Kauai General Plan Strengthened by Kauai Voters

The CRG group did a great job with this. See attached comment below for a complete list of participants in this campaign. Politicians at all levels should take note, these people and their larger group of thousands of friends are capable of anything they set their minds to. Carl gives a good interview below:

http://kauaiworld.com/articles/2008/11/12/news/kauai_news/doc491a7bef711...
"General Plan gets teeth"
By Nathan Eagle - The Garden Island - November 12, 2008

"Speaking loud and clear with their ballots, Kaua‘i voters last week told county government that they want the General Plan to be more than a guiding document collecting dust on shelves.

By a nearly two-to-one margin, voters said “Yes” to a County Charter amendment that will limit the development of hotels, timeshares and vacation rentals to a prescribed growth rate.

As newly elected officials prepare to implement the law, expected to go into effect Dec. 4, questions continue to arise over the “devil in the details.” While the intent of responsible growth remains clear, concerns have been voiced publicly and privately over legal and logistical aspects.

“A lot of people are tired of irresponsible government,” said Carl Imparato, one of some 100 residents who worked to put the amendment on the ballot through a citizens’ petition and then campaigned behind it. “They want the plan to be more than a vision; they want it to be a reality.”

http://www.kauaiworld.com/articles/2008/11/06/news/kauai_news/doc49129ae...

"Newly-elected face council crash course"
‘Barack effect’ contributed to change in makeup
By Nathan Eagle - The Garden Island November 6, 2008

"Still spinning from a whirlwind of campaign events leading up to the election Tuesday, the trio of tyros chosen to serve on the Kaua‘i County Council for the next two years said yesterday that they will be prepared to navigate through the storm of challenges facing the island when they take their seats Dec. 1.

But first a day of rest.

The four returning members said they will assist the freshman class — Derek Kawakami, Lani Kawahara and Dickie Chang — in its transition to public office. The County Clerk’s Office will also help by briefing the new lawmakers on pending bills and executive session matters.

The neophytes attributed the significant shift in the council’s makeup, although largely due to three incumbents not seeking reelection, to the change residents want to see in the island and the “Barack effect,” as Kawahara put it.

“There was a whole bunch of new voters out there because our next president, Barack Obama, inspired them to get out and vote and take part in the democratic process,” Kawakami said. “I was a beneficiary of that. People connected with me.”

The 30-year-old Lihu‘e businessman, the youngest candidate elected to the council, said his supporters recognized his ability to “bridge that gap” between people of different age groups and people and government.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Sentiment for transparent, open County Council meetings got the highest vote total of any item or local candidate on the Kauai ballot, even though that was actually a misleading item on the ballot.

The directly, citizen-created Charter Amendment to Implement the General Plan out-polled all of the County Council candidates; further, in a contrary twist, the way that it was presented in full-text on the ballot seemed to work to its advantage. Nevertheless, Kauai voters did vote all the way down the ballot, as all of the amendments elicited more voting than almost all of the local candidates, including 3 of the 6 amendments out-polled even Bernard Carvalho. It helped that the County Clerk sent out the mailer on the Charter Amendments a week before the election to all registered voters.

Noticeable among the County Council candidates is that Ron Kouchi was the only incumbent who was narrowly ousted. Also, Derek Kawakami and Dickie Chang were expected to do well based on campaign funding and name recognition. The surprise was that Lani Kawahara somehow jumped up from the odd person out in the Primary to 5th place and even higher than that when only Absentee and ballot-by-mail was reported, where her margin was created. The most facinating campaign of all of these was Lani's and how she may have made such a huge jump from the Primary to the General Election. A good guess is that it involved targetted support from Senator Hooser and possibly direct mail.

Voters approve 5 of 6 charter amendments
http://kauaiworld.com/articles/2008/11/05/news/kauai_news/doc491170492cb...

By Nathan Eagle - The Garden Island
Published: Wednesday, November 5, 2008 1:14 AM HST
Kaua‘i voters yesterday passed five of six proposed County Charter amendments related to ethics, executive sessions, elections, growth and an auditor position.

The county Charter Review Commission, a seven-member volunteer body appointed by the mayor, put three amendments on the ballot after vetting several proposals over the past year.

Voters decided the County Charter should be amended to conform to state law requiring all County Council meetings to be open to the public unless allowed to be closed under the Sunshine Law, Hawai‘i Revised Statutes Chapter 92.

