Primary Results--Fifth Read
The Law Behind Hawaii's Hurricane Senate Primary Election: Let The Games Begin!
Akina in OHA Runoff
Anti-GMO Candidates Lose Big Statewide
Major storms hit Hawaii after lawmakers raid hurricane fund
Video: Iselle Hits Mountains, Disintegrates
Do We Really Want to Starve the Golden Goose?
Iwase: Republicans are Smelling Blood
POLITICO: Abercrombie, seeking a second term, was crushed by a little-known state senator, David Ige. Even a late-campaign radio ad by President Barack Obama, who grew up on the islands and remains popular here, couldn’t reverse Abercrombie’s slide. With 99 percent of precincts reporting, Ige led 67 percent to 32 percent, more than doubling Abercrombie’s total despite being vastly outspent during the race.
“Part of our democracy is the rough-and-tumble of electoral politics,” Abercrombie told staff and supporters in private remarks after his defeat. “I’ll be taking my leave of electoral politics this evening.”
Abercrombie quickly threw his support to Ige, telling campaign staff, “We need to work together, stick together, be together to move Hawaii forward, and he can count on me to do that.”
But some of his backers worried that Abercrombie’s ouster could embolden Republicans, who have their eye on regaining the seat they held for two terms last decade.
“I anticipate that the Republicans, nationally, are smelling blood,” Randy Iwase, the Democratic nominee for governor in 2006, told POLITICO at Abercrombie’s election-night event.
Read ... The End of Abercrombie--Where Will the Big Money Crowd Go?
Djou to Face Takai in CD1
AP: Former U.S. Rep.Charles Djou is the Republican party's nominee for the U.S. House seat representing urban Honolulu.
Djou defeated Allan Levene in Saturday's primary.
Djou represented Hawaii's 1st Congressional District for seven months from 2010 to 2011 when he won a three-way special election. He lost the seat to Hanabusa in the 2010 elected and was defeated by her again in 2012.
Djou is a major in the U.S. Army Reserve. After serving in Congress, he was deployed to Afghanistan.
PBN: Takai, 47, who was first elected to the state House of Representatives representing and Aiea district, had 42.6 percent, or 52,719 votes, according to the final results released early Sunday, while Kim, a veteran lawmaker who was first elected to the Legislature in 1982, was second with 27.2 percent, or 33,649 votes, in a seven-way race.
read ... Djou Wins
Punatics in Two Closed Precincts Favor Schatz
PR: The state Office of Elections has released the results from the other two precincts in HD4, and Schatz took both, so the senator may have the edge.
HD4-03 -- Pahoa Community Center
Schatz: 364
Hanabusa: 319
HD4-04 -- Pahoa High and Intermediate School
Schatz: 375
Hanabusa: 284
The district, represented by state Rep. Faye Hanohano, is among the most eclectic in the state. Some residents there have earned the nickname "Punatics."
read ... Schatzville
Clayton Hee goes 'Splat'
KHON: Incumbent Shan Tsutsui will have a chance to keep his seat as lieutenant governor with a spot on the Democratic ticket heading into the general election.
However, Tsutsui and Democratic gubernatorial candidate David Ige face an uphill battle in the general election with both the Republican and newly formed Hawaii Independent parties offering strong contenders.
For the Republican party, gubernatorial candidate James “Duke” Aiona will team up with lieutenant governor candidate Elwin Ahu, while Mufi Hannemann has already acknowledged Les Chang as his running mate in the Hawaii Independent Party.
Shan Tsutsui 119,229 49.50%
Clayton Hee 80,119 35.80%
read ... Clayton Hee goes 'Splat'
Two or Three Legislative Incumbents Bite the Dust
CB: Controversial Big Island Rep. Faye Hanohano was far behind challenger Joy Sanbuenaventura. But that district is in the area where final results will be delayed because of storm damage.
Also on the Big Island, former lawmaker Lorraine Inouye was leading incumbent Malama Solomon.
Challenger Matt LoPresti was handily defeating incumbent Democratic Rep. Rida Cabanilla.
SA: Defeat for Rida Cabanilla and Malama Solomon
read ... B-Bye
Anti-GMO Activists Baffled Beyond the Echo Chamber
KE: Mayoral hopeful and political novice Dustin Barca may have been baffled by the election results, but that's what happens when you live in an echo chamber.
