City Council Elections: District 3

[Frankie's Market]

Re: City Council Elections: District 3

I never thought I would EVER agree with Zimmerman but on this issue? Yes. It all goes to the "perception" of Mr. Holmes honesty & integrity. Whether it's true or not - the questions are there.

If Steve Holmes was a newcomer to the political scene, I probably would agree with you. But Holmes is not an unknown commodity, so perceptions (or preconceptions, as may be the case) are not as important. He's proven himself as an honest lawmaker on the Honolulu City Council through 3 previous terms. He's never been caught up in any power of abuse scandals, in contrast to former colleagues like Rene Mansho and Andy Mirikitani.

There's no questions surrounding Mansho's and Mirikitani's college transcripts, but it doesn't make either of them more worthy of returning to the council than Holmes.

Just my opinion.

[turtlegirl]

Re: City Council Elections: District 3

Okay! I read all of the candidates profiles on Hawaii Reporter, and I've narrowed my choices down to these -

Paul Akau
Tracy Bean
Wilson Kekoa Ho
Tom Pico

Even tho I've only been here a year, I get to vote! Can anyone provide me with more info and opinions about these 4 candidates (good or bad) that can help me make a decision?

[turtlegirl]

Re: City Council Elections: District 3

Anyone? Voting deadline is tomorrow. I'm very interested in more of your opinions on the candidates...

[anapuni808]

Re: City Council Elections: District 3

I can only speak about Wilson Ho (known him for over 30 years & consider him a friend) and Pohai Ryan, who is not on your list. I know her from party politics and civic clubs. I would vote for either one of them if I lived in your district - they are both well educated, experienced in community work and would either one make a good council member. Main reason for me would be that they would either one be new eyes/ears on the council and maybe bring a new outlook to the old way of doing business.

[808shooter]

Re: City Council Elections: District 3

in the mornings now seems like support for most candidates has dwindled considerably.

bean's crew at the island at the bottom of the pali is gone!
ikaika's union buddies are also scarce.
ho is on the pali and i still see felix and holmes supporters once in a while.

guess these candidates don't have stamina like chris lee did. he was out there in the rain. every day and night. you could really tell he wanted it.

these guys don't want it as bad. no one came by my house to talk story. chris came by twice.

[turtlegirl]

Re: City Council Elections: District 3

in the mornings now seems like support for most candidates has dwindled considerably.

bean's crew at the island at the bottom of the pali is gone!
ikaika's union buddies are also scarce.
ho is on the pali and i still see felix and holmes supporters once in a while.

guess these candidates don't have stamina like chris lee did. he was out there in the rain. every day and night. you could really tell he wanted it.

these guys don't want it as bad. no one came by my house to talk story. chris came by twice.

I agree. Its disappointing. Kawananakoa came by my house to talk story also, and when my bf saw him by Safeway with some questions he was happy to answer them. guess what - he got our votes!

[Frankie's Market]

Re: City Council Elections: District 3

these guys don't want it as bad. no one came by my house to talk story. chris came by twice.

I agree. Its disappointing. Kawananakoa came by my house to talk story also, and when my bf saw him by Safeway with some questions he was happy to answer them. guess what - he got our votes!

You two are doing an apples-to-oranges comparison here.

Chris Lee and Quentin Kawananakoa were engaged in a State House race last year. The island of Oahu is divided up into 35 seperate House districts.

In contrast, there are only 9 city council districts covering the same island.

Now, do the math in your head and mentally figure out just how much more land area and how many more people a city council member represents vs. a state house rep.

And then, figure into this equation the fact that this whole thing is a special election (necessitated by the death of Barbara Marshall) and that the candidates had less than a couple of months to campaign vs. a year or more that Lee and Kawananakoa had to organize their campaigns for a normal election.

Hopefully, after thinking all this through, your disappointment in the city council candidates will have been tempered.

I'll tell ya this. If Chris Lee was running in this special election, no way would he have had the time to casually talk story with everybody in his district twice.

Well, maybe if he cloned himself several times over,....

