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FYI: (*Snipped - More at link - Dated: 8/5/15)
http://westhawaiitoday.com/news/local-ne...enate-seat
Ilagan Seeks State Senate Seat
Two-term Puna Councilman Greggor Ilagan announced Wednesday he’s running as a Democrat for the District 2 state Senate seat.
“I feel that I can make a greater difference being in the Senate than being on the County Council, not only for the Big Island but the state,” Ilagan said.
Ilagan, 29, is getting an early start. Candidate filing for the 2016 elections doesn’t begin until Feb. 1, with the primary election set for Aug. 13, 2016.
Sen. Russell Ruderman, the Puna Democrat currently holding the Puna-Ka‘u seat, said Ilagan hadn’t contacted him before making his announcement.
Ilagan said he doesn’t look at it as running against Ruderman, if Ruderman runs for re-election, but running for the seat itself.
“It’s the people’s seat, and it depends on who they want,” Ilagan said.
Ruderman said he’s currently considering three options: running for re-election to a second four-year term for the Senate seat, running for Hawaii County mayor or running for County Council. He said he won’t be making a decision for another two or three months.
“I’m currently considering my options, which is what every politician does every election year,” Ruderman said.
State Rep. Joy San Buenaventura, also a Puna Democrat, is also considering running for the Senate seat, but she hasn’t yet made a decision. She has discussed it with Ruderman, however.
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Ilagan might actually be better than Ruderman, but exactly what has he accomplished on the council other than not being an embarrassment?
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I like name-calling as well as the next guy but I prefer to have it substantiated. I am trying to find out the accomplishments or lack thereof, as well as other information on Greggor's time in office. Has he introduced legislation and gotten it passed? And mainly, can he play guitar as well as Russell?
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Don't be foolish. Greggor is the best Puna has seen in a long time. And he is still quite young..only 29. When Russell got elected, all the PUna Haoles rejoiced! Finally, a senator who could lead the Puna train forward! Well my friends, when thinking of Politics and the effectiveness of a senator, you can only gauge his/her success based upon the friends you have near by who will help him/her gain the political traction and allies needed to be pass bills. In the Senate, Russell has many acquaintances. Not many friends. Greggor (or Joy) will have immediate inroads to the politics that run Hawaii. Race still matters in Hawaii politics my friends, and Filipinos are the second largest ethnic group in Hawaii. In order to advocate for Puna, you must understand Hawaii beyond Puna. Then you will understand how minimally impactful Puna legislators have been in recent years, and more important, why.
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In other words, support Greggor. Prop him up. Don't try to break him down before he even gets started. Trust me, he is one of the best Puna has to offer. All things considered. Puna is part of the state. Puna is NOT the state.
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In the interest of fairness, I went to both puna4.com and Ilagan's election website. While there is little in the way of Ilagan-initiated legislation passed, he has facilitated some improvements in the district, notably supporting broader, better funded Neighborhood Watch. He is currently moving toward legislation regarding the squatting problem, something which is a real problem in HPP. And I have praised him elsewhere in the PW politics forum for voting against the badly thought out county GMO ordinance. So I do recognize that he has done something more than just not being an embarrassment. I still wish Ilagan was quicker with his decision making, but that's not the worst problem to have.
Having come to that conclusion, though, I have to question why he would walk away from the council just when he seems to be beginning to do some real good. One of the problems we have had over the last decade with the Puna council reps has been turnover due to pencil throwers and other less than astute electees. My own opinion is that Ilagan should stay on the council and build on the beginning that he has made. He might do better than Ruderman in the state senate, but why walk away from a promising work in progress. And who is going to replace Ilagan. Ruderman? Oh, please, no. He is obsessed with GMO and has wasted a ton of political capital on it when he didn't have to. I don't care if he can play the guitar. We don't need another Wille on the council.
Edited for typos.
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Greggor was in community college working towards an accounting associate degree. Did he ever complete that? He knows the employment situation on this island and he is looking at being a career politician as a pretty good gig. Greggor is like the manager who needs to make decisions, would have to call a meeting, and would always start with "I read this book...", proceed into a long disconnected monologue, then decide more information was needed before he could make a decision. Usually, the decision would never be made and people would just go off and do what they thought needed to be done, sometimes good, sometimes fiasco. It's still early, candidates don't have to announce until three months before the elections.
"Aloha also means goodbye. Aloha!"
*Japanese tourist on bus through Pahoa, "Is this still America?*
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Pahoated, it was you. A couple of years ago I saw you leaving Malama Market. Had to be you, wearing one of the coolest t-shirts I've seen "I Make Stuff Up." Really fascinating to read your fantasies about Greggor. I will decide on my candidate based on what ever factual knowledge I can find.
And electing Greggor because of his race is repulsive, 2liveque."All the Puna haoles." You forgot to ask me. But maybe I don't pass your racial purity test. Did Bob Herkes get even one Puna haole vote in his close primary loss to Russell? I love you Ray. Ray Cyst
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Agreed, the racism is disgusting and its not the first time from that individual.
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2liveque's remarks regarding race are half true. Yes, it does unfortunately still seem to matter locally. The part about all the Haole's rejoicing over Ruderman's victory is nonsense, however. Lots of us white folks were not happy about his win.
Ruderman got in because of the lack of a runoff in the Democratic Primary. IIRC, he got about 35% of the vote in a crowded field, getting the Dem nomination when almost two thirds of the Dem voters wanted somebody else. In these parts, getting the Democratic nomination is all it takes to get into office, and a lot of voters left his part of the ballot blank in the general election.
Meanwhile, I still question why Ilagan is leaving the council when he is just beginning to get things done. His departure will leave us open to a host of loonies trying to get into office. Take a look at Ilagan's web site and facebook page, and you might understand why Ted is beginning to think he is becoming a professional politician. I had the same thought before Ted posted.
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