County Elections

Council Meeting Lacked Aloha

kauaibrad — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 11:47:54 -0800

From: http://www.kauaiworld.com/articles/2008/11/26/opinion/letters_to_the_edi...

Letters for Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Council meeting lacked aloha

How unfortunate and sad for all of us that the organizing meeting for our new council seemed so lacking of “lokahi” (unity expressed with harmony) and “akahai” (kindness) and “aloha” (love and consideration for each other).

The method of selecting its leaders and making committee assignments used on Tuesday was “old”: whoever gets four votes controls the show, the minority be damned. Hopefully that is not the sign of things to come because such a method will not make for the best public interest decisions. Nor does it reflect aloha.

There is another way. The newly elected council could have gathered around the table with a temporary chair. The temporary chair could have opened the nominations for chair of the council. Each person who wanted to be chair could have stated why they wanted to be chair and what they would do, if elected. Council members could have asked questions of the candidates for chair, asking about how, if elected chair, the candidates would conduct business, treat the minorities, allow for information flow between staff and council members and from council services to the public. Then the council could have voted for the chair. The result in terms of who was selected chair might have been the same as Tuesday’s meeting, but what a difference there would have been in feelings and relationships.

First Council Meeting A Lotta Rocky

kauaibrad — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 09:50:48 -0800

http://kauaiworld.com/articles/2008/11/25/news/kauai_news/doc492ba602e01...

"First council meeting a little rocky"
By Luke Shanahan - The Garden Island
Published: Tuesday, November 25, 2008

"Councilmember Tim Bynum said he hoped yesterday’s Kauai County Council organizational meeting would reflect the voters’ desire to see change, and that the members would respect one another’s aspirations for committee assignments.

Judging by statements made by several members of the council, and by the reactions of the people looking on from the gallery, Bynum’s hopes were not realized.

After a brief public comment from Kekaha resident Bruce Pleas in which he complained that the caucus meeting should be televised, rather than just being open to the public, the committee got down to the business at hand, determining who would chair the council for the next two years.

First, there was the small matter of appointing the temporary presiding officer of the meeting, or presiding officer pro-tem.

Kaipo Asing was elected to the pro-tem position by a four-to-three vote, with Derek Kawakami, Daryl Kaneshiro, Dickie Chang, and Asing voting in favor, and Jay Furfaro, Tim Bynum and Lani Kawahara voting against.

After that, Furfaro, seated at the head of the table, withdrew his nomination for chair, saying that it was evident that the votes for council chair would produce the same four-to-three vote.

Council Meeting: Chairs, Committees and Da Hui

SaveKauai — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 21:00:24 -0800

Today showed the true power of running a hui on council. In a rare occurrence (first time ever?), the council was exposed to a public mtg when making their choice of chair, vice-chair and all committee members. It was stunning to watch Kaipo Asing take over completely with a predetermined hui of four and proceed to announce the new committee structures, committee chairs, vice-chairs and new members all with four members completely aware of the decisions and three others left with lots of questions.

Those on the outs: Bynum, Kawahara and Furfaro (top vote getter islandwide and now Vice-Chair) were, at times, completely awestruck as Kaipo continued to move past any and all calls for more dialogue on position choices with a, "If there is no more discussion, roll call".

The hui consists of Asing (Chair), Kaneshiro, Kawakami and Chang and every vote after chair and vice-chair at the mtg was 4-3.

The committee structures and members:

- Preprinted papers were handed out showing the new structures, which was voted on 4-3.

- Same paper but with chairs and vice-chairs filled in were handed out, then voted on 4-3.

- Same paper with all committee members filled in was handed out, then voted on 4-3.

In all committees there are at least three members of the hui and two not in the hui, meaning, that the hui retains a complete voting block on all committees and at the council as a whole.

Committees were (chair, vice - members)

- public safety/energy/igr (kawakami, kawahara - furfaro, chang kaneshiro)

Kauai General Plan Strengthened by Kauai Voters

kauaibrad — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 19:28:24 -0800

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.”

Newly-elected face council crash course

kauaibrad — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 03:18:52 -0800

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.

Brief Review of Kauai Election Results

kauaibrad — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 12:48:51 -0800

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

andrea — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 18:36:58 -0800

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

andrea — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 18:35:56 -0800

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.”

Clear Carvalho win

andrea — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 18:14:31 -0800

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 Places and Voting Information

kauaibrad — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 21:22:57 -0800

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.