shapiro summed up the letter-before providing some side splitting details you’ve gotta read- saying that
In a 2 1/2-page letter to Hannemann, Carpenter complained that the mayor and his campaign committee decided not to sponsor a breakfast it was expected to host, “created turmoil” by hosting a competing campaign event that drew delegates away from Resolution Committee meetings, breached an agreement on the time for the mayor’s speech to the convention, ignored the time limit on the speech despite repeated warnings and tried to bamboozle hotel audiovisual people into playing an unauthorized campaign disc after the Hannemann speech.
Hannemann is the kind of “only in Hawai`i” pol whose political ambitions and tactics are so transparently ego driven and devoid of any sustaining philosophy other than increasing his own power that this election season promises to be what normally would be a hilarious skit if it weren’t for the possibility that he might actually win.
His clearly customarily-corrupt campaign-coffer-cramming has his war chest choke with corporate rail contractor’s cash and his chances in the September primary are subject only to the question of how dumb the electorate really is.
With the exception of his regrettable lock-step support of the military occupation of the islands- and the waste of billions in the process- his opponent Neil Abercrombie actually promises a tolerable administration if elected, especially after enduring the eight-year fiasco commonly referred to as the Linda Lingle administration.
While it’s a little too early for us to publicly endorse candidates- with some notable exceptions like our own Gary Hooser in the lt. governor’s contest and Lani Kawahara in our council race- the Mufster makes it easy to find the worse of two evil no matter who he’s running against.
So pop up some corn and enjoy the show. Unless of course you’re a Democrat in which case the best advice we can come up with for you is to duck.
-------
Clarification: Councilperson Lani Kawahara voted against the “Ako” rezoning in Waimea which we mentioned yesterday.
The biggest perk is that while party members have to bite their lip in order to repress chuckles at the more buffoonish character traits and activities of some of their candidates we can partake in full fledged guffaws.
So we got a kick out of news blogger Dave Shapiro’s “exclusive” report on a leaked letter sent by Democratic Party Chairman Dante Carpenter to some party faithful detailing some of the more outrageous posturings of gubernatorial candidate Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann at the recent party convention.
Shapiro summed up the letter-before providing some side splitting details you’ve gotta read- saying that
In a 2 1/2-page letter to Hannemann, Carpenter complained that the mayor and his campaign committee decided not to sponsor a breakfast it was expected to host, “created turmoil” by hosting a competing campaign event that drew delegates away from Resolution Committee meetings, breached an agreement on the time for the mayor’s speech to the convention, ignored the time limit on the speech despite repeated warnings and tried to bamboozle hotel audiovisual people into playing an unauthorized campaign disc after the Hannemann speech.
Hannemann is the kind of “only in Hawai`i” pol whose political ambitions and tactics are so transparently ego driven and devoid of any sustaining philosophy other than increasing his own power that this election season promises to be what normally would be a hilarious skit if it weren’t for the possibility that he might actually win.
His clearly customarily-corrupt campaign-coffer-cramming has his war chest choke with corporate rail contractor’s cash and his chances in the September primary are subject only to the question of how dumb the electorate really is.
With the exception of his regrettable lock-step support of the military occupation of the islands- and the waste of billions in the process- his opponent Neil Abercrombie actually promises a tolerable administration if elected, especially after enduring the eight-year fiasco commonly referred to as the Linda Lingle administration.
While it’s a little too early for us to publicly endorse candidates- with some notable exceptions like our own Gary Hooser in the lt. governor’s contest and Lani Kawahara in our council race- the Mufster makes it easy to find the worse of two evil no matter who he’s running against.
So pop up some corn and enjoy the show. Unless of course you’re a Democrat in which case the best advice we can come up with for you is to duck.
-------
Clarification: Councilperson Lani Kawahara voted against the “Ako” rezoning in Waimea which we mentioned yesterday.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
PRETTY RANK
PRETTY RANK: Hear that sound? It’s the roar of poll-addled 1st congregational district Democratic progressives falling over each other to abandon Colleen Hanabusa in favor of Ed Case so as to make sure Republican Charles Djou doesn’t win the special election to place their butts in now gubernatorial candidate Neil Abercrombie’s former U.S. House seat.
Yet apparently most of them are dragging themselves with a knife to their own throats a la Cleavon Little’s “nobody move or the sheriff gets it” scene in Blazing Saddles, bemoaning how they are forced to vote for a pseudo-Democratic DINO because, not just are they good little democrats but due to a series of circumstances that have conspired to force them to acquiesce to their own threats upon themselves.
