Push-Poll: Hanabusa Ahead 57-31
KITV: …An internal (Push-)poll conducted for the Colleen Hanabusa's campaign shows she has a 26 point lead over incumbent Governor David Ige as we head to the primary elections next month (after certain leading questions are asked, of course).
The telephone poll was conducted in July. (Kinda vague on details here, eh?) 57 percent of those polled said they would vote for Hanabusa for governor. 31 percent said they favored Governor David Ige. 11 percent were undecided. The margin of error was plus or minus 4.39 percent.
According to the poll, Hanabusa also leads Ige in all major island ethnic groups as well as across all counties….
David Ige's Campaign manager, Glenna Wong sent this statement: "We question the timing of the disclosure of her own paid internal poll at this time... None of this changes our strategy." ….
Reality: www.TheRealHanabusa.com
read … Mafia Ahead
Cash: Carpenters super PAC to Help Make up for Hanabusa campaign shortfall
SA: …The carpenters union endorsed Hanabusa in February, so Be Change Now’s support is not entirely a surprise.
But the boost comes at a critical time with Hawaii’s Aug. 11 primary election day less than a month away. Campaign spending reports that were submitted Thursday to the state Campaign Spending Commission show that while Hanabusa has out-gained and out-spent Ige during the first six months of this year, Ige has a 2-to-1 edge in available cash.
On Thursday, Be Change Now informed the state Campaign Spending Commission that it was paying $53,836 to Washington, D.C.-based Putnam Partners for advertising in support of Hanabusa….
The Hawaii Regional Council of Carpenters, the largest construction union in the state, is one of the key sponsors of the Pacific Resources Partnership, along with more than 240 unionized contractors.
PRP’s political action committee, in 2012, spent more than $3.6 million in a campaign aimed at thwarting former Gov. Ben Cayetano’s bid for Honolulu mayor. Cayetano was the biggest-name opponent of rail against incumbent Peter Carlisle and eventual winner Kirk Caldwell.
In a strange twist, Caldwell is now supporting Ige’s re-election bid while Cayetano, like the carpenters union and Be Change Now, is supporting Hanabusa.
Glenna Wong, a spokeswoman for the Ige campaign, said it was no surprise that the super PAC is supporting Hanabusa since the carpenters union already has announced its backing. Wong pointed to the ties between Be Change Now and the PRP SuperPAC.
“The PRP SuperPAC attacked former Gov. Cayetano in his bid to be mayor of Honolulu,” Wong said. “This is not the Hawaii way. Our Democratic legacy has always been to level the playing field amongst candidates, and to prevent a candidate and his or her supporters from hiding special interest contributions through this mechanism.”….
read … Money
SD23: Very Little Cash for Hee After he Quits Gubernatorial Race
CB: … Hee, who’s vying for the Senate District 23 seat to represent Oahu’s coast from Kaena to Kahaluu, loaned himself $100,000 this year to support his campaign, spending datashows. Hee wrote the checks to himself while he was still a candidate in the gubernatorial race. He dropped out of that contest last month, citing financial concerns.
Hee raised nearly $30,000 and spent more than $37,000 this year. Most of those donations and expenditures were made while he was still a gubernatorial candidate.
Hee had more than $100,000 left in his campaign account as of June 30.
Riviere, has a similar campaign war chest of $34,000 but hasn’t loaned himself any money, according to campaign finance data. Riviere has raised $29,000 this year….
read … Following The Money In Oahu Legislative Races
LG Campaign: Rich Tranny Loans Himself $442K
HNN: …Campaign spending reports filed Thursday show that Kim Coco Iwamoto, a civil rights attorney whose father is the founder and CEO of Roberts Hawaii, has loaned her campaign $442,000.
That's 66 percent of the $669,660 she has raised during the election cycle. She has spent $587,752, leaving her campaign about $360,000 in debt.
Loaning money to one's own campaign is both legal and fairly common.
The law allows a candidate to pay back loans from themselves or immediate family with money raised after the election.
