September 20, 2010 News Read > Hawaii Free Press

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Monday, September 20, 2010

September 20, 2010 News Read
By Andrew Walden @ 1:50 PM :: 12598 Views

Duke Aiona challenges Abercrombie to six debates

Republican legislative candidates unite behind action plan

“Voters have spoken: The status quo in Hawaii and in Congress is unacceptable and they want change” – Djou

VIDEO: Djou releases new ad “Making a difference”

Star Advertiser endorses Aiona’s Debate challenge

We like that Aiona has already challenged Abercrombie to six debates, which will serve to enlighten. He's taken the offensive to call for specifics on balancing the budget, growing the economy and jobs, and revamping education. For his part, Aiona vows a "clear path" on how the GOP will lead the state. We can hardly wait -- frustrations linger over Furlough Fridays and legislative stalements -- and will be listening intently.

Duke Aiona: "The issues ... are too important to have them discussed in the manner I have seen done in the primary."

The only place you can find this quote is in a tweet by Civil Beat reporter Chad Blair.

Hawaii Republicans Unveil 2011 Action Plan

Gov. Linda Lingle said GOP candidates should be able to bring in support because their message crosses party lines.

"Our candidates are superior across the board and our issues are ones the people care about and our positions on those issues are the right ones," said Lingle.

Some proposals in the Republican's legislative action plan have been heard before, such as a measure to lower utility bills through state bonds to defray solar installation costs.

Republicans are also proposing no new taxes by changing House rules.

"Changing the House rules to require a super majority of votes to increase taxes or the cost of living, in other words, fees, charges, or surcharges," said Republican candidate for House District 18, Chris Baron.

The plan calls for an independent audit of the Department of Education and an appointed board of education, especially after Saturday's primary election results.

AP: Hawaii GOP calls for legislative term limits

Full Text: Republican legislative candidates unite behind action plan

Mufi + Neil = Love?

The word "unity" doesn't spring to mind when thinking of Mufi Hannemann and Neil Abercrombie.

But the loser and winner — respectively — of the Democratic primary election for governor put on a good show Sunday morning at the Japanese Cultural Center in Moililili for the traditional morning-after-the-primary "unity event."

"We are supporting you for your governorship," Hannemann told Abercrombie.

"Thank you, Mufi," Abercrombie responded.

Now, can a party that seemed seriously split over the past year or more come together to defeat a Republican nominee who is like Nixon in ’68 — tan, rested and ready?

Unity meeting: HNN

FLASHBACK: Could Abercrombie-Hannemann primary turn off Democratic voters?

KGI: Political parties say unity is key in fall

Maui News: The Day After . . . Parties talk of unity, Sifting through the numbers, Looking to general election

KGMB: Abercrombie, Hannemann display unity at post-election breakfast

KITV: Hawaii Political Parties Say Unity Is Key

Abercrombie lovin’ Shapiro suggests (hopes?) GOP should continue where Hannemann left off

Assuming Abercrombie holds the 142,234 voters who favored him in the primary, a good bet, (no it’s not) he’d need only about 43,000 more to win from the 90,535 Hannemann votes and 70,000+ additional voters expected to come into the general election, which would seem quite achievable if Democrats present the wall of unity they are promising.

(Abercrombie’s voters voted against Hannemann, Hannemann’s voters voted against Abercrombie. Both groups are winnable by Aiona.)

The Republican challenge will be to throw up some kind of game changer and hope Abercrombie blunders after carefully avoiding doing so in the primary.

The likely GOP strategy will be to appeal to religious voters and harshly attack Abercrombie’s liberal congressional record in a way Hannemann couldn’t after his ill-advised “Compare and Decide” ad raised voter sensitivity to any kind of negative campaigning.

(Obviously, portraying the Aiona campaign as fitting into the Hannemann mold is the Abercrombie camp’s dream. But Aiona’s strategy is not Hannemann pt 2. Aiona is trying to draw Abercrombie out in debates because Abercrombie is well known for his babbling incoherence and his arrogance.)

Aiona strategy: Duke Aiona challenges Abercrombie to six debates

But the Republicans won’t be immune from attack themselves, with the Lingle administration’s eight-year record of gridlock with the Legislature and a dismal economy to answer for.