In case you haven’t seen the polls- and why should you read them if you don’t live in “urban” Honolulu?- two polls, one by local news outlets and another by the Democratic National Committee have shown the two Democrats splitting the vote in the winner-take-all, special-mail-in election show Case with either a six or 14 point lead over Hanabusa respectively.
Even the usually politically astute blogger reporter and sometimes political staffer Ian Lind headlined a piece yesterday entitled 1st District–If Hanabusa can’t win, I would prefer Ed Case over Djou.
The forty comments that followed typify those in other articles and popular political blogs, blaming and bemoaning Neil Abercrombie for resigning, the winner take all election, the outside influences and money and any of a dozen targets.
Even President Obama is playing the game taping a robo-phone-call message that, although it doesn’t specifically mention Case, reminds voters not too subtly that he needs a Democrat in the seat implying “so vote for someone who can win”.
The one target for blame the Democrats leave out is of course themselves.
For many years third party and independent candidates have been given the shaft by the very election laws passed by the duopolists with Democrats and Republicans who can’t agree on anything except the fact that they’ve got a good thing going in playing salugi
with the votes of anyone not willing to play the game by their “heads I win, tails you lose” rules.
It’s not like a solution to the vagaries of plurality-based, on-and-off elections like these congressional fill-ins and “top two” non-partisan elections- the type we have in local elections non-partisan balloting in Hawai`i, where if no one gets 50% in the September “primaries” the top two vote-getters go to a November runoff- hasn’t been suggested to them for many years.
It’s called ranked choice or Instant Runoff Elections (IRV) and while it’s not quite sweeping the nation it’s gaining ground, especially in California where, while the state parties go back and forth between open and closed primaries, it’s the way many local jurisdictions including San Francisco hold their elections.
Here’s how it works in a 100 word explanation we’ve kept filed away for a decade now.
Each voter has one vote, and ranks candidates in order of choice (1, 2, 3, etc.). The counting of ballots simulates a series of run-off elections. All first choices are counted, and if no candidate wins a majority of first choices, then the last place candidate (candidate with the least first-choices) is eliminated. Ballots of voters who ranked the eliminated candidate first then are redistributed to their next-choice candidates, as indicated on each voter’s ballot. Last place candidates are successively eliminated and ballots are redistributed to next choices until one candidate remains or a candidate gains over 50% of votes.
It not only allows the voters to vote for whomever they want without playing the “I’d better go with the crowd to make my vote ‘count’” game- one we gave up years ago refusing to play the “spoiler” game- it allows them instead to pick the candidate they really want to see in office because if their candidate is eliminated their “next best” vote counts, thus avoiding the dizzying self-fulfilling prophesy of bandwagoning.
Is there anyone out there- other than a party boss- who wouldn’t rather vote for the candidate they like most while not having to fear electing the one they like least?
Not only does IRV make for a fairer election it also saves the cost of a top two runoff.
It also has a sister ranked choice system called Single Transferable Voting (STV) which allows for a similar- though a little more complicated-to-compile- ranking system for multiple seat elections such as the seven at large councilmember elections on Kaua`i.
If the Democrats do lose the special 1st CD they will have no one to blame but themselves for ignoring IRV lo these many years until it’s finally come around to bite them in the ass.
And if it does and Republican Djou wins they’ll probably still be pointing fingers rather than using their vast advantage in the legislature and county councils to pass new voting procedures that insure that it’s the voters who determine who wins, not the parties.
-------
For those who have turned to Peer News’ new Civil Beat and found out you have to shell out $20 bucks a month and a pay pals account to “enter”- although there is a one dollar 15 day trial offer now- and have given up since the “news” articles are unavailable after their official launch yesterday, we’ve got a couple of links to news stories courtesy of former local newspaper reporter extraordinaire Mike Levine who is covering land use there.
Honolulu Civil Beat — First Edition!: http://bit.ly/aaMeoS
Nonprofits Can't Escape GET, Despite "Tax-Exempt" Status: http://bit.ly/aoMFt1
Six Years After Plan, Homeless Problem Even Worse: http://bit.ly/dox96k
Are Honolulu Rail Job Projections On the Right Track?: http://bit.ly/9xBI40
Mike does promise neighbor island news including Kaua`i in the future
-------
We’re off “on assignment” as they say and will be back Monday.
Yet apparently most of them are dragging themselves with a knife to their own throats a la Cleavon Little’s “nobody move or the sheriff gets it” scene in Blazing Saddles, bemoaning how they are forced to vote for a pseudo-Democratic DINO because, not just are they good little democrats but due to a series of circumstances that have conspired to force them to acquiesce to their own threats upon themselves.
