Entries for 'News Release'

Also this weekend, the Honolulu Advertiser released a poll showing that Djou’s message of “lower taxes, limited government and fiscal responsibility is resonating” throughout the district.  Here is just a sampling of recent headlines on the race . . . 

HONOLULU - Students from 37 Hawai‘i schools participated in the Hawai‘i Regional Botball® Tournament this weekend at the Hawai‘i Convention Center. 

(Editor’s note: It’s amazing what they can do when DoE bureaucracy is not involved.)

The last public poll done for this race by a local newspaper was conducted January 8-10th by the Honolulu Star Bulletin.  Since that poll, Djou has increased his ballot share by 19 points, while Case has dropped 9 points and Hanabusa fell 3 points, clearly showing momentum is on the Djou campaign’s side.

With Charles Djou clearly positioned as the only Congressional candidate opposed to Gay Marriage and Gay Civil Unions, the CD1 Special Election will be voters' first opportunity to register their reaction to the Legislature's vote.  

Last year the legislature, overriding vetoes from Lingle, enacted higher taxes on income, property, and tobacco products. Hawaii pays the highest state income tax rate in the country and have the 5^th highest tax burden among states. To add insult to injury, Harry Reid and Pelosi have piled on with $670 billion in higher taxes in just the past year. If Hawaii Democrats can’t hold off of raising taxes in such an environment, they never will. While ATR is urging the legislature to sustain Lingle’s veto, the legislature’s track record leaves little room for optimism. Fortunately for Hawaii taxpayers, November is fast approaching. If there is any state house in the country that could use a makeover, it’s Hawaii’s.

"If the Legislature wanted to establish the equivalent of same-sex marriage, they should have put it on the ballot for the people to decide."

"Hawaii voters have spoken very clearly in support of traditional marriage.  I am very disappointed that Colleen Hanabusa and the Hawaii State Legislature have clearly and blatantly ignored the will of the people of Hawaii on this issue.  Unlike both Ed Case and Colleen Hanabusa, my two major opponents in this congressional campaign, I will not ignore Hawaii voters and look forward to their judgment in our upcoming special election."

Hawaii GOP Chair Jonah Kaauwai: "The decision to override this veto is a conscious and deliberate choice by Democrats in the legislature to increase the financial burden on Hawai’i’s families.

“As Republicans we believe in fiscal accountability and that government has enough of the people’s hard-earned money.  Democrats have proved that they cannot be trusted by the people of Hawai’i to make the right decisions.  Hawai’i needs principled leadership that will do what is right rather than do what is easy.”

House passes civil unions 31 to 20.  (5:10pm)

HB444 will now go to the Governor for either a signature or a veto.  Governor Lingle has not indicated her position on the bill although Lt Governor Duke Aiona is strongly opposed to HB444.  To override a veto, the House would need 34 votes.

ROLL CALL for HB2421 barrel tax:

4/27/2010	H	Vetoed on 04-25-10 (Gov. Msg. No. 283).
4/28/2010	S	Vetoed on 04-25-10 - Returned from the Governor without approval (Gov. Msg. No. 531).
4/29/2010	H	Veto overridden by 2/3's vote with 42 Ayes; 9 Noes Representative(s) Brower, Ching, Finnegan, Har, Marumoto, Nishimoto, Pine, Wakai, Ward; and 0 Excused none.
4/29/2010	S	Veto overridden - 2/3's vote: Ayes, 19; Aye(s) with reservations: Senator(s) Espero . Noes, 6 (Senator(s) Baker, Fukunaga, Green, Hemmings, Ige, Slom). Excused, 0 (none).

State law (Chapter 90, Hawaii Revised Statues) allows individuals and organizations to volunteer their time and talents to help the public.   Many dedicated DOE employees already volunteer their time to help out before and after school and with many school-related activities outside of their normal teaching assignments.  These individuals give generously of their time and talents and we are thankful that they do so. 

While federal labor laws place limits on some hourly public workers that limit their ability to volunteer for work they perform in their normal paid capacity, the Department of Education could easily identify these individuals and process appropriate compensation for the additional hours they give back to allow children to return to the classroom.

Decisions can be made at each school to return on certain furlough days.

Details on public hearing:

• Thursday April 29th 2010 
• 6:30 PM  
• 8th floor of the Kalana O Maui Building  
• 200 South High Street, Wailuku, HI 96793

Maui TEA Party will rally out front protesting the proposed tax increase.

