VOTE Tuesday Nov 2 Find your polling place
Aiona-Finnegan Closing TV Ad: Jobs, Education, Economy
Hawaii Tribune-Herald Endorses Duke Aiona and Lynn Finnegan
Gallup predicts Largest Republican margin in Several Generations
Aiona campaign rally at Kuhio Terrace
Aiona mentioned his religious faith — he's Catholic — at a meeting of mostly Samoans and Tongans at Kuhio Park Terrace, a low-income housing complex. But most of his 13-minute talk centered on caring for children and staying away from drugs.
"It's easier to build strong children than to fix broken adults," he told about four dozen residents.
(Republican rally in the projects. If anything captures the grassroots nature of the Aiona campaign against the entrenched corrupt elites backing The Abercrombie, this is it.)
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'Vote for righteousness,' flock told: Candidates compete on a chart in church
"We're called as Christians to vote for righteousness," Bogee said at the 9 a.m. service yesterday. "So you decide who is the righteous candidate."
On a big screen above a lighted stage, the congregation can see a comparison chart of two candidates for governor.
Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona, the Republican, is a Catholic. Former U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie, the Democrat? His faith is unknown.
Aiona is for traditional marriage. Abercrombie is for House Bill 444, the civil unions bill.
Aiona is conservative on fiscal stewardship. Abercrombie is for taxes and spending.
Aiona is pro-life. Abercrombie is pro-abortion.
"I'll guarantee you in this next four years, same-sex marriage will become an issue again," Bogee said. "Civil unions will become an issue again. Who do you want to be sitting in the governor's seat?"
Churches can urge people to vote and take positions on public-policy issues, but they risk their tax-exempt status if they participate in political campaign activity on behalf of candidates.
"It's not our job to tell you who to vote for, but as Christians we ask you to vote for righteousness," Bogee emphasized. "Amen."
The church's senior pastor, the Rev. Mike Kai, told the congregation that the church is not pushing a candidate or a political party.
"I think it speaks for itself, though, if you understand that," he said, referring to the comparison chart.
"You may be thinking, 'Well, you already pushed it.' No, we're not. It speaks for itself. What you saw tells you how to vote," he said.
(Exactly the right message.)
RELATED: Hawaii Family Forum compares candidates for General Election
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Carlisle Looking To Fill Key Administration Posts
The administration is particularly looking for qualified applicants for cabinet and sub-cabinet positions in the departments of Budget and Fiscal Services, Facility Maintenance, Parks and Recreation, Planning and Permitting, Corporation Counsel and the Royal Hawaiian Band.
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GOP looks to Hawaii to make waves
Hawaii had the nation's ninth-highest foreclosure rate in the country in the third quarter, but unemployment dipped to 6.3 percent in September compared to 9.2 percent nationwide. Island tourism is still in the doldrums but appears to be rebounding.
"I haven't seen enough improvements from stimulus spending," said Mike Ellis, of Honolulu, after casting an early ballot for Djou on Tuesday. "If we haven't used it, we should give that money back."
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Another progressive says Hawaii vote is referendum on Obama
The general election on the mainland is shaping up to be a referendum on President Obama and the Democratic-controlled Congress — and it's not looking pretty for either.
But in Hawaii, the president remains popular, with a 62-percent approval rating, according to the latest Civil Beat poll. Fifty-seven percent of Hawaii voters feel positive about the direction of the country, nearly double the percent who feel that way nationally.
The election Tuesday will tell us whether the wave of change on the mainland is strong enough to wash over the islands, or whether the dominance of the Democratic Party here is so strong that it can retake the governor's office and 1st Congressional District seat, even in a terrible year for Democratic candidates nationally.
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Kalapa: Holding Your Breath Won't Help, Get Out And Vote
Taxpayers watching the latest spate of political advertisements may believe that the state’s next leader will bring "change" but that change won’t happen if voters don’t get out and vote this week.
RELATED: VOTE Tuesday Nov 2 Find your polling place
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Volcanic Ash wins hypocrisy contest
GOP chairman Jonah Kaʻauwai was boasting about it in advance on a Republican-friendly website (notice that Shapiro fears to tell his readers where they might find this website) that features National Enquirer-style headlines throwing everything from Nazis and slavery to marijuana and birthers at Abercrombie.