[turtlegirl]

Re: City Council Elections: District 3

I think that 808 and I are collectively disappointed by the unavailability of the candidates in the 'grand scheme'. None of the CC candidates went out of their way - not one that I know of out af all 9 in my district - to make themselves more personally available to the voters. Oh, except maybe providing email adresses..., and their volunteer sign wavers.

IMO, it would have taken little time and effort for any of the candidates (time restrictions and all in consideration, too) to buy themselves a tent at City Mill, then camp out at the corner by the Hospital at Pali and have volunteers hold signs saying "----, running for CC! Available to talk to you today! Stop On By!". Cheap and easy. They could have taken a few days here and there from their busy lives to set their tents with signs anywhere, and the residents of the district could have gotten to know the people themselves, not just pictures and bios.

Actually, I've seen people put in more effort than these candidates, just to get hired part time at Zippy's.

So, yeah, I'm still disappointed.

[Frankie's Market]

Re: City Council Elections: District 3

TG, I applaud you for your interest in local politicking and campaigning. But if you really want to know what it takes for a successful grass roots political campaign, you need to personally get involved and experience for yourself the kinds of strategies and activities that lay the foundation for a candidate to get out the vote on election day.

Pitching up a tent, telling everybody the place and time, and waiting for the voters to arrive,.... maybe in a normal election cycle, a city council candidate would have the luxury of doing that. But in the compressed time frame of this special election, it's not the wisest use of time and resources. Rather than making a broad and open appeal for voters to meet the candidate face-to-face and passively waiting for people to straggle in, savvy veterans would rather focus their attention on key people and groups who can deliver the contributions and the votes on election day.

Personally canvassing as many houses and voters in the district that a candidate can reach could be important, especially in a close race. But even in a smaller State House race, that alone can't be the centerpiece of a successful campaign. You used the example of Quentin Kawananakoa earning the votes of you and your boyfriend. But Kawananakoa did not win last year's election, did he? As I said, more is involved for a successful run. And this is even more true in a bigger race, like those for the State Senate and City Council.

If one doubts the importance of name recognition in a special election, that person should examine past history. In 1985 when 3 veteran councilmen were recalled, 2 of the 3 replacements voted in (Donna Kim & Arnold Morgado) were state house legislators. In 1988 when 3 councilmembers resigned to run for mayor, 2 of the 3 elected replacements also had the widespread name recognition. (Neil Abercrombie was a 12 year veteran of the state legislature while John Henry Felix had acquitted himself well in an unsuccessful run for the Lt. Governor's office in '86.)

[Frankie's Market]

Re: City Council Elections: District 3

Well, the results are in. Ikaika Anderson wins handily, with Steve Holmes coming in second. John Henry Felix finished fifth.

http://www.starbulletin.com/news/haw...ncil_seat.html

I guess the endorsement of Cliff Ziems (Marshall's widower) proved to be the key to the election.

Congratulations are in order for Ikaika and his supporters. But now, we'll see if he lives up to his pledge to be an independent lawmaker rather than a rubber stamp for the Hannemann administration or beholden to all of the labor unions that endorsed him.

[TuNnL]

Re: City Council Elections: District 3

Well, the results are in. Ikaika Anderson wins handily, with Steve Holmes coming in second. John Henry Felix finished fifth ... Congratulations are in order for Ikaika and his supporters.

As mentioned earlier, IMHO, Ikaika was the best candidate as he was the only candidate who was both an active part of every council meeting and community briefing in the district during Marshall’s tenure, and represents the younger generation (he’s an X’r like myself). The official results also show that despite spending the most of his own money and the most overall, Felix finished a distant fifth with a paltry 7% of the vote. Worth noting is that Holmes spent nearly twenty (20) times as much as he raised. I wouldn’t want someone with that type of record handling the city budget.

[scrivener]

Re: City Council Elections: District 3

Well I have to say I'm disappointed even though I didn't really have a horse in this race. I have generally liked the idea of political aides becoming elected officials (yes, I was a Jeremy Harris supporter, all the way to the end), but Anderson's and Felix's television commercials irritated the crap out of me for one reason: the "I'm _____ and I approve this message."