TAKE ACTION NOW!  CALL, E-MAIL and VISIT THE OFFICES OF THE HOUSE MEMBERS, ESPECIALLY YOUR REPRESENTATIVE. ASK OTHERS TO DO THE SAME.  Starting Monday, April 26, gather at the Capitol BY 11:30 AM to sit in on the House Sessions in the Gallery.

Under HB 2085 HD1 SD2, the Lingle-Aiona Administration, through the State Department of Human Services (DHS), would be prohibited from soliciting proposals for new QUEST contracts exceeding $100 million.  These contracts could only be put out to bid by the new DHS administration, which will not be in place until December 2010 at the earliest.

(In other words, the Leg wants to make sure the contracting process generates campaign contributions for them.)

“I support the creation of local jobs for local residents,” Governor Linda Lingle said in message to legislators detailing her objections to the bill and her reasons for vetoing it.  “However, this measure does not create jobs because it does not incentivize any new economic activity.”

Numerous contractors and construction industry representatives oppose this measure, including the General Contractors Association, which represents 570 general contractors, subcontractors and construction-related firms.  Others opposing the bill include the Hawai‘i Developers Council, Building Industry Association, Associated Builders and Contractors – Hawai‘i Chapter, Project Plus and Royal Contracting Co.

“I am persuaded by the objections of these organizations and contracting companies because they are the job creators,” Governor Lingle explained.

The House Republicans will be voting in favor of taking money from the Hawaii Hurricane Relief Fund when the bill comes to the House floor for a vote (SB2124). Throughout the session the Republicans suggested the bill be amended to borrow from the fund instead of raiding it. Earlier this month the House Republicans released their version of the budget.

"The House Republican's balanced budget and six year financial plan borrows funds from the Hurricane Relief Fund and pays it back in future years. That would be the responsible thing to do," stated Minority Leader Lynn Finnegan.

A highly funded, Washington, DC lobby organization, Food and Water Watch (FWW), is mounting a frontal attack on Hawaii State policy that supports open ocean mariculture. They have rallied a motley crew of rag tag environmental groups, and paid many of them to attack a growing sector of our economy that is on the verge of showing the world a way to produce seafood that is environmentally responsible.

The House Republican Caucus today added $8.8 million for food and energy security initiatives to their budget proposal, which balances the state budget without raising taxes.

Cutting funding for the Office of Aerospace, however, could jeopardize the entire project.  In addition to millions of dollars of potential revenue lost, the cuts are seen as an embarrassment in the eyes of the federal government.  Although Hawaii has historically promoted the aerospace industry in the Islands, the recent budget cuts are sending a different message.

Upon Governor Lingle's request, President George Bush sent White House Council on the Environment James Connaughton to Hawaii to travel with a Hawaii delegation, which I was privileged to be part of, to Midway Island. Being appropriately impressed, James Connaughton went back to the White House and worked on the preservation status. Jean-Michel Cousteau accompanied us on the trip and produced Voyage to Kure, a documentary.

I was privileged to go, along with the Governor and my wife, to the White House for a small dinner at which time this documentary was aired. In a conversation after dinner, I distinctly remember the President of the United States looking at James Connaughton and saying "let's get it done", referring to the marine reserve.

Within months we were once again in the White House for a huge ceremony in which First Lady Laura Bush announced the President's signing of a Declaration of Memorial Status for the northwest archipelago.

Honolulu - Charles K. Djou, Republican candidate for Hawaii’s 1st Congressional District, questioned Senate President Colleen Hanabusa on Earth Day on her claims that she will hold Wall Street accountable given the Legislature’s failure to pass a proposal to use state bonds to finance loans for homeowners to install rooftop solar panels, solar hot water heaters and energy-efficient appliances.  The measure passed both chambers and had community support, but last-minute opposition from the Mortgage Bankers Association of Hawaii contributed to the failure of the measure.

VIDEO: Honolulu Special Election Congressional candidate Charles Djou appearing on the Sean Hannity show Wednesday April 21.

MYTH: It also mentions, “Djou supported cutting thousands of teachers, increasing class sizes across the state.”

FACT: This claim is FALSE. Charles Djou supports keeping teachers’ jobs and smaller class sizes. The DCCC does not show any evidence to substantiate this claim. In fact, according to Djou’s campaign website, “We need a reformed education system that puts children first. … Principals in turn must have the resources they need, including adequate funding and the ability to remove underperforming teachers. The cost of the Educational bureaucracies must be reduced to insure that education dollars are spent in the classroom and teachers have the tools they need to educate our children, including continuing teacher education and training. That’s how good school systems work. We cannot continue to limit our children’s potential in school systems that don’t teach.”

