Our political system is filled with monsters. There are mindless politicians who wander the island like zombies and never genuinely listen, undead establishment figures who spring from the dirt to cling to power, wicked sycophants who patch together and enable abominations, and witch-donors who manipulate the voodoo dolls of elected officials.
Like the monsters that wander door to door on Halloween, however, things are not always as they seem. The ghouls in the political system can also be unmasked and revealed… that is, if you can conquer the beast that is the Hawai‘i Campaign Spending Commission website.
For our scariest issue of the year, we decided that this was the perfect task for a group of meddling kids like us at MauiTime. We sifted through the primary campaign contribution reports from 2018 for all councilmembers and mayoral candidates still in the running for your vote in the general election on Nov. 6, so you could see who and what, at this point in time, is paying to influence the election in Maui County.
If underneath the mask you simply find another monster, remember: The voting booth is your silver bullet.
Stanford S Carr
Total donated: $5,500
Recipients:
Alan Arakawa ($2,000)
Riki Hokama ($1,000)
Mike Victorino ($2,500)
Carr is the president of the Honolulu-based development company, Stanford Carr Development LLC, which has projects in the state on the Big Island, O‘ahu, and Maui. On Maui, Carr’s only active project is Kahoma Village in Lahaina, which includes 102 townhome units and 20 single-family homes as part of a residential workforce housing program that targets families making 80-140 percent of the area median income (80 percent of the AMI for a family of three is $77,500). Not so scary, right? Well, some of Carr’s other ventures include the luxury developments Wailea Fairway Villas, Wailea Pualani Estates, and Pukalani Fairway Estates. About the Wailea Fairway Villas, the Stanford Carr Development website states, “Built in 1998, owners either live here full time, part time, or rent long term.” Now that’s scary. What’s more, Maui Tomorrow reported that his Kahoma Village development requested 15 (!) exemptions from county laws governing development, including exemptions from impact fees and grading permit fees. Consider that Carr organized a fundraiser for Arakawa that cost $1,000 per person at a glamorous Waikiki restaurant, and the connection here becomes downright chilling.
Hawaii Regional Council of Carpenters
Total donated: $6,000
Recipients:
Stacy Crivello ($2,000)
Mike Victorino ($4,000)
This is the Hawai‘i chapter of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters, a union with a mission “to stand strong with our members and business partners to help them achieve success. UBC education and training advances leadership, skill, quality, productivity, safety, and attitude with the goal of creating a constructive culture within the construction industry and providing a competitive workforce for our contractors and owners.” I’m not one to union bash without good cause, but it should raise some eyebrows to see who this union thinks will do the best at keeping builders employed.
Chad S Goodfellow
Total donated: $6,500
Recipients:
Yuki Lei Sugimura ($1,000)
Riki Hokama ($2,000)
Alan Arakawa ($1,000)
Mike Victorino ($2,500)
Chad Goodfellow is the president of Goodfellow Bros. Inc, a general contractor that operates in North America with offices in Hawai‘i, Oregon, Washington, and California. The company holds over half-a-billion dollars in current and future contracts with the county’s engineering department, and it seems they want to donate big to keep the money rolling in. Sure, road improvements and drainage projects sound great, but when a company makes its money dealing in million-dollar contracts to pave and grade the island you have to ask: What is its president hoping to gain by donating to these politicians, and is that the Maui we want?
Jarret Choy
Total donated: $7,000
Recipients:
Alan Arakawa ($2,000)
Riki Hokama ($2,000)
Mike Victorino ($3,000)
Choy is the VP of sales at a company called H2O Process Systems, and, boy, if you want a get spooked go check out the company’s website… it’s circa-2000 design is enough to make a man go insane. H2O Process Systems is a company specializing in waste management and related pumps and other equipment. In January, the company was awarded $93,728 from the county for “Furnishing & Delivery of One Sound Attenuated DOT Trailer Mounted Diesel Pump package 8” for the Department of Environmental Management. Considering the county’s problem with injection wells, one could hope for the best and think the donations are evidence of support for efforts to modernize our waste management, and not evidence of pay-to-play.