Dustin, a former pro-surfer/MMA fighter whose campaign was funded by Hawaii Life realtors and off-islanders, apparently thought he was going to waltz into the Round Building with a platform of platitudes and minimal campaigning. Because, after all, he was on“a mission from God.”
But Dustin and the other candidates who emphasized an anti-seed company platform fared poorly. Dustin got just 30 percent of the votes in his race against Mayor Bernard Carvalho, and Dylan Hooser was similarly trounced by Jimmy Tokioka in the 15th House District race.
County Council incumbents Gary Hooser and Tim Bynum, who co-sponsored pesticide/GMO regulatory Bill 2491, came in sixth and seventh, respectively, and Mason Chock, who was brought in to override the mayor's veto of the bill, looks likely to lose his seat, with a dismal tenth place showing.
Meanwhile, incumbents Mel Rapozo and Ross Kagawa — the only two Councilmembers to oppose the bill — took first and second place, respectively, and were joined in third place by pro-seed candidate and Grove Farm employee Arryl Kaneshiro in his first bid for office.
Newcomer and pro-seed company candidate Arthur Brun also edged out anti-seed company candidate Felicia Cowden for eleventh place, despite her advantageous connections to “community” radio station KKCR.
Equally interesting is the vote spread. Mel was 2,300 votes ahead of incumbent JoAnn Yukimura, who took fourth place, and nearly 4,000 votes ahead of his nemesis Tim Bynum, who has former Councilman KipuKai Kualii and Police Chief Darryl Perry nipping at his heels.
While Kauai typically lags behind the state in voter turnout, things were different this time. Some 47 percent of Kauai registered voters cast ballots, compared to the statewide total of just 38 percent....
Looking at the precinct returns, (which start on page 331) Dustin, Felicia, Gary, Tim, Jay Furfaro, JoAnn, Mason and newcomer Tiana Laranio were the top vote-getters in Hanalei and Kilauea, as expected. But their gains began to erode in Anahola, and in Kapaa, Arryl started showing up in the top five and the mayor was beating Dustin.
In Hanamaulu, the tide had solidly turned toward the final results — a trend that continued around the island, including Koloa, and becoming more pronounced as the vote moved westward.
Which tells us three things: the anti-GMO movement is indeed North Shore-based, a reality that they repeatedly denied; the movement is smaller and less powerful than has been claimed (or feared), and the westside vote is still critical to a candidate's success.
read ... Musings: Beyond the Echo Chamber
Trask's Geothermal Scheme Loses Biggest Senate Supporter
IM: Innovations Development Group (IDG) lost their strongest ally in the Legislature with the August 9, 2014, primary defeat of incumbent state Senator Malama Solomon by Loraine Rodero Inouye.
Inouye is a former State Representative and former Hawaii County Mayor. (Primary Election Results)
Another major pro-geothermal advocate is Ed Wagner.
A few years ago an event occurred that was not reported.
The Hawai`i Public Utilities Commission held a public hearing in their hearing room. Wagner addressed energy insiders and the Commission.
He gave a lengthy and personal attack against PUC Chair Hermina Morita using language that is unfit for publication.
With the election of David Ige as Governor, it is likely that Morita will be appointed to another six year term as PUC Chair.
IDG has funneled money into the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) elections in 2012 and 2014. This year a major focus has been on the election of Mililani Trask.
Sixteen candidates are running for three seats. The top six vote getters will be on the November ballot. Trask came in fourth and thus her name will appear on the November ballot.
HTH: Inouye defeats Solomon for Senate District 4
read ... B-bye Malama
Honolulu Council: Sam Aiona Advances--Three Districts Have Run-offs in November
CB: Honolulu City Councilwoman Carol Fukunaga overcame a union challenge to take the lead in the District 6 race Saturday night, with 43 percent of the vote.
A small number of mail-in ballots were still being counted as of midnight.
She will now face a run-off election on Nov. 4 against Sam Aiona, who secured 23 percent of the vote....
Tommy Waters, an attorney and former state representative, led the District 4 race with 33 percent of the vote. He will now face Trevor Ozawa who secured 26 percent of votes.
Ozawa is an attorney and former legislative aide for Councilman Stanley Chang.
