07-22-2018, 03:19 PM
"And BillyB. You’re going to vote for Ashley because ... unions? "
I've been listening to Ohara's public comments about unions and she is supportive. She has the International Brotherhood of Electric Workers (IBEW) endorsement and they're the only union that showed up in force, coming over from other counties, to work on the tiny homes village in Pahoa. Good choice by IBEW if you ask me. Some unions here select their endorsed candidates not based on record, but based on how many family members that candidate has in the union political committee. ILWU endorsed Ashley in February before she even pulled papers to run for office!
As for Hawaii Government Employee Association (HGEA), the biggest government union in the state, they supported Ohara in 2016 but aren't endorsing either candidate in 2018. As a member, I made inquiries and came to find out the Ashley campaign tried to stack the vote in the HGEA political action committee but didn't succeed since Ohara is actually supported by the rank and file of the HGEA. She saved them from furloughs by reconsidering the GET bill. The Carpenters Union is also on the fence in this race.
Ohara did get other endorsements according to her mailer and Facebook page - Sierra Club and Pono Hawaii Initiatives. These endorsements don't come with $$ but are extended based on character and accomplishments that prove the candidate is honest, progressive, and truly cares about environment and social issues. In some ways more meaningful than union endorsements. Madie Greene had all but the HGEA union endorsements in 2016 and Ohara creamed her in the general election.
BillyB brought up a concern about the partial public spending match from Ohara saying there were multiple instances of donations from the same household. This happens when you have husband and wife each giving $100 or less. Especially now when multiple generations of families are living together. Her campaign spending report from June 30 shows small qualifying contributions of over $3,300 which is more than needed for the match Billy identified. That's not gaming the system. Those are legitimate small kine donations.
What is really telling is that the June 30 report shows she invested around $5,000 of her own money in her campaign this year which backs up her claim that she refuses to actively fund raise due to conditions in Lower Puna. She still had the highest percentage of small donations of any of the candidates as reported in Nancy Cook Lauer's article a few days ago on campaign spending by candidates. At least we know she isn't backed by big business as is the case with Ashley who has banners all over Shipman land in Keaau and in Hilo. Ashley says in the BIVN coverage of the last forum I just watched that a campaign defines the candidate. She is clearly running for Hilo interests which isn't of much help to Puna.
http://www.bigislandvideonews.com/2018/0...y-council/
I've been listening to Ohara's public comments about unions and she is supportive. She has the International Brotherhood of Electric Workers (IBEW) endorsement and they're the only union that showed up in force, coming over from other counties, to work on the tiny homes village in Pahoa. Good choice by IBEW if you ask me. Some unions here select their endorsed candidates not based on record, but based on how many family members that candidate has in the union political committee. ILWU endorsed Ashley in February before she even pulled papers to run for office!
As for Hawaii Government Employee Association (HGEA), the biggest government union in the state, they supported Ohara in 2016 but aren't endorsing either candidate in 2018. As a member, I made inquiries and came to find out the Ashley campaign tried to stack the vote in the HGEA political action committee but didn't succeed since Ohara is actually supported by the rank and file of the HGEA. She saved them from furloughs by reconsidering the GET bill. The Carpenters Union is also on the fence in this race.
Ohara did get other endorsements according to her mailer and Facebook page - Sierra Club and Pono Hawaii Initiatives. These endorsements don't come with $$ but are extended based on character and accomplishments that prove the candidate is honest, progressive, and truly cares about environment and social issues. In some ways more meaningful than union endorsements. Madie Greene had all but the HGEA union endorsements in 2016 and Ohara creamed her in the general election.
BillyB brought up a concern about the partial public spending match from Ohara saying there were multiple instances of donations from the same household. This happens when you have husband and wife each giving $100 or less. Especially now when multiple generations of families are living together. Her campaign spending report from June 30 shows small qualifying contributions of over $3,300 which is more than needed for the match Billy identified. That's not gaming the system. Those are legitimate small kine donations.
What is really telling is that the June 30 report shows she invested around $5,000 of her own money in her campaign this year which backs up her claim that she refuses to actively fund raise due to conditions in Lower Puna. She still had the highest percentage of small donations of any of the candidates as reported in Nancy Cook Lauer's article a few days ago on campaign spending by candidates. At least we know she isn't backed by big business as is the case with Ashley who has banners all over Shipman land in Keaau and in Hilo. Ashley says in the BIVN coverage of the last forum I just watched that a campaign defines the candidate. She is clearly running for Hilo interests which isn't of much help to Puna.
http://www.bigislandvideonews.com/2018/0...y-council/