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Mr Lau's association with the Kenoi Administration gave me pause.
Then, he got a highly publicized endorsement from Jimmy Arakaki and Donald Ikeda (2 former Hilo council members who short changed Puna at every turn) -- and that put Mr Lau at the bottom of the list of 13 candidates for me.
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Mr Lau's association with the Kenoi Administration gave me pause.
Lau knew ("or should have known") about Kenoi's pCard "issues", and did nothing.
The same could probably be said for most of Kenoi's cabinet.
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So for some it's guilt by pictorial association? I can show you lots of pictures of Harry with Billy....how bout a picture of Wally with the The Order of Kahmehamea, or Darryl Olievera? Better optics for the myopic?
The two referred to elected officials are proven vote getters in their district, I'm sure most (all?) of the candidates would have accepted their endorsement. If one believes that an endorsement connotates control then they are naive. Harry just got endorsed by HGEA. Do you think that means he's likely to concede to them at some sub-optimal point in the next round of collective bargaining ?
Whoops, bad example. That's what he did in his first administration.
Okay my bad! Let me straighten this out. The difference in the comparison above is that the two individuals in question do no significant business with government and their endorsement is strictly personal and meant to influence only voters. The public worker endorsement comes with potential strings attached. That COULD be cause for worry, but it is not definitively corrupting. Which is what you stated was your interpretation of the campaign picture. Seems superficial to me.
As far as P-Cards. Give it a break. They're used as a tool to make purchasing a simpler accounting process. Harry used his. He now minimizes his use to aggrandize himself as some paragon of virtue, but it's not accurate.
This campaign has a wide field with little depth or intensity. A few signs up, a smattering of newspaper and radio ads, an odd sign waving. Not much juice....yet. Looks to me that Harry is the default Mayor if nothing changes.
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My comments above on this thread were restricted to Mr Lau because that is who this thread is about.
As for Harry, I've got plenty reservations to share on a Harry Kim thread.
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quote:
Originally posted by HiloPuna
guilt by pictorial association
The "association" I was referring to is that Mr Lau has been the Deputy Managing Director and the Managing Director for the Kenoi Administration, which, for me, brings more negative than positive in my decision about who to vote for.
Nothing about "pictorial association".
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If I suspect the mayor is taking liberties with taxpayer money; working in his immediate environment, attending staff meetings where these issues are discussed, I'd speak out. If that didn't do any good, I'd consult with the mayor privately about the matter. If there was no change in behavior I'd resign. I understand people have their reasons for turning a blind eye to corruption; one hand washes the other and all that, but you're still an accomplice.
While Mr. Lau may be truly innocent of any complicity, and he may be, he'll have to convince the voters, It's a little late for that, but not too late.
Un Mojado Sin Licencia
Un Mojado Sin Licencia
I took a long drive around the big island today and noticed hundreds of different mayor signs along the highway. Wally Lau has littered Naalehu to Kona with his name and picture, maybe he is from there?. Harry Kim had only a few small hand made signs around those parts of the island, while Pete Hoffman signs were nowhere to be found. Wally Lau signs were in ideal locations along the highway such as corners,turns, and many empty large parcels of land that looked like they could have been neutral sights or locations for other mayor signs. During the drive, I rarely saw multiple signs lumped together like the way pahoa does it across from pahoa high, or elsewhere in Puna. why?
Most folks I have spoken with recently are saying they expect to see Harry Kim be our next mayor. My gut feeling tells me that the fox "Mr Lau" is in the henhouse,jmo.
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quote:
Originally posted by leilanidude
As deputy managing director and managing director, shouldn't he already have been working on these items that he states for his campaign? What the heck has he been doing all this time?
Agreed, he was the #2 guy in an 8 year admin that did none of that, but if we make him the #1 guy he is going to do it all?
lmao - he had his chance with his nephew Billy, the county needs and industrial strength enema of the Kenoi admin, 'managing director' is to county gov as COO is to a corporation - he failed miserably.
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county needs and industrial strength enema of the Kenoi admin
Exactly this:
I want Hoffmann, but I will happily suffer Kim if it means not getting Lau.
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