(Yes. It is true. We are guilty of QUOTING Abercrombie. Read these articles and you too can commit a thought crimes and join the proud guilty.)
Between this cheap late hit, (which is MUCH worse than accusing Duke Aiona of killing gays in Uganda and burning Indian artefacts in South America) the GOP’s use of a pilfered photo of Colleen Hanabusa doctored to make her look like Darth Vader (We agree, that is a terrible thing to do to Darth Vader—but what about the doctored photo of Charles Djou and the Lunar Aiona-Lingle?) and Kaʻauwai’s screed that Abercrombie and Hannemann weren’t righteous enough for the body of Christ, there are legitimate concerns that the current Hawai‘i Republican leadership just doesn’t know where the boundaries are. (And Lingle is a lesbian who will abolish Christmas--that's in bounds..)
Does Shapiro follow his own boundaries? >>> Shapiro: Hannemann's tactics "ungodly"
What are the boundaries about? >>> Star-Advertiser & Abercrombie sing duet on Religion: Only we the elite may draw lines between right and wrong
RELATED: This Democrat didn’t forget who the real Neil Abercrombie is
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The Hypocrisy of Putting Down ‘Mainland Money’ Flowing into Hawaii
With November 2nd just right around the corner, you can’t go anywhere these days without hearing at least one person crow about how millions of dollars of “mainland money” has been pouring into our islands to influence the upcoming elections….
The implication, of course, is that “mainland money” is bad for Hawaii because of the external control that off-island cash brings with it. I agree!
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Maui County's strict rules keep rentals in check
And enforcing those laws is about to cost Tavares her Mayoralty. Duh.
Related: Glut of illegal rentals angers homeowners
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HECO, IBEW talk past deadline
When contract talks continue past a contract deadline without a strike, it often signals that the two sides feel they are making progress.
The three electric utilities employ more than 1,600 people who belong to the IBEW, including clerical workers as well as actual electricians.
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Foreclosure crisis mounts in Kona
One in every 97 Kailua-Kona homes was in foreclosure in September, giving the West Hawaii community the worst foreclosure rate in the state
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Group to buy cultural site from builder
The developer of a planned a luxury condominium in Hawaii Kai that drew protests over the treatment of cultural artifacts on the site has agreed to sell part of the land at the heart of the controversy to a community group for preservation.
The tentative deal involves the roughly 300-unit project recently renamed Hale Ka Lae from Hale Alii, at the corner of Keahole Street and Hawaii Kai Drive.
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Former NRA President to speak in Kaneohe
HRA-sponsored lunch with former NRA President Sandy Froman.
November 6, 11am, KMCBH Officer's Club. (map)
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Big Isle mayor takes heat for TV program expenses
The mayor of the Big Island is being criticized for spending $20,600 on his new television show after saying "This Week with Mayor Billy Kenoi" was being produced at no taxpayer expense.
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Seed industry answers latest Sierra Club lies
While we applaud the Sierra Club for turning its attention to food security (Name in the News, Star-Advertiser, Oct. 22), the comment by Robert Harris that farmers are having difficulty finding land to farm "because it's all being used for seed corn" is a gross misstatement.
The agricultural biotech industry, which includes seed corn research companies, operates on only 5 percent of the available prime agricultural lands in the state. Of those acres, approximately 8,000 are actively used for crop production, which conserves water and results in a smaller environmental footprint.
Recognizing the difficulty of farmers to secure land, many seed companies now collaborate with farmers to put new and displaced farmers back on agricultural land at affordable prices. Farmers large and small are growing a variety of crops side by side, and many now even supplement their income by growing seed crops. In addition, seed companies lease land to cattle ranchers, who are another important part of Hawaii's food security picture.
RELATED: The Future of Fraud
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Maui News: Decision time for voters is closing in
KGI: Candidates rally troops on Kaua‘i
KITV: Candidates Clash Over Trash
KITV: Abercrombie, Aiona Sign Wave, Fire Up Troops
KITV: Politicians Make Final Push As Election Nears
KITV: Democrats Plan Traditional Rally On Big Island
KITV: Last Weekend For Gubernatorial Candidates To Meet Potential Voters
HNN: Djou, Hanabusa make last-minute push for votes
SA: Recapping our election choices
SA: Obama, Hawaii Democrats to be on town hall call