In 2004, Case did not support a bill that would have lowered the total taxes paid by middle-class families with children and military personnel with children.  He voted against extending a $1,000 per child tax credit given to families with children and against allowing military personnel to include combat pay in their gross earning in order to calculate eligibility for the child tax credit. (House Roll Call 209, 05/20/04)

Hawaii is going down with its one party politics. Hawaii needs more balanced political checks and balances. There are simply too many Democrats and too many Lawyers. There are too few Republicans and too few Engineers. I wish to tip the scales by one.

Tax and Spend does not work. Too many wrong projects are being done at huge cost to taxpayers. Hawaii's affordability is moving in the wrong direction. More taxes and poor policies lead to accelerated brain drain, labor losses and unemployment.

SB358 languished last year when it was introduced but was propelled forward after the February tsunami warning when the members of the Legislature were deluged with calls from NRA members and gun owners worried that their guns might be confiscated, similar to the post-Hurricane Katrina incidents.

“Case has hired well-respected Dem pollster Fred Yang, who was tagged as an advisor in the criminal complaint against ex-IL Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D). Yang was ‘Advisor B,’ who suggested Blagojevich leverage Pres. Obama's open Senate seat in order to win a top position at Change to Win, the labor federation headed by SEIU.” (Reid Wilson, “Wednesday’s Starting Lineup,” Hotline On Call, 04/14/10)

Yesterday, hundreds of thousands of our fellow Americans demonstrated anew the passion of a conservative movement determined to take back our nation.  In Madison, Wisconsin 12,000 cheering activists staged one of the biggest rallies in state history.... 

"While Hawaii taxpayers struggle amid a fragile economy, Ed Case continues to be complicit with the job-killing, tax-hiking policies of Washington Democrats by supporting the Democrats’ healthcare takeover. As the nation’s economy teeters on the edge of disaster, more and more jobs are shed each month and the national debt continues to climb to new highs, the last thing the people of Hawaii need is a representative with an insatiable appetite for taxing and spending. Unfortunately for Case, Hawaii voters don’t want another Pelosi rubberstamp in Congress – they want jobs," said Erin Kealoha, Communications Director, Hawaii Republican Party.

“Under this proposal, students, parents, teachers, other school employees, Department of Education officials, legislators and the general public would still be left with the looming uncertainty of the remaining six furlough days in the second half of the next school year. 

“Further, this plan once again pits education against other public services, as legislators struggle to find money in 2011 for the myriad of programs operated by the State. 

Conditions are especially bad in Maui County, where people are already waiting three to four months for scheduled appointments – just to get started applying for essential aid.

The majority party Legislators who voted for this bill are trying to preserve an antiquated and inefficient processing system for one reason – it requires lots of government workers to do the job.

“The people are frustrated with business as usual in our government. Our Hawaii public school system is not putting the children first which is an outrage. Tax increase bills are advancing in the legislature which will lead to more business failure. Home sales are down and many owners are facing foreclosure. Unemployment is higher than ever. What people want is stability and that’s the choice I represent for the voters."

This is a complete chronological list of all laws signed and vetoes issued by the Governor during the 2010 Legislative session.  It will be updated continuously throughout the session.

“We are excited about Charles’ campaign to change the direction of Congress.  Having made over 20,000 volunteer phone calls and knocking on over 15,000 doors in Mililani, Ewa Beach, Hawaii Kai, and everywhere in between, we have heard that Charles’ message of fiscal responsibility and government accountability is resonating with the people of Hawaii.  People are tired of elected officials who care more about themselves, than they do about the people they represent,” stated Dylan Nonaka, Djou for Hawaii campaign manager.  “Our strong finance numbers are one of several indicators of the growing enthusiasm and momentum for Charles in this special election.  Charles understands, however, that the only number that counts is the number of votes cast in the election.”

 “Lines that Divide: the Great Stem Cell Debate” will be broadcast on KALO-TV, channel 38 (cable channel 25).

"For nearly 50 years, Hawai‘i has been at the forefront of pioneering programs in astronomy, planetary geosciences, broadband satellite communications, space-based environmental monitoring, and deep-space surveillance," said Lt. Governor James R. "Duke" Aiona, Jr., who represents Hawai‘i as a vice chairman of the national Aerospace States Association. "This new agreement builds upon a dynamic partnership with NASA that over the next three years will substantially increase Hawai‘i's competitive advantages and help to enhance our long-term economic prosperity."