In case you haven’t seen the polls- and why should you read them if you don’t live in “urban” Honolulu?- two polls, one by local news outlets and another by the Democratic National Committee have shown the two Democrats splitting the vote in the winner-take-all, special-mail-in election show Case with either a six or 14 point lead over Hanabusa respectively.
Even the usually politically astute blogger reporter and sometimes political staffer Ian Lind headlined a piece yesterday entitled 1st District–If Hanabusa can’t win, I would prefer Ed Case over Djou.
The forty comments that followed typify those in other articles and popular political blogs, blaming and bemoaning Neil Abercrombie for resigning, the winner take all election, the outside influences and money and any of a dozen targets.
Even President Obama is playing the game taping a robo-phone-call message that, although it doesn’t specifically mention Case, reminds voters not too subtly that he needs a Democrat in the seat implying “so vote for someone who can win”.
The one target for blame the Democrats leave out is of course themselves.
For many years third party and independent candidates have been given the shaft by the very election laws passed by the duopolists with Democrats and Republicans who can’t agree on anything except the fact that they’ve got a good thing going in playing salugi
with the votes of anyone not willing to play the game by their “heads I win, tails you lose” rules.
It’s not like a solution to the vagaries of plurality-based, on-and-off elections like these congressional fill-ins and “top two” non-partisan elections- the type we have in local elections non-partisan balloting in Hawai`i, where if no one gets 50% in the September “primaries” the top two vote-getters go to a November runoff- hasn’t been suggested to them for many years.
It’s called ranked choice or Instant Runoff Elections (IRV) and while it’s not quite sweeping the nation it’s gaining ground, especially in California where, while the state parties go back and forth between open and closed primaries, it’s the way many local jurisdictions including San Francisco hold their elections.
Here’s how it works in a 100 word explanation we’ve kept filed away for a decade now.
Each voter has one vote, and ranks candidates in order of choice (1, 2, 3, etc.). The counting of ballots simulates a series of run-off elections. All first choices are counted, and if no candidate wins a majority of first choices, then the last place candidate (candidate with the least first-choices) is eliminated. Ballots of voters who ranked the eliminated candidate first then are redistributed to their next-choice candidates, as indicated on each voter’s ballot. Last place candidates are successively eliminated and ballots are redistributed to next choices until one candidate remains or a candidate gains over 50% of votes.
It not only allows the voters to vote for whomever they want without playing the “I’d better go with the crowd to make my vote ‘count’” game- one we gave up years ago refusing to play the “spoiler” game- it allows them instead to pick the candidate they really want to see in office because if their candidate is eliminated their “next best” vote counts, thus avoiding the dizzying self-fulfilling prophesy of bandwagoning.
Is there anyone out there- other than a party boss- who wouldn’t rather vote for the candidate they like most while not having to fear electing the one they like least?
Not only does IRV make for a fairer election it also saves the cost of a top two runoff.
It also has a sister ranked choice system called Single Transferable Voting (STV) which allows for a similar- though a little more complicated-to-compile- ranking system for multiple seat elections such as the seven at large councilmember elections on Kaua`i.
If the Democrats do lose the special 1st CD they will have no one to blame but themselves for ignoring IRV lo these many years until it’s finally come around to bite them in the ass.
And if it does and Republican Djou wins they’ll probably still be pointing fingers rather than using their vast advantage in the legislature and county councils to pass new voting procedures that insure that it’s the voters who determine who wins, not the parties.
-------
For those who have turned to Peer News’ new Civil Beat and found out you have to shell out $20 bucks a month and a pay pals account to “enter”- although there is a one dollar 15 day trial offer now- and have given up since the “news” articles are unavailable after their official launch yesterday, we’ve got a couple of links to news stories courtesy of former local newspaper reporter extraordinaire Mike Levine who is covering land use there.
Honolulu Civil Beat — First Edition!: http://bit.ly/aaMeoS
Nonprofits Can't Escape GET, Despite "Tax-Exempt" Status: http://bit.ly/aoMFt1
Six Years After Plan, Homeless Problem Even Worse: http://bit.ly/dox96k
Are Honolulu Rail Job Projections On the Right Track?: http://bit.ly/9xBI40
Mike does promise neighbor island news including Kaua`i in the future
-------
We’re off “on assignment” as they say and will be back Monday.
Friday, April 30, 2010
LET THE GOOD GUY WIN EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE
LET THE GOOD GUY WIN EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE: The “last minute” maneuver in the state house to pass the civil-unions bill- HB 444- was still quite a shock to the system despite the fact that we’d heard that a massive push was underway by civil rights activists in Honolulu including some pretty intense one-on-one lobbying of house members by those with access.
