08-04-2012, 06:34 AM
Claiming to be a "quiet man of action" is a great cover up for being an incumbent who doesn't listen to the people. If you think the only good activities for kids are sports played by boys (football), that the most important infrastructure need is repaving a road that was already in better shape than most of the county roads in Puna, and that throwing a 10,000 person subdivision with no county park under the bus so you can get a sports complex built on the edge of a Pahoa, then Fred is the man for you.
If you want a county councilor who actually will communicate with citizens, listen to the concerns of all, not just the people he already knows, who will not sit lunching with political big wigs in Luquin's when there is an important vote happening, who can see beyond bus stops and weed eating to the real fundamental needs of the fastest growing district in the state, then vote for either of the other candidates. We couldn't possibly do worse.
I was neutral on Fred when he went into office, I figured anyone would be better than the incumbent, but his narrow focus on trivialities while ignoring the big picture, compounded by his unwillingness to communicate with anyone outside his tight little circle, has been disappointing at the least. Hawaii county has big issues to deal with, Puna has very real needs Fred could help solve, things like infrastructure to support small businesses so everyone who isn't retired has a chance for a job that doesn't involve driving to Hilo every day and access to emergency health care. Our kids need activities, and not just football, our working age people need jobs close to home, our seniors need access to emergency health services, and our infrastructure across the whole district needs investment. We need a county councilor who will make it to meetings for important votes, who will listen to the concerns of his constituents, and who isn't beholden for all his campaign donations to Honolulu donors. It really says something when someone can't get anyone in their district to pony up even a $100 to help get them re-elected. Both of Fred's opponents got hundreds of people to give $5 and their signature to support their candidacy. Fred got only two campaign donations, from a union and an energy company based in Honolulu, and none from the community this time around. I wonder why?
I first started to distrust Fred when he ran the first time and he didn't come to a Pahoa voter forum to explain who he was to the voters because he was too busy raising money in Hilo. I decided he didn't have much in the way of people skills when he was very rude to me and others in a public meet-and-greet setting early in his term, and recently seeing him rubbing elbows in Luquins with Hanohano and a crowd of other politicos when he should have been voting on a rezoning for Pahoa mainstreet made me realize the citizens of Puna are not his priority. The first time around Puna gambled on a relative unknown, this time around we know exactly what we will get from Fred: a man of no vision, no people skills, who cares only about a tiny demographic out of his community, and who has a very limited understanding of the role of the government in improving the life of the community. I don't care if Fred talks, but it does matter if he listens.
We don't need a volunteer coordinator, we need a county councilor who will advocate for the constituents with the powers that be in state and county government. A Hawaii County councilor has a lot of doors open to them that regular citizens don't, and that access can be used to help resolve issues for the residents of this district, that is what leadership is. Getting some guy in a red T-shirt to spend all morning weed eating the same 20 foot stretch of highway at Shower drive while you sign wave is not leadership, it is a gimmick. It wasn't even the spot where the people waiting for the bus are standing knee deep in weeds every morning, but having that stretch weed eated wouldn't have had the same visual effect. So it was all about image, not what the real need was. That sums up Fred's whole term as councilor, it is all about appearances, not the real priorities of the citizens of Puna.
Carol
If you want a county councilor who actually will communicate with citizens, listen to the concerns of all, not just the people he already knows, who will not sit lunching with political big wigs in Luquin's when there is an important vote happening, who can see beyond bus stops and weed eating to the real fundamental needs of the fastest growing district in the state, then vote for either of the other candidates. We couldn't possibly do worse.
I was neutral on Fred when he went into office, I figured anyone would be better than the incumbent, but his narrow focus on trivialities while ignoring the big picture, compounded by his unwillingness to communicate with anyone outside his tight little circle, has been disappointing at the least. Hawaii county has big issues to deal with, Puna has very real needs Fred could help solve, things like infrastructure to support small businesses so everyone who isn't retired has a chance for a job that doesn't involve driving to Hilo every day and access to emergency health care. Our kids need activities, and not just football, our working age people need jobs close to home, our seniors need access to emergency health services, and our infrastructure across the whole district needs investment. We need a county councilor who will make it to meetings for important votes, who will listen to the concerns of his constituents, and who isn't beholden for all his campaign donations to Honolulu donors. It really says something when someone can't get anyone in their district to pony up even a $100 to help get them re-elected. Both of Fred's opponents got hundreds of people to give $5 and their signature to support their candidacy. Fred got only two campaign donations, from a union and an energy company based in Honolulu, and none from the community this time around. I wonder why?
I first started to distrust Fred when he ran the first time and he didn't come to a Pahoa voter forum to explain who he was to the voters because he was too busy raising money in Hilo. I decided he didn't have much in the way of people skills when he was very rude to me and others in a public meet-and-greet setting early in his term, and recently seeing him rubbing elbows in Luquins with Hanohano and a crowd of other politicos when he should have been voting on a rezoning for Pahoa mainstreet made me realize the citizens of Puna are not his priority. The first time around Puna gambled on a relative unknown, this time around we know exactly what we will get from Fred: a man of no vision, no people skills, who cares only about a tiny demographic out of his community, and who has a very limited understanding of the role of the government in improving the life of the community. I don't care if Fred talks, but it does matter if he listens.
We don't need a volunteer coordinator, we need a county councilor who will advocate for the constituents with the powers that be in state and county government. A Hawaii County councilor has a lot of doors open to them that regular citizens don't, and that access can be used to help resolve issues for the residents of this district, that is what leadership is. Getting some guy in a red T-shirt to spend all morning weed eating the same 20 foot stretch of highway at Shower drive while you sign wave is not leadership, it is a gimmick. It wasn't even the spot where the people waiting for the bus are standing knee deep in weeds every morning, but having that stretch weed eated wouldn't have had the same visual effect. So it was all about image, not what the real need was. That sums up Fred's whole term as councilor, it is all about appearances, not the real priorities of the citizens of Puna.
Carol
Carol
Every time you feel yourself getting pulled into other people's nonsense, repeat these words: Not my circus, not my monkeys.
Polish Proverb
Every time you feel yourself getting pulled into other people's nonsense, repeat these words: Not my circus, not my monkeys.
Polish Proverb