A group of residents fought this proposal from its infancy. They testified against it for months after it was unveiled in February at a Charter Review Commission meeting.

Residents Glenn Mickens, Ed Coll and Ken Taylor among others pushed to preserve Section 3.07 (E), which limits executive sessions to matters concerning the confirmation of appointees and consultations with the county attorney on claims. Underscoring the need for government to be as open as possible, they said the charter should remain more stringent than the state law which lists several reasons why government agencies can take certain agenda items behind closed doors.

County Council has new makeup
http://kauaiworld.com/articles/2008/11/05/news/kauai_news/doc49116f4650b...

Derek Kawakami is congratulated by Pittsburg Pirates’ pitcher Tyler Yates following one of the printouts for the General Election at Kawakami’s campaign headquarters in Lihu‘e. Dennis Fujimoto/The Garden Island
*
By Michael Levine - The Garden Island
Published: Wednesday, November 5, 2008 1:14 AM HST
While the Kaua‘i County Council will have a decidedly different look over the next two years simply by virtue of some members vacating their seats for other elected offices, four recent members, including three incumbents, were re-elected to the county’s governing body in yesterday’s General Election.

Jay Furfaro, Tim Bynum, Daryl Kaneshiro and Bill “Kaipo” Asing, who all spent at least part of 2008 on the council, earned new two-year terms.

With 17 of 17 precincts reporting, Furfaro’s 11,541 votes led the pack, with newcomer Derek Kawakami (11,306), Bynum (11,109), Asing (10,869), neophytes Lani Kawahara (10,700) and Dickie Chang (9,927), and Kaneshiro (9,752) set to join him in the 2008-2010 council.

“I’m very pleased I’m back on the council,” said Furfaro, who was first elected in 2002 and served as the council’s chair starting in July when Asing resigned to fill the mayor’s seat vacated by Bryan Baptiste’s June passing. “I want to do my part in what will be challenging times.”

http://kauaiworld.com/articles/2008/11/05/news/kauai_news/doc49116e597b7...
Clear Carvalho win

JoAnn Yukimura gives Bernard Carvalho a hug after arriving at his campaign party following the release of the final General Election printouts last night. Dennis Fujimoto/The Garden Island
*
Baptiste torch passed
By Michael Levine - The Garden Island
Published: Wednesday, November 5, 2008 1:14 AM HST
Riding on the heels of a comfortable primary victory and vocal island-wide support, Bernard Carvalho racked up almost a 3-to-2 vote margin over rival JoAnn Yukimura in yesterday’s special election to take over the final two years of the mayoral term of the late Bryan Baptiste.

“I am humbled an honored by the vote of confidence,” Carvalho said in his acceptance speech at Lihu‘e’s Kaua‘i Veterans Center last night. “It’s an opportunity to ... shape our future and fulfill our dreams.”

With 17 of 17 precincts reporting, Carvalho had pulled in 14,302 votes to Yukimura’s 9,735 for a 57.5 percent to 39.2 percent margin.

The Kaua‘i-born Carvalho filed papers in July and quickly built a strong base, with sign-waving supporters situated seemingly all across the Garden Isle.

In addition to the grassroots support, Carvalho, of Kapa‘a, also earned a endorsement early in his campaign in the form of Annette Baptiste, widow of the late mayor, whose June passing opened the door for the special election.

Kauai Polling Place Maps:
http://hawaii.gov/elections/maps/2008/
http://hawaii.gov/elections/maps/2008/KauaiCounty.pdf

POLLING PLACES
Representative District
Precinct

14TH REPRESENTATIVE DISTRICT
1. Hanalei Elementary School
2. Kilauea Elementary School
3. Anahola Hawaiian Homes Clubhouse
4. Kapaa Elementary School
5. Kapaa Neighborhood Center

15TH REPRESENTATIVE DISTRICT
1. Kapaa Middle School
2. King Kaumualii Elementary School
3. Kauai War Memorial Convention Hall
4. Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle Schoool
5. Koloa Neighborhood Center

16TH REPRESENTATIVE DISTRICT
1. Koloa Elementary School
2. Kalaheo Neighborhood Center
3. Hanapepe Recreation Center
4. Kaumakani Neighborhood Center
5. Waimea Neighborhood Center
6. Kekaha Neighborhood Center
7. Niihau School

http://www.kauaiworld.com/articles/2008/10/29/government/doc4907f8d87893...

