Local Republicans had better hope they’re better at campaigning than arithmetic heading into the general election for governor. After Saturday’s primary, GOP chairman Jonah Ka‘auwai issued a statement belittling Neil Abercrombie’s landslide victory over Mufi Hannemann on the Democratic side. Ka‘auwai said, “While a stunning percentage victory over Hannemann, Abercrombie garnered fewer votes than Randy [...]
Archive for September 2010
Don’t count Abercrombie out on GOP math
September 19, 2010Welcome to Election Night Live
September 18, 201011:25 PM I received a big glossy mailer from Kirk Caldwell the day before the election that had an annotated copy of the Star-Advertiser editorial endorsing him on one side, which was fine. But the other side was all Donna Tanoue, Caldwell’s wife, and U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, on whose staff Caldwell served 30 years [...]
flASHback alert/election night plans
September 18, 2010Today’s “flASHback” column in the Star-Advertiser: “Notable quotes underline the importance of voting.” And a reminder that the blog will run live tonight to post my own impressions of the returns and welcome the comments of anybody else who cares to analyze or vent. I’ll start around 6 p.m. and stay up as long as [...]
Time for the voters to speak
September 17, 2010This has been one of the most intense election seasons I can remember in Hawai‘i, and I’ve heard more than enough to make my choices and am glad to see it coming to an end — the primary segment, anyhow. It’s been a long campaign mainly because it got off to an early start with [...]
Hannemann rolls the dice on GOP appeal
September 16, 2010Crossover voting has been an undercurrent in the governor’s race, with third-party groups aligned with Mufi Hannemann appealing to Republicans — especially religious conservatives — to pull Democratic ballots and vote for Hannemann. But Hannemann’s direct personal appeal this week to Republicans and religious voters raises the stakes — and the risks. It suggests that [...]
Call the caterer in the mayor’s race
September 14, 2010I’ve already voted absentee, but I watched the last televised mayoral debate anyway to get a sense of what we’re in for. (OK, I TiVo’ed through some of it.) I didn’t hear anything inspiring, but concluded that we’ll probably be OK with the top candidates that are most likely to win. A few impressions: Acting [...]
Support Matayoshi, but boot the school board
September 14, 2010I have no problem with Kathryn Matayoshi as public schools superintendent. She delivered the goods by bringing home the $75 million federal “Race to the Top” grant — and more impressively, winning it by bringing together all elements of the education establishment on a much-needed reform program for our schools. I wish her the best [...]
A taxing connection for Caldwell
September 13, 2010I’m getting buzz in my e-mail inbox about the Rob Perez story in yesterday’s Star-Advertiser about how nearly 250 O’ahu homeowners — including acting Mayor Kirk Caldwell — are paying as little as $300 a year in property taxes by having a special “historic” designation placed on their houses. Some readers don’t like the way [...]
Democrats: Rules made for ignoring II
September 13, 2010Our discussion about Democratic Party rules and their enforcement (or lack thereof) takes an interesting new turn with the party’s move to discipline Gary Okino with expulsion, censure or reprimand for supporting Republican candidates in the upcoming election, including Cam Cavasso over U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye. Okino, a Honolulu councilman, is running in the Democratic primary [...]
flASHback alert
September 11, 2010Today’s “flASHback” column in the Star-Advertiser: “Government common sense replaced with ‘idiot’ version.”
Recent Comments