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  • Mufi's new job

    which major Hawaii business hires Mufi now that Doc Buyers is gone?

  • #2
    Re: Mufi's new job

    LOL! Good question.

    This thread is as good as any to write a post-mortem on Mufi's campaign. Where did he go wrong? These were the big blunders.

    1) The "Compare and Decide" flier - Whoever was the brainchilde behind that piece of trash was a total idiot. Comparing wives and their ethnic backgrounds? Disparaging the opponent for attending the home state university? Making a total mockery of any meaningful comparison by mentioning a beard contest? Would anyone disagree with the notion that this flier was a total disaster for the Hannemann campaign?

    2) Taking too long to resign from Honolulu Hale - Mufi reaped some short-term benefits from staying on the mayor's job until the very last day he could resign before running for governor. He kept whacking Neil about resigning from Congress earlier and making a big deal about how much money it was costing taxpayers and the congressional votes that were missed. Mufi may have also thought that staying on as mayor as long as possible would allow him to fully milk all the PR opportunities that would come his way. But as it turned out, those advantages were short-lived and Neil's head start in campaigning for governor did eventually pay off dividends.

    3) Appealing for crossover votes from Republicans in a primary election - Usually a dicey strategy. A lot of times, whatever votes are gained by pandering to the other party are nullified by disaffected voters in the candidate's own party. And in this particular election, there have been reports about quite a number of voters who spoiled their ballots when they tried to vote on both Republican and Democratic races, instead of sticking with one party's races like they are supposed to. In this way, Mufi probably lost a number of Republican votes he was hoping to attract, while losing still more votes from offended Democrats.
    This post may contain an opinion that may conflict with your opinion. Do not take it personal. Polite discussion of difference of opinion is welcome.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Mufi's new job

      Some other lessons to be learned from the 2010 primary election:

      1) Invoking religion and/or the same-sex civil union issue to attract votes in this state is looking more and more like a bad idea, especially in a Democratic primary. Look at Blake Oshiro trouncing Gary Okino by 12 points in the State House 33 race. Or how about Norman Sakamoto not only losing, but finishing a weak 3rd in the Lt. Gov. race? And of course, look at Mufi,....

      There are other states in this country where playing the religion card pays off with electoral wins. But Hawaii is not one of them. And in particular, the voters here don't seem to have much of a taste for conservative Blue Dog Democrats. We'll see in the general election if the same strategy works for the Republicans. My guess is that in the major races, it won't work for GOP candidates either.

      2) Candidates exploiting the ethnic appeal of their spouses. It seemed to work in the past for Frank Fasi (Joyce Kono), John Waihee (Lynne Kobashigawa), and Jeremy Harris (Ramona Sachiko Akui), among others. But it's a strategy that now seems to be on the wane, as Mufi (Gail Mukaihata) and Kirk Caldwell (Donna Tanoue) both struck out, while their respective opponents didn't showcase their spouses during the campaign. Alas, the electorate in this state is a-changin'. And hopeful candidates in future elections would be wise to bone up on that fact.

      3) Union endorsements - Look at all the candidates who led their respective races when it came to garnering the most unions under their umbrella. Mufi, Caldwell, Franklin Pacarro for Honolulu Prosecutor. They all lost. Clearly, endorsements from the likes of HGEA and the ILWU don't carry the same weight as it has in the past. Even before election day, I wondered about how much solidarity the union leaders would be able to muster among their rank-and-file in supporting the endorsed candidates. Folks like Tunnl dismissed those concerns. But look at what happened.

      The bottom line to all this is that voters in Hawaii are changing. As more of the oldtimers pass away and more newcomers flock to these isles, campaigns can't pander to the same old attitudes and prejudices that worked in the past.
      This post may contain an opinion that may conflict with your opinion. Do not take it personal. Polite discussion of difference of opinion is welcome.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Mufi's new job

        Good thread, where did Mufi go wrong?