General Election Tuesday, Nov. 4

By The Garden Island
Published: Wednesday, October 29, 2008 12:13 AM HST
• Polling place locator:

www4.honolulu.gov/vote/

• Properly registered voters in the state of Hawai‘i will receive a Notice of Voter Registration and Address Confirmation (NVRAC) postcard prior to the election. The NVRAC lists which election(s) a voter is eligible for, the voter’s district/precinct number and polling place location.

• Questions regarding voter registration status or polling place location should be directed to the Kaua‘i County Clerk: 241-6350.

http://scitech.blogs.cnn.com/2008/11/03/the-political-impact-of-election...

CNN SciTechBlog
November 3, 2008
"The political impact of Election Day weather"

"It seems rain DOES make a difference when deciding an election. As matter of fact it might have cost Al Gore the White House in 2000.

According to Florida State University researcher Brad Gomez (along with Thomas G. Hansford and George A. Krause), just an inch of rain can make a big difference in a tight race. (Gomes, who recently joined the faculty at FSU, did his research while at the University of Georgia).

The researchers studied the past 14 presidential elections using simulated weather conditions for those dates based on data from more than 22,000 weather reporting stations. They found that while 1 inch of rain drops overall voter turnout by less than 1 percent, the Democratic turnout drops by 2.5 percent.

There was significant rain in the Florida panhandle during the controversial 2000 election when George W. Bush beat Gore by just hundreds of votes in Florida to win the presidency. If it hadn’t rained, enough additional Democrats might have voted in Florida to give Gore the White House.

Other interesting findings in the study show that younger voters are less likely to vote in bad weather while older voters are more inclined to vote rain or shine. (Once again we need to follow the lead of our elders and vote — regardless of the weather!!!)

All of the national large sample polls show Obama with 52 to 55% and McCain with 43 to 46%.

From: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2008/president/us/general_electi...

Barack Obama leads John McCain by eight percentage points among “traditional likely voters,” 51% to 43%, with 5% undecided. His lead stretches to nine points among “expanded likely voters” and 11 points among all eligible voters. Read more at GALLUP.com.

The final USA Today/Gallup 2008 pre-election poll predicts Barack Obama will be elected the 44th president of the United States, as he holds a 55% to 44% advantage over John McCain in the allocated estimate of the 2008 presidential vote. Read more at GALLUP.com.

Gallup 10/31 - 11/02
2472 LV
2.0 MOE
Obama 55
McCain 44
Obama +11

ABC News/Wash Post 10/29 - 11/01
2172 LV
2.5 MOE
Obama 54
McCain 43
Obama +11

Daily Presidential Tracking Poll
On Monday, the final full day of campaigning for Election 2008, the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll shows Barack Obama with 52% of the vote while John McCain is six points back at 46%. That's up a single point for Obama from his 51% to 46% advantage yesterday.

Rasmussen Reports 10/31 - 11/02
3000 LV
2.0 MOE
Obama 52
McCain 46
Obama +6

Pew Research 10/29 - 11/01
2587 LV
2.0 MOE
Obama 52
McCain 46
Obama +6

**Refuse Electronic Touch-Screen Voting**
**Vote Paper Ballot Only**

From: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=6603

Blogged by Brad Friedman on 10/31/2008

VIDEO: OPRAH SEES OWN PRESIDENTIAL VOTE DROPPED BY TOUCH-SCREEN VOTING MACHINE

'I went back to check it, it had not recorded my presidential vote!' Says Terrified, Potentially Disenfranchised Queen of Television...

NOW UPDATED With Much More Useful Info for Oprah and Others Who Do Not Understand These Voting Systems, or What to do If the Same Thing Happens To You...

[Comments turned back on, but the first 57 may have been lost when our server crashed under the straight of huge traffic on Saturday. We're trying to recover, but my apologies if we cannot get them back. Please repost as needed. - BF]

Well, now, finally we may be able to get rid of these damned things, now that it's actually happened to Oprah. Via Huff Po...

"When I voted yesterday electronically, the first vote that you vote for on the ballot is the presidential candidate. It was my first time doing electronic, so I didn't mark the X strong enough, or I held down too long. Because then when I went back to check it, it had not recorded my presidential vote," she said.

She then simulated her meltdown, shaking and breathing heavily while stuttering out the words, "It didn't record my presidential vote."