Jen Ruggles, Kanealii-Kleinfelder, and Wirick

[DaVinci]

I mentioned the PCDP in the context of Wirick’s rejection of it. You can like it or hate it, or bemoan the lack of action taken according to its recommendations, but having a document that provides a plan and that has been vetted by the consensus of those who took part in the process of drafting it way back when is better than having nothing. Wirick wants to discard that consensus and, by virtue of his agricultural fiat, declare that the only way forward for Puna is to go backward, that is, for all of us to adopt an agrarian lifestyle and a barter economy. My point was, that isn’t a fair reflection of what the majority of the people in Puna want, and that a representative should prioritize according to his/her constituent’s wishes.

kalakoa... you say voting doesn’t make a difference. I agree that it might feel that way sometimes, because voting isn’t a zero sum vending machine. Forces more powerful than a single voter (for example, Shipman) skew the results of 1-person 1-vote. But sometimes voting against those forces can have a beneficial effect, or at least can delay a deleterious effect. I’ve been told that Ashley reports to Bill Walter the same way Trump reports to Vladimir Putin. And her responses to various local issues seem to align with Shipman priorities. So in that case, your vote, should you randomly cast it for Ashley, or not vote at all and thereby help her get elected, will in fact make a difference. Just not the kind you were hoping for.