        The world is a different place, electronic media (internet news, blogs, chat rooms, emails, etc) have changed the rules and the way campaigns are run in my noobie opinion.

        In the past, when newspapers, the 6-o'clock news and radio were the only real ways of getting out information or DIS-information to the public....those with the huge war chests were in charge.

        The big money candidates could control the message and create their own persona.

        Electronic media has changed that forever, because even if a Candidate buys 100 tv spots to try and "spin" his own message, voters can turn to blogs, internet chat rooms, forums etc to get the truth or what they perceive to be the truth.

        No more brainwashing of the masses anymore.

        A good example is the Star Advertiser online articles.

        You first read the article, then scroll down to the bottom of the page to read the "comments section" for the REAL story.

        I often am reminded by savvy online commentators about past statements a candidate has made or actions he has taken -- things the online reporter did not mention in the article.

        If I know that those things to be true, it will definitely sway my opinion of the candidate regardless of what the actual newa report states.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Mufi's new job

          I'm not sure whether the pundits are right, but another reason Caldwell didn't win, they posited, was that Mufi hung on too long as Mayor. That meant Caldwell couldn't start his campaign as early as he'd have liked to. He did appear to be closing the gap between himself and Carlisle at the end, so it may be that the pundits are trying to explain that phenomenon and grasping at something, but it's possible. When you've got essentially zero name recognition like Caldwell and you're running against a guy with lots of it like Carlisle, the longer the campaign the better.
          http://www.linkmeister.com/wordpress/

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Mufi's new job

            A little off topic but did anyone other than myself notice how totally ecstatic Mufi's wife Gail seemed to be while he was giving his concession speech? Her smile was really believable unlike her commercial and she appeared to genuinely happy. The real Gail came through.

            As for Caldwell I feel that by waiting until the last minute Mufi showed little confidence in Caldwell's ability to run the city and that hurt Caldwell.

            Comment


            • #7
              Kirk Caldwell

              Originally posted by D'Alani View Post
              As for Caldwell I feel that by waiting until the last minute Mufi showed little confidence in Caldwell's ability to run the city and that hurt Caldwell.
              I agree with this one. When a tsunami threat hit Honolulu back in February, Kirk Caldwell was thrust into an acting mayor position (since Mufi was in Washington, D.C.). I felt since Hannemann had the edge in fundraising over Abercrombie, he would’ve looked at that moment as the beginning of Kirk’s “coming out” party.

              Yet, because the former mayor stayed in office an additional five months, Caldwell’s declaration of candidacy in late May was a wasted opportunity, since the mayor could have easily handed over the reigns at that time. On Caldwell’s first day on the job, KITV did man-on-the-street interviews and few of the people they spoke with even knew who he was. For someone running as a “virtual incumbent,” that’s huge.

              We can’t be so fixated on our desire to preserve the rights of ordinary Americans.

              — U.S. President Bill Clinton
              USA TODAY, page 2A
              11 March 1993

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Mufi's new job

                Originally posted by Linkmeister View Post
                I'm not sure whether the pundits are right, but another reason Caldwell didn't win, they posited, was that Mufi hung on too long as Mayor. That meant Caldwell couldn't start his campaign as early as he'd have liked to. He did appear to be closing the gap between himself and Carlisle at the end, so it may be that the pundits are trying to explain that phenomenon and grasping at something, but it's possible. When you've got essentially zero name recognition like Caldwell and you're running against a guy with lots of it like Carlisle, the longer the campaign the better.
                Originally posted by D'Alani View Post
                As for Caldwell I feel that by waiting until the last minute Mufi showed little confidence in Caldwell's ability to run the city and that hurt Caldwell.
                This dovetails into the earlier point I was making about Mufi hanging on too long to his mayorship, which ended up hurting both Hanneman's and Caldwell's efforts at campaigning. What you folks say is true.

