District 5 Candidate Forum August 19- 6-8 pm Pahoa

[Guest]

I just noticed that Hunter has a posting on his blog that there will be a forum for the 5th District Council Candidates.

August 19th 6-8 pm at Pahoa Neighborhood Facility.

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[Rob Tucker]

Kale Gumapac, Gary Safarik, Wayne Joesph & Kinimaka-Stocksdale have all agreed to attend this candidate forum in Pahoa.

Two invitations to Emily Naeole have yet to produce a response as of this date.

Here is the basic information on this forum:

On Tuesday, August 19th Malama O Puna will host a candidate

forum for District 5 County Council candidates at the P#257;hoa

Neighborhood Facility from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Because Malama O Puna is an environmental nonprofit, the questions to the candidates will elicit information about the candidates' positions on the various environmental issues facing Puna, and demonstrate the extent to which each candidate has been considering these issues.

The first part of the evening will focus on Malama O Puna's questions.

Then, after a short break, the public will have an opportunity to ask their own questions.


Light refreshments will be served. The public may brown bag or bring take-out if they want anything more substantial than the "meaty" discussions.

For more info call 965-2000.



Punaweb moderator

[Rob Tucker]

I have received word from the organizers of the Pahoa District 5 Forum that Emily Naeole has agreed to attend.

So it appears all five candidates for the council office will be there.

Should be quite interesting...

Punaweb moderator

[Rob Tucker]

Rene Siracusa did an excellent job of organizing and running the forum. Her questions were concise and of import.

Somewhere in this campaign path someone made a comment about being "ready on Day One" - a slogan borrowed from Hillary Clinton's campaign. I think that that slogan best applies to Kale Gumpac and Gary Safarik.

Kale Gumapac was best prepared and in full tune with a wide number of local issues. Which is one of the reasons I have decided to support him in this election. I don't agree with him on everything - I don't have to - but it is effortless to engage him in discussion and understand where he is coming from. I respect that. Kale gets my vote.

Gary Safarik has not convinced me of his conversion to treating people with respect and listening more. There have been reports of his talk story sessions which involve him talking about himself and not listening at all. This is in 2008, not 2005. So I am not sold and having felt the brunt of his attitude when he was council member I am not changing my mind.

Wayne Joseph has impressive credentials and I have full faith in his intentions. He is, at this moment in my opinion, less engaged in the issues and I need someone fully and completely engaged in local and island issues. Wayne is playing catch up. That's not a crime, it's just an indication he has not been fully involved this past few years. Please take no disrespect from my comments. None is intended.

Emily Naeole did much better in this forum than I expected and much, much better than she did in any forum in 2006. Unfortunately twenty months of experience have only shown that her talents and attitude are best suited to some job other than council member. She still has only a vague idea of what representative government is.

Stocksdale was at least honest in her general lack of knowledge on most topics. It makes me wonder what she offers that inspires anyone. Perhaps one of her supporters can explain.... she can't.

It was a good event and the attendees showed the spirit and aloha that makes Puna special.

[JerryCarr]

Perhaps the "chummy" atmosphere Hunter Bishop described at the forum on his blog was a reflection of the candidates' realization that the voters are tired of belligerence and tempermental outbursts as a part of our representation on the Council. I agree with Hunter that there was not a lot of difference among the group as far as environmental issues are concerned. (I think it was a shame that the main part of the forum was limited to environmental issues, but that is the sponsors' prerogative.) It's when you come down the practical nuts and bolts of getting the job done that they are either different or lacking a clear direction.

My observations of the candidates:

Ms. Stocksdale really seemed out of her league when it came to being prepared for what were largely predictable questions. She was the only one, however, to clearly state that we need to be looking at jobs and economic development in Puna instead of finding better ways to get to Hilo. Some of the other candidates should take a cue from this.

Ms. Naeole, as usual, could be counted on for comic relief, but did not present any new ideas or initiatives. She did, however, take the very large step of endorsing more geothermal power. I never thought I would hear that from her. It surprised me that Ms. Naeole was not asked more questions in an effort to get her to explain some of her gaffes and outbursts.

Mr. Joseph seems thoughtful and easy-going, but he was almost too eager to agree with the ideas of the other candidates instead of proposing anything really original of his own. He did come across as somebody who could work well with other Council members, but you have to wonder how good he would be in a tough negotiating atmosphere. Still, he has potential, and he has reconsidered the four-laning of Highway 130 and wants to try roudabouts for traffic improvement.

Mr. Gumapac stuck primarily to his resume as a member of the Kanaka Council, the origins and means of election to which are still unclear to me despite a question being asked by a member of the audience. I would have more confidence in his ability to lead if he were to broaden his points of reference for what are some decent policy positions. Mr. Gumapac lost some credibility with me for the "feel good" proposal to build light rail from Puna to Hilo. He obviously has not studied the population densities or financial resources required for light rail. We have neither.

Mr. Safarik did not come across to me as I had expected. He was thoughtful, well educated on key issues, and congenial. Since each member of the audience was only allowed one question, I was torn between asking Ms. Naeole about some of her news-story episodes and asking Mr. Safarik why we should give him another chance. I chose to query Mr Safarik. We should not fail to note that the new fire station and the improvements to Isaac Hale Park were initiated and funded during Mr. Safarik's tenure. On the other hand, nearly every influential person I know has a tale to tell of Mr. Safarik being belligerent, disdainful, or unwilling to listen. Has he really changed? I don't know, but he said all the right things that night.

So there it is. Sorry this is so long. By the way, I still haven't decided for whom I will vote. Any more Council forums coming up?

Cheers,
Jerry

[StillHope]

Jerry,it's the most precise and objective political piece I've ever read.
If you decide to be a candidate,you have my vote.

[Guest]

quote:

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Originally posted by StillHope

Jerry,it's the most precise and objective political piece I've ever read.
If you decide to be a candidate,you have my vote.

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Jerry did hit some things that were of interest.

However, for Stillhope to call his comment's precise when she wasn't even at the forum is friggin ridiculous!

Jerry... It was good to formally meet you there and your question to Safarik was a rather touching piece.

However, I can't sit here and let someone who wasn't even at the forum sit in another state and call your comments precise.... As I had a few different thoughts then you had.... and I was there [][]

Cheers...Damon - and you would have my vote 2.

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[Rob Tucker]

Damon, Quit playing cybercop on my site. Do it on your own site please.

It's piss poor netiquette to be slamming people for having an opinion.

Punaweb moderator

[Guest]

Ah Rob... isn't politics fun?

I mean sheesh... I wasn't cybercopping at all... I just was making a political statement!

It seemed as though an outside observer was trying to influence something here in Hawaii....

I'll step down now and go crawl back to my corner of the world[B)]

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