Maui Rep Kaniela Ing Forms Urban Honolulu Congressional Campaign Committee
by Andrew Walden
It looks like Kihei will soon be liberated from Rep Kaniela Ing.
Ing November 1 filed a “statement of organization” with the Federal Election Commission to form “Kaniela Ing for Congress”.
Unsurprisingly, it appears Ing is already violating the law.
It is a criminal offense to transfer funds or assets from a state campaign committee to a federal campaign committee, yet Ing’s FEC filing lists his campaign website as “http://kanielaing.com/”. A quick look at the site reveals it is “paid for by” Ing’s State Campaign Committee, “Friends of Kaniela Ing.” Ing also provides his State campaign committee email address as his Federal contact point.
(UPDATE: After seeing our coverage, Ing apparently changed his website to read "Paid for by Kaniela Ing for Congress" -- but the original image is preserved on the 'Wayback' Internet Archive. This should be enough to tack on an Obstruction of Justice charge. Ing November 5 sent out a news release announcing his candidacy--see below. If you happen to be at a Manoa coffee shop Monday 11AM, ask him where he lives.)
The FEC Candidate Handbook, page 61, explains “Transfers from Candidate’s Nonfederal Committee Are Prohibited…. A candidate’s authorized (federal) committee may not accept funds or assets transferred from a committee established by the same candidate for a non - federal election campaign.” Penalties include fines up to $50,000 and 2 years imprisonment. Ing’s Treasurer, and signer of the FEC statement of organization, is Honolulu resident Matthew Kaulana Ing. Right below Matthew Ing’s signature, the small print explains, “Submission of false, erroneous, or incomplete information may subject the person signing this Statement to the penalties of 2 U.S.C. §437g.”
Ing likes to pose as a Progressive, but Ing’s ‘Registered Agent’ is Kaui Pratt-Aquino, known mostly for her efforts to keep Kamanao Crabbe in office as CEO of OHA. Ing's political career was launched in 2011 when OHA Trustees pretended to consider him for appointment to a vacant Maui Trusteeship which was eventually given to Carmen Hulu Lindsey. In the wake of the fake publicity, Ing was elected to the Legislature in 2012.
Ing’s wife is corporate lobbyist Khara Jabola, public affairs director of Strategies 360... whose website explains: "We are Strategies 360….We help create the environment for business and public policy success in the West and across the U.S…..It’s a 21st century reality: business strategy and public policy, marketing and government relations, crisis management and brand positioning are all intertwined...."
The chief of Strategies 360 Hawaii office is John White, formerly chief of pro-rail Pacific Resources Partnership.
During the recent Special Session, Ing was one of the few sister-isle Reps to vote in favor of a $2.4B tax hike making sister-isle taxpayers fund Oahu rail.
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Media Advisory: 11/5/2017
Progressive State Representative Kaniela Ing to Announce Candidacy for Higher Office
HONOLULU - Kaniela Saito Ing will hold a press conference to officially announce his 2018 candidacy for higher office--
WHEN: Monday, November 6 at 11:00am
WHERE: Morning Glass Coffee, 2955 E Manoa Rd., Honolulu, HI 968122 (sic)
Bio—Kaniela Saito Ing is millennial, father, and third-term state representative who currently serves as Majority Policy Leader. Ing’s father graduated from Kaimuiki High School and waited tables as an ILWU union member. His mother attended Honolulu Community College and was a shoe clerk at the old Kahala Liberty House. Ing graduated from Kamehameha Schools and served as Student Body President at UH Manoa. He served as at-large neighborhood board member in Liliha and worked in various roles in Hawaii’s private and non-profit sectors before winning State office as an underdog in 2012 at age 23.
Record--Ing was among the few elected officials to publicly endorse Bernie Sanders in the 2016 Presidential Primary Election. He later campaigned for Hillary Clinton in the general election. Ing has been actively involved in the anti-Trump “resistance” movement in Hawaii, and has developed his political profile successfully fighting for progressive issues like same-day voter registration, marriage equality, and curtailing the influence of money in politics. Of all the candidates interested in his race, Ing has the strongest record on women’s health, LGBTQ equality, criminal justice reform, and other progressive issues.
Platform--Ing will be announcing his “island values” progressive platform that includes equal pay for women, single-payer healthcare-for-all, tuition-free college, universal basic income, criminal justice reform, 100% renewable energy nationwide, and putting an end to big money corruption in politics
“Standing up to Trump is important, but it’s not enough. Leaders must stand up to big-money corruption everywhere and offer a positive vision to win the world we want to see. Hawaii’s cost-of-living is out of control and local families are being squeezed out of their neighborhoods by outside investors. People tell me that they feel like the system is leaving them behind. We can’t keep letting the same establishment elites handpick our leaders and expect things to change. We need a new way forward for our children to have a shot at success right here in Hawaii. I am running a grassroots campaign to put people before profits, keep Hawaii Hawaii, and offer a new generation of progressive leadership,” Said Ing.
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