Natalie Iwasa received 23 percent of votes and Carl Strouble 2 percent....
In the District 2 race to represent the North Shore, Wahiawa and Mililani mauka, City Council Chair Ernie Martin easily retained his seat with 64 percent of the votes.
Trailing him were Dan Hara, a financial advisor, with 14 percent and organic farmer, Dave Burlew, with 5 percent....
Brandon Elefante, a legislative aide to Councilman Breene Harimoto, secured 48 percent of the vote in the District 8 race, almost winning it.
He will now face Baybee Hufana-Ablan in the general election, who recieved 14 percent.
Hufana-Ablan, a medical supplies manager, works for Quality Medical Supply Corporation and serves on the Pearl Harbor Neighborhood Board. She’s also worked as a senior advisor for the Honolulu Emergency Services Department.
read ... Aiona vs Fukunaga
Absentee Voting Hits Record--Up 12%
AP: Absentee voting through mail and walk-in sites is up more than 12 percent for Hawaii's primary election, with nearly 160,000 people casting ballots early and even more absentees expected with Saturday night's results.
An Associated Press analysis of early voting in all four counties shows the increase in early voting easily outpaced a 1.4 percent increase in registration over the 2012 primary election. The increases in individual counties for mail and early walk-in voting were:
- — 34.5 percent in Maui (15,533 absentee votes).
- — 25.8 percent in Kauai (11,066 absentee votes).
- — 11 percent in Honolulu (more than 109,858 absentee votes).
- — 1.6 percent in Hawaii County (23,476 votes).
read ... Absent Minded
Turnout Nears Record Low
CB: As of Saturday night, 38.2 percent — or 263,258 — of Hawaii’s 688,778 registered voters statewide cast ballots. The turnout was 39.6 percent on Oahu, 33.9 percent on the Big Island, 31.3 percent in Maui County and 47 percent in Kauai County.
Turnout numbers hadn’t yet been finalized Saturday night, but it appeared as though voter participation was down from past years. In 2012, about 42 percent of registered voters cast ballots in the primary election. In 2010, the percentage was 43 percent.
That makes this year’s turnout one of the lowest the Aloha State has ever seen. Only in 2008 was it lower: 37 percent.
read ... Record Low
Irate Voters from Storm-Hit precincts Show Up at Polling Place
WHT: The closure of two Puna polling places because of damage from Tropical Storm Iselle caused some confusion Saturday as affected voters tried to cast ballots at Pahoa High School instead but were turned away.
Election officials announced Friday the polls at the Hawaiian Paradise Park Community Center and Keonepoko Elementary School would be closed because of downed trees on roadways. Voters in the two affected precincts, which include about 8,000 registered voters, are expected to receive mail absentee ballots.
An election volunteer working at the polling place at Pahoa High School said between 50 and 60 voters from the affected precincts tried to vote there. Some were “irate” they couldn’t cast their ballots at that precinct, he said.
“We have to tell them we have no place for you to vote, and a lot of them were upset,” said the volunteer, who requested to not be identified.
KHON: Fix for disaster-delayed voting law promised
read ... Trying to Vote
UH leaders should assess need for Manoa chancellor
Shapiro: After two years of endless carping from the sidelines, we need a break from the vitriol to give the regents and Lassner a fair chance to do their jobs.
One change they should consider is whether the position of Manoa chancellor is really needed.
Until a decade ago the UH president served also as Manoa chancellor; since it became two jobs, the two $400,000-a-year chancellors hired have both been forced out before their contracts were up, and both remain on the payroll as $300,000-a-year tenured faculty.
Obviously, this system has created competing centers of power and isn't working.
Kenneth Mortimer, the last president to do both jobs, was paid less than $200,000.
The salaries of Lassner, plus a new chancellor, plus the two ousted chancellors still being carried as faculty would be about $1.3 million.
Can anybody seriously argue that the university runs more smoothly now than during Mortimer's time?
read ... Competing Power Centers
Punatics Harass HELCO Crews
KHON: The police issued this statement in response to reports that HELCO crews are being confronted by members of the public while attempting to restore power in the lower Puna area....
The police department asks residents to remain calm and be patient as confrontations will only delay restoring access and power.
read ... About Enlightened, Conscious, and Progressive Beings
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