In both commercials, the candidates were the speakers. It's stupid for them to say they approved a message they themselves are speaking in. These commercials are not for national campaigns and therefore don't fall under the BCRA. This means that the candidates either think they're required to include the statement at the end of their commercials, meaning they are ignorant, or they know they don't have to but do it anyway, meaning they do it just to sound important. Either way, it's a turnoff and I wouldn't have voted for either candidate. Don't treat me like an idiot and don't yourselves be idiots, please.

[Frankie's Market]

Re: City Council Elections: District 3

Worth noting is that Holmes spent nearly twenty (20) times as much as he raised. I wouldn’t want someone with that type of record handling the city budget.

Yawn! That's been Holmes' MO in all of his previous campaigns. Sure, the man could have raised more money, but he refuses to take any donations from PACs and special interest groups. That was a big part of his appeal during the 1990s, in refreshing contrast to his predecessor. (Someone who raised a lot of campaign money, but was beholden to certain key donors.)

Well, it's clear from Anderson's impressive margin of victory that voters wanted to go in a different direction. We'll see if they got the man they really wanted. The tests will come down the pike at some point. There's always development vs. conservation issues on the Windward side. Will Anderson be an advocate for preservation and carefully planned growth in his district,.... or will he try to make all of his new "friends" in the labor unions happy with full-steam ahead development?

Well I have to say I'm disappointed even though I didn't really have a horse in this race. I have generally liked the idea of political aides becoming elected officials (yes, I was a Jeremy Harris supporter, all the way to the end), but Anderson's and Felix's television commercials irritated the crap out of me for one reason: the "I'm _____ and I approve this message."

In both commercials, the candidates were the speakers. It's stupid for them to say they approved a message they themselves are speaking in. These commercials are not for national campaigns and therefore don't fall under the BCRA. This means that the candidates either think they're required to include the statement at the end of their commercials, meaning they are ignorant, or they know they don't have to but do it anyway, meaning they do it just to sound important. Either way, it's a turnoff and I wouldn't have voted for either candidate. Don't treat me like an idiot and don't yourselves be idiots, please.

No, none of the candidates were required to give that disclaimer.

A few years ago, I used to think like you. Why is it that all of these political candidates (even the state/local ones) saying "I'm so-and-so, and I approve this message," like they are running for something very important. But I've come around to my thinking on this.

More and more during election season, we are seeing TV/radio commercials that are being put out by these 527 committees and special interest groups. Some of them may put out ads that are very controversial and downright inflammatory. So the "I'm so-and-so" message helps to differentiate between a commercial put out by candidate "A" vs a commercial that is put out by a 527 group that supports candidate "A", but may do so by using a highly negative message about candidate "B" that candidate "A" does not approve.

It probably wasn't necessary for Anderson or Felix to do it in this special election. But you never know for sure. Sometimes, 527 smear ads come out unexpectedly at the last minute,.... and then, there's a lot of finger pointing and accusations going both ways. You never know when someone has skeletons in the closet. And when the dirty laundry is aired by a 527 group, even the "beneficiaries" of such a commercial could be tainted by accusations that they are involved in smear campaigning. But if a candidate can clearly differentiate his own commercials from that of the 527's, then it will make it easier for him to steer clear of the fray.

[Leo Lakio]

Re: City Council Elections: District 3

These commercials are not for national campaigns and therefore don't fall under the BCRA. This means that the candidates either think they're required to include the statement at the end of their commercials, meaning they are ignorant, or they know they don't have to but do it anyway, meaning they do it just to sound important.

Many states have passed laws requiring these statements as well. Can someone please check to determine whether or not Hawai`i is among them (and share that citation here)? There's been a movement afoot to include internet advertising in the Act for about four or five years.

[Jewlipino]

Re: City Council Elections: District 3

Glad I backed the right horse. Now it comes down to Councilman Anderson's (I like saying that... much better than Councilman Felix or Holmes) performance in office. More importantly it's incumbent upon us as District 3 constituents, regardless of who we backed in the election, to keep abreast of Council developments and communicate effectively with our brand spanky new frosh councilman. There are a lot of issues to be tackled in between Kailua, Waimanalo, and Kaneohe (in order of my prefs lol). From vacation rentals, loss of beaches due to coastal over-development, traffic woes, agricultural concerns, sewage spills, and roads that only a 4-wheel drive could take, Mr. Anderson has a very full plate.