                But,.... at the same time, this also has to be said. When Jeremy Harris successfully ran for mayor in the 1994 special election, his predecessor (Frank Fasi) likewise also resigned in sometime in July, waiting until the final day before the deadline to run for governor.

                Granted, Jeremy Harris had 8 years under his belt as the city's managing director (compared to Caldwell's 18 month tenure in the same position). But as a very successful businessman once told me; only losers dwell on what they don't have and things that they were never given. Movers-and-shakers focus on the things that they do have, and making the most of whatever opportunities that are given to them, rather than whining and wishing for things that are not coming their way.

                Fact is, Caldwell's tenure as acting mayor (short as it was) is more than what Arnold Morgado, Ann Kobayashi, or Panos Prevedouros was ever given. Caldwell's supporters have bellyached about this, but Caldwell himself has wisely stayed mum on this topic. If he does complain publicly, then like my friend would say, he would be acting like a loser.

                Besides, Caldwell's brief tenure as acting mayor did present him with one issue upon which he had a chance to really make an impression upon voters, which was the outrageous property tax increase levied upon those poor homeowners in Kalihi. Kirk had the golden opportunity of getting in front of this story by coming up with a creative solution that would really help out those distressed homeowners. As close as it was to election day, Caldwell coming to the rescue of "the little guy" would have been equivalent to a pinch-hitter swinging for the fences and hitting the game winning HR in the final inning. Instead, Caldwell bunted, pointing fingers at the city's tax assessors, suggested bandaid solutions (installment payments, deferred tax credit for next year), and leaving it to the city council to come up with a plan to provide immediate relief for those distressed homeowners.

                Caldwell had his chance to show Oahu voters that he was a man of action and a problem-solver. And he blew it. 99.99% of all the other mayor wannabes never even get that one shot.
                This post may contain an opinion that may conflict with your opinion. Do not take it personal. Polite discussion of difference of opinion is welcome.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Mufi's new job

                  He's tall enough to play on the Miami Heat with LeBron, Dwayne Wade, and the other guy to bring a NBA championship to Hawaii. Go Heat!

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Mufi's new job

                    Originally posted by Palolo lolo View Post
                    which major Hawaii business hires Mufi now that Doc Buyers is gone?
                    Word is, he's quite a singer!~
                    Be Yourself. Everyone Else Is Taken!
                    ~ ~
                    Kaʻonohiʻulaʻokahōkūmiomioʻehiku
                    Spreading the virus of ALOHA.
                    Oh Chu. If only you could have seen what I've seen, with your eyes.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Mufi's new job

                      Regarding Caldwell's loss don't forget Panos, who looks like Danny Devito, but sounds like Latka from Taxi, he took 20% of the vote away from both candidates.

                      I think name recognition hurt Caldwell more than anything else and trying to get your name out there in just a few short months is a tough sell.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Mufi's new job

                        RE:
                        Besides, Caldwell's brief tenure as acting mayor did present him with one issue upon which he had a chance to really make an impression upon voters, which was the outrageous property tax increase levied upon those poor homeowners in Kalihi
                        .


                        AND don’t forget about acting Mayor Kirk Caldwell meanwhile benefiting from the Historic Homes exemption, with him paying just $300 in property taxes in 2010. Voters notice that sort of inequity!
                        Now run along and play, but don’t get into trouble.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Mufi's new job

                          Originally posted by Amati View Post
                          RE: .

                          AND don’t forget about acting Mayor Kirk Caldwell meanwhile benefiting from the Historic Homes exemption, with him paying just $300 in property taxes in 2010. Voters notice that sort of inequity!
                          Any voter who took notice of that story, yep, you're right. As I said when Rob Perez' article first came out, this was the kind of story that could not help Caldwell's case. Living in Kalihi, I know that people in the community were really disgruntled with the Hannemann/Caldwell administration as far as how property taxes were handled. I suppose it's easier for Caldwell's supporters to console themselves with factors like lack of name recognition to chalk up their man's loss. And in many cases, they may be right. But in areas where people were impacted with the outrageous tax increases, you better believe that Caldwell's name was being bandied about in a most unfavorable way. And if Caldwell himself fails to recognize that, then all I can say is that this does not bode well for any future mayoral campaigns for the man.