On Wednesday, April 14^th at 10:30 a.m. a group of veterans will place about 100 small flags on the front lawn of the State Senate next to the replica of the Liberty Bell.

On Thursday, April 15^th, they will hold a Flag Rally at the State Capitol from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. (separate from Tea Party events) and will deliver petitions to Senate President Colleen Hanabusa asking her to pass language in any Bill that would ensure their right to fly Old Glory.

If you want to get familiar with the budget, this is a good place to start because it will allow you to make your own choices by simply placing an ”x” in the left column next to the  proposals. The fiscal impact of the proposal will then be added to the ending balance.

“I understand that times are tough for Hawaii families right now and I promise to work tirelessly to ease the burden of heavy taxes and excessive government spending and control,” said Charles Djou. “The age of the spend-and-tax mentality are over, Hawaii families need a Representative that will fight to rebuild Hawaii’s economy and create jobs. I’ve never voted for a tax increase, because I understand that crippling taxes only hurt small businesses and stifle economic growth. I will open Hawaii’s doors to new markets, which will boost Hawaii’s tourism and trade and bring millions of dollars in revenue to our sluggish economy.”

This is the reward to Matayoshi for holding the line against reform and protecting the HSTA....boost to 150% of highest Principal's salary, thus making her effectively tied to the HGEA's contract for Principals. 

Hawaii Family Forum and Hawaii Catholic Conference is committed to urge the faithful to

1. Register to vote;
2. Be knowledgeable about issues and where candidates stand on those issues and
3. Motivate and get believers to go out and vote.

Although it remains uncertain as to whether or not the State House will decide to vote on the bill, what remains clear is that legislators do need to hear from you. The advocates for the bill have not stopped pushing for the final passage of the bill and we expect that the heat on the House members will intensify in the final weeks of session just as it did in the Senate at the close of last year’s session.

...to characterize Djou's opposition to raising taxes as protecting tax breaks that send jobs abroad is wrong. Any tax benefit can be eliminated and offset by a rate cut or by other benefits without raising taxes overall, and without violating the terms of that pledge. This attack ad is false.

When HB2877 was defeated earlier within this legislative session, homeowners that pay maintenance fees were relieved and saved from having to pay another tax increase. This new tax would have unfairly targeted homeowners that reside in condominiums and planned community associations by taxing their maintenance fees. 

Then on March 30, in the House Finance Committee, a bill that had nothing to do with raising taxes on maintenance fees - SB2401 SD1, was gutted and replaced with the language from HB2877, the measure previously defeated.

"This outside intrusion into a Hawaii political campaign is unprecedented and unnecessary.  There should be no need for a mainland Democrat group to be involved unless they are afraid of how the people of Hawaii will vote.  My position on issues is there for all to see, and the votes that I have taken are clear, honorable and correct.  For the DCCC to attempt to sway public opinion in this manner by defaming my character is clearly wrong."

Ward proposed an amendment to remove political appointees in SB2571's process of selecting the governor's BOE appointees. The amendment, along with one that proposed to lift the cap on Charter Schools would have made Hawaii more competitive for Race to the Top funds. All three amendments were killed by the House.

...the DCCC should explain to voters why several current U.S. House and U.S. Senate Democrats, and numerous Democrats on the state level have already made the same commitment as Djou. The following Democrat members of Congress have signed the Pledge: Reps. Brad Ellsworth (IN-08), Rob Andrews (NJ-01), Gene Taylor (MS-04), Ben Chandler (KY-06) and Sens. Ben Nelson (NE) and Arlen Specter (PA). Interestingly, every single Democrat named has violated the Pledge on at least one occasion. Even more interesting is the fact that every House Democrat named has violated the Taxpayer Protection Pledge on multiple occasions.

Concerned that momentum is shifting in favor of Charles Djou, the national Democrats are worried and want the powerful insiders in D.C. to pick Hawai'i's next congressional representative. 

Democrat congressional candidate Ed Case is attempting to portray himself as someone who is fiscally responsible.  A look at his record, however, uncovers the truth: While in Congress, Ed Case was a reliable vote for imposing higher taxes on middle-class families and small businesses....

Ed Case has been ranked as one of the most ineffective members of Congress: “Two members of Congress ranked as some of the least effective – Rep. Ed Case [D- Hawai'i] and Sen. Dan Akaka [D- Hawai'i] – are battling over who has the worse rating on a national political Web site.” (Richard Borreca, “Case to Akaka, Akaka to Case: You’re ineffective,” Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 08/29/06).