10-03-2008, 09:01 AM
Hmmm... Nobody wants to touch this one. In fact, most of us who voiced an opinion on the County Council District 5 contest here on Punaweb supported candidates who did not make the runoff. I voted for Wayne Joseph, FWIW.
So who do we vote for now? The incumbent, Emily Naeole, almost torpedoed the Puna Community Development Plan, threw a pencil in a meeting, called another member of the Council a donkey, and has changed her mind (and story) on too many issues to recount. Most of the ethical charges against Ms. Naeole have gone nowhere, but there is still one pending, IIRC. The challenger and previous incumbent, Gary Safarik, managed to badly alienate a great many people who tried to deal with him by his reportedly condescending attitude and occasional outright belligerence. (Several people I know and trust have experienced this first hand.) Mr. Safarik says he has learned his lesson and will listen in the future.
Some choice, eh? I'm still hoping somebody arranges a debate between these two to give us a closer look, but so far nothing seems to be in the works. Failing that, I am leaning toward Mr. Safarik simply because he did seem able to bring a few concrete improvements to the district during his tenure. Ms. Naeole has been very approachable and nice to me in several conversations I have had with her, but I am not convinced she is capable of adequately representing us or getting anything done.
Cheers,
Jerry
So who do we vote for now? The incumbent, Emily Naeole, almost torpedoed the Puna Community Development Plan, threw a pencil in a meeting, called another member of the Council a donkey, and has changed her mind (and story) on too many issues to recount. Most of the ethical charges against Ms. Naeole have gone nowhere, but there is still one pending, IIRC. The challenger and previous incumbent, Gary Safarik, managed to badly alienate a great many people who tried to deal with him by his reportedly condescending attitude and occasional outright belligerence. (Several people I know and trust have experienced this first hand.) Mr. Safarik says he has learned his lesson and will listen in the future.
Some choice, eh? I'm still hoping somebody arranges a debate between these two to give us a closer look, but so far nothing seems to be in the works. Failing that, I am leaning toward Mr. Safarik simply because he did seem able to bring a few concrete improvements to the district during his tenure. Ms. Naeole has been very approachable and nice to me in several conversations I have had with her, but I am not convinced she is capable of adequately representing us or getting anything done.
Cheers,
Jerry