(This is the Democrat rap as highlighted this spring by the Abercrombie campaign workers who occupied the Governor’s office over furloughs after the HSTA/DoE/BoE invented them in order to manufacture the crisis artificially.)

Abercrombie’s backers: Furloughs: Advertiser sides with “sustainability” billionaires against “Save our Sports”, Furloughs: How Unions and the DoE aim to co-opt protesting parents

Democrat Borreca: Abercrombie easily slips into bombast

Abercrombie, the new Democratic nominee for governor, easily slips into bombast….

A campaign consultant who has worked for other Democrats talked about Abercrombie on the condition of anonymity.

More than 18 months ago, during the early planning stages of his campaign, supporters met with him, telling Abercrombie he is a talker, not a listener.

Back then Abercrombie said in an interview that "it can be construed as lecturing, putting yourself in a position where you are telling them what they need to do. That is the wrong way to go about it."

Asked about the change today, Abercrombie says: "I learned how to (pretend to) listen."

"The people are saying 'Listen to me.' I learned not to lecture," says Abercrombie, a former college professor.

Abercrombie admits: "I really had to work at (faking) it."

But the conversation had to include the voters, and Abercrombie acknowledges, "I had to discipline myself (to not just talk to myself)."

The temptation, he says, was to listen to the first part of what voters said and then butt in. (And the purpose of this article is to instruct the Abercrombie media to support the illusion that Abercrombie is not an arrogant blowhard.)

"I had to listen all the way through and not just say 'Yeah, I agree and here's what I am going to do about it,'" Abercrombie says. (Adding, it’s been torture, but I only have to fake it for seven more weeks.)

Abercrombie's consultant explains it this way:

"Neil learned to relax and be comfortable in his own skin. Neil is smart, but now he (pretends to) listen (for the first time sine the 1960s)."

Carlisle cites city finances as top priority

"Absolutely and unequivocally, the first thing that needs to be done is to figure out just exactly what the flow of money is and what our obligations are," he said. "If you've been spending money perpetually -- as if it grew on trees -- then that whole mindset has to change dramatically."

Carlisle was elected to serve the final two years in the term vacated by Mufi Hannemann.

Campaigning on a platform of "putting the city's fiscal house in order," Carlisle is realistic about what can be accomplished in just two years.

"I think you've got a pretty great chance of being able to make strides in the area of transparency," he said. "I think there's also a chance to make great strides in terms of reducing the cost of government.

"I think those are two things that can be accomplished if you have the right mindset."

Carlisle acknowledged, "It's not some overwhelming mandate," but noted he won the race without the financial backing or the endorsement of either of the state's political parties.

An analysis of precincts showed Carlisle won in 26 of the 35 House districts on Oahu.

LINK>>>Carlisle Victory election map

Tavares threatens veterans with retaliation: Molokai vets file suit over planned center

A nearly five-year, unsuccessful battle by Molokai veterans to build a veterans center in Kaunakakai has ended in a federal lawsuit with accusations that Maui Mayor Charmaine Tavares has "betrayed" the 600 veterans living on Molokai.

Larry Helm, a Vietnam War veteran and executive director of Molokai Veterans Caring for Veterans, told the Star-Advertiser that the litigation "is a really, really tough thing for us to do."

But Helm said the veterans seem to have been singled out and have encountered lengthy and unjustifiable delays….

Helm, in the lawsuit, said Tavares not only threatened to withhold the building permit during a phone call in June, but warned him not to come to Maui to protest.

HELL-CO to grab for your “Green”-- electric rate hikes coming thanks to the environmentalists

Hawaiian Electric Co. is hoping to convince its customers that an overhaul of the way electrical rates are set for most Hawaii households and businesses will bring benefits that outweigh any potential short-term increase in their bills.

Following the lead of about a dozen other states HECO and the Public Utilities Commission are implementing a new rate-setting mechanism designed to encourage the development of renewable energy and energy conservation by eliminating the economic incentive on the part of the utility to sell more electricity.

Often referred to as "decoupling," the scheme essentially guarantees utilities enough revenue to cover their fixed costs if their electricity sales decline….

The PUC itself acknowledged that the new revenue adjustment mechanism at the heart of the decoupling initiative "will put upward pressure on rates."