Candidates who use the tactic and win office are more likely to pay back the loans because the office gives them renewed ability to attract donations….
In the Republican primary for seat, only two candidates are actively fundraising. Former legislative aid Jeremy Low has raised $19,513 and former military pilot Steve Lipscomb has $3,203….
read … Race for lieutenant governor pits personal wealth against PAC money
Tupola Leaves GOP Challengers Behind In Campaign Money Race
CB: …Republican campaign contributors have a clear favorite for governor in the Aug. 11 primary — state Rep. Andria Tupola.
Donors gave the GOP candidate $147,000 during the first six months of this year, according to her finance reports filed Thursday with the state Campaign Spending Commission.
Former state lawmaker John Carroll, a retired lawyer, raised $32,000 during the same period. And the only other Republican candidate, former Department of Education assistant superintendent Ray L’Heureux, brought in about $3,000….
read … Tupola
Kiaaina: 100% for the Akaka Tribe
Candidate Q&A: OHA Oahu Trustee — Sam King
The thing OHA seems to be doing best is dishing out cash to people who know the CEO and the trustees, as reported by the state auditor….
Candidate Q&A: OHA Oahu Trustee — Esther Kia’aina
A Native Hawaiian government would allow Native Hawaiians to have their own land base with the autonomy to make their own decisions and laws under their jurisdiction. The government would interface with the state of Hawaii…. (Translation: I am still 100% for Federal Recognition.)
Candidate Q&A: OHA Oahu Trustee — Francine Murray
I worked at OHA for over 18 years….
Candidate Q&A: OHA Oahu Trustee — Kalei Akaka
Dan Akaka’s granddaughter….
LINK: Olelo49 OHA Candidates Debate 4PM TODAY
Hawaii County Charter Commission Sworn in
HTH: Once every decade, a commission is created to review and propose amendments to the county’s fundamental governing document, its county charter.
That process began Friday, with the swearing in of a lineup of eight of the 11 members, many of whom are well known in county government circles. Amendments proposed by the commission will appear on the 2020 general election ballot.
Commissioners are Paul Hamano, Christopher Roehrig, Jennifer Zelko-Schlueter, Douglass Shipman Adams, Kevin Hopkins, Bobby Jean Leithead Todd, Marcie Saquing, Donna Springer, Michelle Gailmba, Sarah Rice and William C. Bergin.
Mayor Harry Kim named Adams, who previously served on the county Board of Ethics, as chairman….
The commission plans to meet the second Friday of each month, alternating between Hilo and Kona council chambers, with videoconference between the two sites….
The public can testify at the beginning of each meeting, and also can submit their own proposed amendments by emailing to charter.commission@hawaiicounty.gov…
read … Once-in-a-decade board to draft amendments for 2020 ballot
Status of missing drug evidence case a mystery
HTH: …The state attorney general continues to provide no updates or shed further light on the status of a case involving stolen drug evidence stored by the Hawaii Police Department….
It’s been four months since information was released about a police investigation into a former Hawaii County police detective for reportedly stealing drug evidence from the Hilo evidence storage facility. The initial investigation began last fall when cocaine, originally recovered in 2014, was found to be lighter than reported during its initial recovery. The discrepancy was discovered when the evidence was being weighed in preparation to use a small quantity of the cocaine for training purposes.
The investigation quickly identified a sworn employee as being a person of interest for the missing portions of the drug, police said. The employee was immediately placed on administrative leave without pay and subsequent audits of other evidence recovered by the officer revealed other anomalies, which revealed cases where there was a weight discrepancy in marijuana concentrate (hashish) from two separate investigations.
The detective retired before the completion of the investigation and is no longer an employee with the county. The case was formally referred to the Hawaii County Office of the Prosecuting Attorney on March 2 for review of possible charges.
Because no arrest has been made in the case, Big Island newspapers have been unable to confirm or report the identity of the former police officer. The newspapers, however, have confirmed that the sworn employee served about 26 years with the department….
read … Status of missing drug evidence case a mystery
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