                          Speaking of misreading the election results, this is how a Hannemann campaign official attributes his candidate's resounding defeat.

                          Star Advertiser

                          Kevin Lopez, field director for the Hannemann campaign, said traditional Democrats "almost universally" voted for Abercrombie. He said the message that worked well for the former mayor at the city level did not translate to the primary.

                          "We just were not able to get people that consistently follow city issues -- Mufi's track record, whether they agreed with it or not -- we weren't able to get them into voting in a Democratic primary," he said. "Our message about the ability to manage, the ability to get things done, working with the other side, working with divergent parties, that plays well on the city side.

                          "But it doesn't play well in a Democratic primary
                          ."
                          Uhhhh, no, Mr. Lopez. That makes no sense.

                          Fact of the matter is, if a mayor has done well in their job, then satisfied voters in that county will likely support him for governor. For example, Frank Fasi was unsuccessful in securing his party's nomination for governor when he ran in the Democratic primary in 1974 and '78. But both times, he actually got the most votes on Oahu. Clearly, people in Honolulu liked what they saw of Mayor Fasi's administration and thought he could do more of the same as governor. Where Fasi always fell short on his bids for the governorship was on the neighbor islands. And it's understandable. People outside of Oahu weren't as familiar with him and so they put their trust in the candidate who got their union's endorsement.

                          With Hannemann, it's the direct opposite. Mufi's worst election result came on Oahu, with better results on the neighbor isles. This indicates to me that the more familiar people are with the Mufster, the more they don't like him. That is very telling. It is probably not a reality that Mufi and his supporters would like to face, but there it is.
                          This post may contain an opinion that may conflict with your opinion. Do not take it personal. Polite discussion of difference of opinion is welcome.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Mufi's new job

                            Very interesting analysis, and I was blown away when I saw the map of the Hawaiian Islands and how almost everything was painted blue, which is Abercrombie's color!

                            He didn't just beat Hannemann, he demolished him.


                            I must say, Hannemann needed to admit when he made mistakes.

                            There is nothing wrong with admitting one's faults...or when one screws up.

                            Take the tax assessment debacle for example, with residents of Kalihi being left hung out to dry with massive tax increases.

                            During the debate, I believe Abercrombie asked Hannemann about this, and instead of taking responsibility for it and owning up to it (at least taking SOME of the blame), he totally disavowed himself from the mistake.

                            He wasn't willing to admit even one iota of fault.

                            To me, I took issue with that. He is the man in charge, the Mayor. The buck has to stop with him.

                            If he isn't willing to own up to his mistakes as Mayor, what happens if he becomes Governor?

                            I look at him and see a big kid....in many ways.... who wants to always be perfect, and who can do no wrong.

                            That's not the way it works though....we are human. We are adults. We make mistakes, and provided they are not incredibly bad ones where people are injured and/or die or lose their homes and life savings....it can be repaired.

                            I think if Hannemann had swallowed his pride....admitted that he could have done better....admitted that he WOULD do better in the future....that would have hit home with Hawaii folks, who are for the most part extremely humble and forgiving.

                            Especially when someone admits they are wrong.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Mufi's new job

                              hi,i in a way somewhat view's it as when someone make's an error,not everyone admit's it,i see if the criminal's admitted to doing something incorrect,only he's not a criminal and he in a way should say i admit i've done something incorrect,only not thing's in his private life,he's only human as we are.

                              even when he was mayor,as a offical of this state,he may have admitted it only in someway's,they shouldnt need to shed tear's so people here should forgive them,i've admitted thing's only when my deceased father disciplined me,i've shed tear's only due to being disciplined and im not an official,im a human.

                              not all offical's should shed tear's.


                              Well thank's for your time

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