What has Fred Blas done ?

[punaticbychoice]

I've met Greggor and think well of him.
Just some reservations of how he will manage the shark tank that is the County Council.

[PauHana]

There will be five new Council members absolutely due to term limits, retirement and Yagong running for Mayor. Fred has has been a major disapointment and should go, that makes six, and perhaps one more will go to make seven. The sharks have been de-finned.
This is a wonderful opportunity for a new enlightened government. I am happy to see young people getting involved it's refreshing, and quite frankly a relief, when so many don't seem to care.
I don't think being young is a liability. Larry Page and Sergey Brin were both 25 when they founded Google. Creativity and imagination are the province of youth, and we can certianly use a bit of both. Entrenched positions will only keep you in a rut.

[csgray]

Greggor stopped by our house with an invitation to his kick off at the hui, I was initially impressed with this clearly intelligent and well spoken young man, until my husband joined the conversation and I became completely invisible, to the point where Greggor specifically asked my husband for his email address, but not mine. It was very surprising and disappointing to have such an educated young person behaving like we were still in an age where women either didn't have a voice politically, or were assumed to just vote the way their husband's did. At first I thought maybe I was just being overly sensitive, but several days later my husband brought it up and mentioned how abruptly Greggor turned his attention to him once he walked up to the gate, it bothered him too. I was interested enough in what he had to say that I quit what I was doing and went downstairs to talk to him, but that all ended as soon as my husband came into the picture.

Women make up over 50% of the electorate, and in this day and age we are not extensions of our husbands. I expect a candidate who wants my vote to speak to me, even when my husband is standing next to me. Greggor has potential, but he has a lot to learn about how you get voters to support you. If he cannot give women equal regard while seeking our votes, how is he going to work with women councilors, administrators, and constituents once he is in office? So for me, age is not the issue, but that interaction left a bad impression with me. Too bad, he had me ready to listen to his positions and ideas until he quit communicating with me.

Carol

[bluesboy]

quote:

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Originally posted by Rob Tucker

Fred actually got elected for more reasons than he wasn't Emily. Fred had picked up a lot of street cred by working in the community. Clean up projects, painting out graffiti, adding signs, working with a substantial team of volunteers. It was his own dime and his own leadership. Fred also was/is very proactive with children's sports creating a league for youth football and I gotta say, I'm not into football but a lot of people are.

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That's great and all, but he got elected to be on the council, which is a leadership/visionary role. We don't need the leaders wasting their time picking up trash. That's what the community is for.

One word - DELEGATE

[csgray]

Not more than 2 hours after I posted about my experience with Gregor he stopped by and apologized to me. He admitted that he had no idea he had interacted in the way he did, and he said that is not how he wants to treat people. That took a lot of guts, I admire someone who will admit they were wrong and make amends. We had a very interesting conversation, he is very open to listening to people and that is a big change from our current councilor.

Carol

[Obie]

Bump

I should start a new topic about what Fred has not done.

He has not made a fool of himself like a previous council person.

He has not introduced legislation the will cost millions of dollars like another candidate has proposed.

Do we need someone who introduces legislation that will allow more government control of our lives ??

I believe we need to move back to the volunteer stage that our parents and grandparents used to create the world we grew up in.

These are a few things that Fred has done that I admire ;


First year in office - 10% personal payroll deduction back to County General Fund
Second year - Donated personal funds to sports activities for the kids
Paid my own travel expenses to Kona meetings -food, gas, lodging - no mileage reimbursement
No monthly cell phone reimbursement
2011 - Paid my own travel expenses to Washington D.C., Maui and Honolulu for NACO Conference and meetings

[bluesboy]

those aren't necessarily great bullet points. not to deride Fred Blas, but it costs money to assume that position and execute it correctly.

a good employee is an investment. employers provide a salary and benefits, and if employees are quality, they return it in leaps and bounds. a bad employee, even if they are not getting paid or have no expenses, is simply taking up space at the least, and obstructing progress at the worst.

[PauHana]

I just got my third boiler plate oversized ad with Fred Blas inserted in the (your name here) space from some PAC in Honolulu. That will make twelve for our household, just since the primary. This has to cost tens of thousands of dollars. What do they want that they think Fred can deliver?

[Rob Tucker]

Can't be all that sure it will be different if Fred loses.... Puna's history is that the elected Puna council reps end up doing the Hilo two-step.

[JerryCarr]

I made it my business to get to know Greggor Ilagan. I have seen him grow during the campaign to the point where I am positive things will be different should he win. He has a plan to help the subdivisions and to form coalitions with other council members to get Puna it's fair share of appropriations and capital improvements money. Fred has fallen back on the geothermal funds as a means of getting things done. That is the same as Emily Naeole did. I spoke to another council member in the Honolulu airport not long ago and was told that the other council members love for Puna to resort to using geothermal funds because it leaves more money on their table for their districts. I have had several occasions to talk with Fred, and he has shown a breathtaking lack of understanding of the fundamental issues facing the substandard subdivisions. He has tried to make some gestures toward HPP lately, but he still comes across as lacking much understanding of our situation, much less being able to articulate solutions. Greggor is a breath of fresh air who not only listens to people, but incorporates what they say into believable policy. He has my vote.