On balance, though, the commission determined that the possible short-term rate increase will be outweighed by a reduction in the frequency of rate cases, "the costs of which are borne by ratepayers." Under the old system, HECO had to apply for a rate increase every few years.

The new system should also improve HECO's access to capital and accelerate the state's transition to clean energy, the PUC said last month in approving the decoupling plan.

~~Concerned citizens~~ Professional activists tour shrimp farm

The activists’ purpose is to find new ways to attack and destroy food production in Hawaii.

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Senate Panel Approves $218 Million for Defense Projects in Hawaii

Here are the projects receiving funding…

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UH ties funding request to goals

UH is proposing to tie $20 million of its operating budget request for the next two fiscal years to performance goals, including boosting how many degrees are conferred and the number of native Hawaiians in the system.

If appropriated, an additional $10 million will be set aside to cover a portion of the operating costs for new students -- so the more new students enrolled, the more money UH gets.

The "incentive-based" budget, which comes in the wake of a painful round of cuts to the UH system, is aimed at driving reform and holding UH more accountable to ambitious goals it has included in its strategic plan.

(What a concept. Maybe the DoE should try it, eh?)

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Apathy In Board Of Ed Elections

Despite two years of budget cuts and the unforgettable Furlough Fridays, public interest in choosing who serves on the Hawaii State Board of Education dropped off significantly in this primary election.

Of the 276,944 voters who cast ballots in this weekend's primary election, only 58 percent cast votes for education board candidates that they would like to see in the November general election for the three Oahu at-large seats. Last time around, 70 percent voted for that seat in the 2008 primary.

Abolish this mess: http://www.hawaiichildrenfirst.org/

Pilago wins North Kona council seat outright

The PASH plaintiff whose lawsuit made Hokulia possible is back on the Council. Typical Kona. Hawaii County Council will continue to be a cesspool.

WHT: Pilago pulls through

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Naeole-Beason Denies Ethics Charges by dope lobby activist

The complaint was filed by Toni Robert of Pahoa, a volunteer of the Naeole-Beason re-election campaign.

In her petition, filed with the county Board of Ethics, Robert declared that,

“I am aware that Ms. Naeole gave verbal direction on or about June 2010 to her Campaign Treasurer during a campaign committee meeting at Ms. Naeole’s home. The verbal instruction was ‘Auntie Gwen, make sure you call as soon as you get into the office and order the T-shirts and Bags.’ The direction to her paid staff to use the office and office equipment, and presumably the time to place a campaign order for T-shirts and Bags, is of a personal nature and not the business of the office of District 5 Council.”

An investigation by HND found that Toni Robert operates the (dope-oriented) “Christian Liberty” and “Liberty Pole Posts” blogs.

The (dope oriented) blog ‘Taking Issue in Puna“, which is explicitly critical of councilwoman Naeole-Beason, also appears to be written by Robert under the pseudonym, “Ann Onimous” of Hawaii

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Third Party and Non-Partisan results

Hawaii held a primary for the five ballot-qualified parties on Saturday, September 18. Tentative returns show that 336 voters chose the Green Party primary, 316 voters chose the Libertarian primary, and 180 voters chose the Free Energy Party. A total of 279,797 people voted.

Hawaii also provided a non-partisan primary ballot, which exists so that voters can show support for an independent candidate. Two independent candidates received enough votes to appear on the ballot for Governor, and one independent candidate received enough votes to appear on the ballot for U.S. Senate. However, the only independent running for state legislature, Jonathan Abel, did not receive enough votes to qualify for November. He needed 24 votes but he only received 11.

Primary Wrap Up Analysis articles:

Tavares’ strength in Central Maui; Arakawa strongholds in South and West Maui

4th House District - Hanohano the winner

5th Council District - Naeole-Beason, Blas face runoff

6th Council District - Enriques, Smart to face off on Nov. 2

7th State House District - Evans, Henderson are headed for a showdown

1st, 2nd, 3rd & 5th State House Districts - Eight go uncontested

Political parties say unity is key in fall

Issues Beat Funding in Hawaii Primary Races

Analysis: Negative Hannemann Ads Hurt Caldwell's Mayoral Bid

Aina Haina had Highest Turnout, West Maui the Lowest

In Special, Carlisle Dominated Honolulu's Republican Regions