Alleged voter fraud follow up

[kalakoa]

so confused, they didn't know where they lived

"I live in Puna, and I voted in Puna. Someone moved the lines out from under me."

[RJHampton]

Happy New Year Everyone. May all things be said and done in this year in reason, patience and quality consultation. And with that being said I would like to take this opportunity to respond to Tom Callis's update on the voter fraud case and to add a few comments and facts.

What struck me most about the article is the statement Tiffany made that she stands by her "original statement." Which 'original statement' is she standing by? That was not made clear in the article. She didn't give any statement to the police or any law enforcement official which is a big difference from what she said in the beginning. "I’m happy to sit down with anyone in law enforcement”?

http://westhawaiitoday.com/news/decision...-candidate

What happened to her spirit of cooperation she promised at the outset? This complaint has moved forward despite the absence of her testimony. To me she sounds like every other politician who has been found to not be dealing with the truth. Tiffany never said she was innocent she just dismissed it as "political theater" and stopped talking about it on the advice of her attorney Steve Strauss. The reason this is going forward is that the evidence is a matter of the public record and the individuals giving testimony to support the charge are people like the county clerk and even a former councilman.

This will be a very good test of Prosecutor Mitch Roth's office in the handling of this case knowing Mr. Roth's close relationship to Mrs. Hunt. I am not an expert on how procedures go yet I wonder what preponderance of evidence does his office need now to prosecute this case that Detective Todd, the investigating officer, didn't find out and that isn't a matter of public record already?

Voter fraud disenfranchises us all, as even a single instance of crossing district lines, undermines our political system and our freedoms. We trust this case will be prosecuted vigorously to send a message that furnishing false information on your voter registration affidavit is a real crime with serious consequences.

[Frankie Stapleton]

Actually, there was very little new info in this article. I am quite disappointed in Mitch Roth as I voted for him as a reformer. He has stonewalled actions against TEH from the beginning, when it was discovered during last season's campaign that she and her husband had been cheating on their home real property taxes for years. It was only during researching that that the voter fraud issue came to light.

By way of explanation of my own motives in this, I considered Tiffany a friend in the beginning, being a journalist, and even loaned her some of my clip files. But over time that fell away as it has done with many of those who trusted her initially. I don't feel I need to give my specifics which were minor compared to what she'd done to others. However, as a freelance journalist (no longer answering to any publisher) and retiree now able to advocate for various community causes, I was appalled that this woman journalist who had chastised people publicly for what she labeled ethical violations was running for public office when public records showed her apparently ignoring rules and laws and violating ethics while claiming to know the county laws better than the lay public.

All of a sudden, after the police investigation began, legal advice given to the Real Property Tax people indicated the Edwards'-Hunts' real property tax claims from 2004 to 2012 were irrelevant. To me, that was a bigger ripoff of the Hawaii County public than the voter fraud! Why isn't any of that initial complaint brought up in the news?

Mitch Roth's reputation as a deputy prosecutor was being established back in 2003-2004 when Roth, Rene Siracusa and TEH worked together to create the Pahoa Weed and Seed program using federal grant monies. As you can tell, there is no more drug problem in Pahoa as a result of all the cameras they put around the town w/those funds (I AM being facetious here...) Anyway, it was a good project and I think the foundation of a good public partnership for the people of Puna. But it also seems to have blinded Roth to the day-to-day reality of TEH's interactions and published commentaries.

I now feel like Mitch Roth is much more of a politician that I originally believed. TEH's newspaper and her ability to reach Hawaii County voters thru that and her blog has had Hawaii County politicians eating out of her hands over the years.

That's understandable, especially in today's world where the Big Island has NO radio news gatherers and no other community newspapers independent of the former DonRey/Stepehens Media papers now owned by the Star-Advertiser's Mike Black, a Canadian publisher. Thank our lucky stars that Dave Corrigan makes the Big Island his home as he presents feature-length news articles giving various sides of news stories with minimal editorial cutting on BigIslandVideoNews.com and also on public access TV.

However, I myself and I believe many of you look at the person in charge of the Prosecutor's Office as hopefully more ethical than other public offices. Having now observed Roth's handling of the verified ethical violations of his friend TEH, I'm sadly disappointed.

Another recent action by Roth that also makes me question his ethics is the fact that the Prosecutor's Office issued a press release and provided info for updated news stories recently on the tragic Peter Boy murder, now decades old.

Done as a result of Roth's pushing for the resolution of "cold case" files, he said. Really??? That story had nothing to do with the County Council vote that same week on funds for a new West Hawaii Prosecutors facility???? Gimme a break!

Let's hope the grand juries at least get to act on the Peter Boy case. Don't hold your breath for TEH's case before the grand jury.

[damien007]

"I am not an expert on how procedures go yet I wonder what preponderance of evidence does his office need now to prosecute this case that Detective Todd, the investigating officer, didn't find out and that isn't a matter of public record already?" - RJ Hampton

Ultimately "beyond a reasonable doubt" is what Prosecutors must weigh, as probable cause to charge is what is needed, however all Prosecutors have in the back of their minds is can they win this case!

[Rob Tucker]

I can sympathize with most all of that but the Weed & Seed part was back in 2005-2006. I was on MSPA (Mainstreet Pahoa Association) BoD then. I don't recall Tiffany being involved but that maybe she was in a non MSPA way and I missed it. Her web site didn't come along until some years later. No matter really.

[snorkle]

The Tribune Herald is living up to their long time motto; "Yesterday's news tomorrow!".

Was it fraud or carelessness? Either may disqualify her from being elected, but fraud would require a motive of some sort.

What would be her motive for being registered in the wrong district? Do you really think it was to influence the election outcome?

Come on you Tiffany haters; you can wish all you want, but you're wasting your time. Nothing to see here........move on.........

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

The prosecutor's office must prove Tiffany's actions were intentional.

It may not seem fair.
It may even seem obvious to the layperson that a person cannot accidentally register in the wrong district.

But her attorney will have a thousand reasons why Tiffany believed she registered properly.
If one of those reasons sounds plausible, and the prosecutor cannot show clear evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that she intentionally, knowingly and falsely registered outside her district, there is no case that can be won.

[TomK]

I found the following quote from the Trib article interesting:

'Capt. Robert Wagner said the investigation took longer than expected “because there were a lot of people that wanted to come in and make a statement. A lot of people wanted to give a statement more than once.”'

Reminds me of some of the more obsessive posts in this thread and others. Wonder if they are the same people...?

[kalakoa]

What would be her motive for being registered in the wrong district? Do you really think it was to influence the election outcome?

What would be the motive for claiming "homeowner tax exemption" on the wrong property? Maybe to influence the property tax bill?

Wonder if they are the same people...?

Moral of the story: don't run for elected office unless you're already hooked up.

[Frankie Stapleton]

TomK, just fyi, Capt. Robert Wagner was quoted by at least 2 people (and NOT the ones you're thinking about now...) who told me Wagner was discouraging comments from citizens who initially made the complaints, saying that there didn't really seem to be a case against the Hunts. Thank goodness that view was not shared by the investigating detective who seemed very sincere, thorough and professional. And Wagner is the one authorized to give public comment, not the chief investigator.