Kim Coco Iwamoto
Total donated: $7,900
Recipients:
Elle Cochran ($2,000)
Trinette Furtado ($2,000)
Tamara Paltin ($2,000)
Keani Rawlins-Fernandez ($1,900)
MauiTime endorsed Kim Coco Iwamoto in her bid for Lieutenant Governor with the following rationale: “Iwamoto is running on a platform of social justice that is greatly needed at a time when the culture of the federal government marginalizes minority groups. Iwamoto has demonstrated that she prioritizes applying progressive solutions to the causes of living wages, affordable housing, education, and the environment. Significantly, she is willing to say definitively that ‘one job should be enough’ and that pre-K through graduate school education should be publicly funded… we believe that Kim Coco will be the best balance as Lt. Governor to ensure that bold progressive ideals and social justice remain in the conversation and are extended to the public as solutions worth fighting for.”
Our opinion of her hasn’t changed. Her donations are only of concern if you consider her efforts to fully fund education, provide affordable housing, mandate a living wage, and fight for social justice frightening – in which case, I’m afraid to say, you might be the monster.
Unite Here Local Five
Total donated: $8,000
Recipients:
Elle Cochran ($4,000)
Tamara Paltin ($2,000)
Keani Rawlins-Fernandez ($2,000)
Unite Here Local Five is a hotel and hospitality workers union that represents employees statewide. Lately, they’ve made news for representing and organizing the strikes at Kyo-Ya owned hotels including the Sheraton Maui. The union is pushing the large hotel companies with the rallying cry “one job is enough” in order to give workers better wages and working conditions, and provide workplace safety measures. The tactics of Unite Here Local Five should scare CEOs like Arne Sorenson of Marriott International, who made 395 times the amount median employees made at his hotels. For most of us here on Maui, though, Unite Here Local Five is a non-threatening union that stands up for workers’ rights and makes sure Maui’s residents get their fair share from the booming tourism industry.
Hawaii Operating Engineers Industry Stability Fund
Total donated: $8,000
Recipients:
Alan Arakawa ($1,000)
Riki Hokama ($2,000)
Mike Molina ($1,000)
Mike Victorino ($4,000)
This PAC formed to fund the interests of the Operating Engineers Local 3 in Hawai‘i. “From heavy equipment operators and mechanics, to surveyors, construction inspectors, highway maintenance workers, police officers and other public employees,” the union states on its site, “we represent the men and women who drive this country’s economy.” So, it’s a union that relies on continual development to ensure job security for its members, but at what cost? Well, Hawai‘i Operating Engineers Industry Stability Fund has supported the plagued Honolulu Rail project and the massive expansion of the Kahului Airport. Yikes!
Local Union 1186 IBEW
Total donated: $8,000
Recipients
Alan Arakawa ($1,000)
Stacey Crivello ($1,000)
Mike Molina ($1,000)
Yuki Lei Sugimura ($1,000)
Mike Victorino ($4,000)
Local Union 1186 is the local chapter of the National Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, though looking at their website one might get the impression that it’s a mustache club (which would also explain the Victorino endorsement). Maui’s total membership in the union is 260, making it a relatively small local union chapter, but it’s still got the bucks to support candidates they think will keep business good for electricians.
Milton Choy
Total donated: $9,000
Recipients:
Alan Arakawa ($2,000)
Riki Hokama ($2,000)
Yuki Lei Sugimura ($2,000)
Mike Victorino ($3,000)
Milton Choy is another member of the Choy family and employee for H2O Process Systems, the company with a $93,728 award from the county. The Choy family, it seems, is going all in. Liann Choy, listed as the company’s secretary donated another $2000 to Yuki Lei Sugimura, and Lacie Choy donated $2,000 to Riki Hokama. Basically, the company was awarded almost $94,000, then turned around and donated over 20 percent of that to the political candidates that could help them get more awards. Interesting. Keep an eye on this one, especially when county awards and contracts are given out.
Shane Victorino
Total donated: $10,000
Recipients:
Mike Victorino
OK, Shane Victorino is no frightening monster. In fact, in addition to bringing pride to Maui by killing it in the major leagues, he’s started a foundation to help underserved youth with educational, recreational, and wellness programs. If anything, the real ghoul here is in the details. While candidates for two-year termed offices (like councilmembers) are limited by law to $2,000 in aggregate donations from a single source and four-year termed offices (like mayor) are limited to $4,000, the Hawai‘i Revised Statutes provides an exemption for family members to donate up to $50,000. So if your family is wealthy, you’re in luck. If you’re a grassroots candidate going against that kind of funding, however, the deck is stacked against you. Inequality enabled by law: Now that’s true horror.
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Where is the money coming from?
Cover and infographic design by Darris Hurst
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