Process geeks like us can check out Derrick DePledge’s blow by blow live twittering to find out how it came down.
It was aided by, if there’s such a thing within a legislative body, a grassroots effort by a handful of house members that greased the skids on promoting access and putting their own time and effort into convincing their colleagues to force the vote.
Next time you see Mina Morita give her a hug.
But what strikes us is the brilliant political move of the activist in letting the sleeping dog lie as the session wore suckering the bigots and religious zealots into complacency and do their work under the radar.
Now for the next six months we’re going to hear the big lie that’s becoming the popular rallying cry for many of the wing-nuts and, well, nut-case groups in general... that they are some kind of overwhelming majority even when their ranks are far outnumbered.
Whether it’s the same 18% (in a NY Times poll) of the populace that makes up the tea partiers- the same percentage that supported the war criminals by the end of the last administration- who bafflingly maintain they speak for the majority or the dog ladies on Kaua`i who claim “everybody” wants to engage their dirty smelly mutts when they go down to the ocean (and designed a push survey to prove it) it’s the latest in bogus lobbying through lies.
If you don’t have the majority on your side, just say you do over and over and get the press to report that you said it in their “he said she said” coverage.
Which is why we’ve got to make sure that if the homophobic lobby is going to try to make the November election about this we’ve gotta make sure we turn out and both support those who supported civil rights and replace those who didn’t- or keep those new candidates who don’t on the outside.
Here on Kaua`i the no votes came from the always bigoted Jimmy Tokioka and his west side cohort Roland Sagum. We can only hope good candidates will come forward to challenge them.
But assuming a Lingle veto- meaning we’d have to start from scratch in 2011- we’re going to need someone to sign the bill next year and that leaves only Neil Abercrombie.
Most know that Duke Aiona is generally one of the worst religion-addled ass-wipes around. But fewer know that the corrupt Mayor of Honolulu Mufi Hannemann opposes civil unions too.
Candidates aside our most daunting task will be to make sure that the other big lie- that civil unions are somehow related to same gender marriage- is put to rest by November... and that includes whenever some well meaning pea-brains like Jerry Burris conflates them as he did in today’s Honolulu Advertiser... just as columnist Dave Shapiro did as we mentioned last week.
Whatever Ms. Ding-a-Lingle decides to do we’ve go our work cut out for us on this one.
Process geeks like us can check out Derrick DePledge’s blow by blow live twittering to find out how it came down.
It was aided by, if there’s such a thing within a legislative body, a grassroots effort by a handful of house members that greased the skids on promoting access and putting their own time and effort into convincing their colleagues to force the vote.
Next time you see Mina Morita give her a hug.
But what strikes us is the brilliant political move of the activist in letting the sleeping dog lie as the session wore suckering the bigots and religious zealots into complacency and do their work under the radar.
Now for the next six months we’re going to hear the big lie that’s becoming the popular rallying cry for many of the wing-nuts and, well, nut-case groups in general... that they are some kind of overwhelming majority even when their ranks are far outnumbered.
Whether it’s the same 18% (in a NY Times poll) of the populace that makes up the tea partiers- the same percentage that supported the war criminals by the end of the last administration- who bafflingly maintain they speak for the majority or the dog ladies on Kaua`i who claim “everybody” wants to engage their dirty smelly mutts when they go down to the ocean (and designed a push survey to prove it) it’s the latest in bogus lobbying through lies.
If you don’t have the majority on your side, just say you do over and over and get the press to report that you said it in their “he said she said” coverage.
Which is why we’ve got to make sure that if the homophobic lobby is going to try to make the November election about this we’ve gotta make sure we turn out and both support those who supported civil rights and replace those who didn’t- or keep those new candidates who don’t on the outside.
Here on Kaua`i the no votes came from the always bigoted Jimmy Tokioka and his west side cohort Roland Sagum. We can only hope good candidates will come forward to challenge them.
But assuming a Lingle veto- meaning we’d have to start from scratch in 2011- we’re going to need someone to sign the bill next year and that leaves only Neil Abercrombie.
Most know that Duke Aiona is generally one of the worst religion-addled ass-wipes around. But fewer know that the corrupt Mayor of Honolulu Mufi Hannemann opposes civil unions too.
Candidates aside our most daunting task will be to make sure that the other big lie- that civil unions are somehow related to same gender marriage- is put to rest by November... and that includes whenever some well meaning pea-brains like Jerry Burris conflates them as he did in today’s Honolulu Advertiser... just as columnist Dave Shapiro did as we mentioned last week.
Whatever Ms. Ding-a-Lingle decides to do we’ve go our work cut out for us on this one.
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