Hey, if anyone wants to give Representatives Lynn DeCoite, D–13th District, and Kyle Yamashita, D–12th District, a little campaign cash, you can do so in person tonight. All you have to do is fly to Honolulu and stop by the restaurant Mandalay, which specializes in “Cantonese cuisine and Hong Kong style dim sum” tonight (Thursday, Feb. 22) anytime around 5-8pm, according to official fundraiser notices made public by the Hawaii Campaign Spending Commission (click here to see DeCoite’s notice and here for Yamashita’s).
Oh, and you’ll need at least $50, though each Representative’s campaign will accept up to $1,000, if you feel so inclined.
Seriously, holding campaign fundraisers in Honolulu during the Legislative session (when it’s pretty much guaranteed that lobbyists from all over Hawaii will show up) is one of great strengths of being an incumbent–even if that incumbent’s district never even comes close to Honolulu. In fact, the campaign of state Senator Gil Keith-Agaran, D–5th District, held a $500/person fundraiser on Feb. 20 (though the fundraiser notice only listed the location of the event as “800 South Beretania Street, Suite 210;” Edward Evangelista, Keith-Agaran’s campaign treasurer, did not return a phone call asking for clarification by press time).
Of course, if you’re Governor David Ige, fighting for your political life, holding a fundraiser in lowly Honolulu simply won’t do it. Ige will hold two campaign fundraisers in Washington, DC on Feb. 23 and Feb. 27 (his office announced on Feb. 20 that he would spend about a week in Washington to attend meetings with various governor’s associations and federal officials).
What’s really bad about Ige’s fundraiser notices is that they make a mockery of the public disclosure by not being specific about either event’s location. The notices list the Feb. 23 event as taking place at 1201 New York Ave., NW, Washington DC and the Feb. 27 event at 1900 K Street, NW, Washington DC. Both addresses are just skyscrapers packed with many tenants.
Photo: Ervins Strauhmanis/Flickr
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