Six Democratic U.S. Senators–all women–are calling on their colleague, U.S. Senator Al Franken, to resign because of repeated accusations of sexual harassment leveled against him. One of the six, Senator Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, issued the following statement this morning: Today, I am calling on my colleague Al Franken to step aside. I’ve struggled with […]
1,000 or so show up to Rep. Tulsi Gabbard Fan Club meeting at Maui Arts and Cultural Center
In the old days (I’m thinking 2005 or so), Representative Ed Case, D–2nd District, would hold town hall meetings every 26 minutes or so. I remember one at King Kamehameha III Elementary School in Lahaina. A couple dozen people showed up and a few asked questions of Case, who stood at the front of the room […]
Here’s Drew Toonz’ plan for dealing with the 2016 Election
Illustration: Andrew Miller
Journalist Kate Bradshaw breaks down the true meaning of a vote for Jill Stein
For the last few weeks I’ve been thinking about how best to approach the very thorny subject of Green Party Presidential candidate Jill Stein voters in Hawaii. Though there’s no real polling done out here to gauge her support in this, one of the most liberal states in the union, this Reason blog post from September […]
Using newly declassified documents, we examine the legacy of Elmer Cravalho, Maui County’s most important political leader.
Elmer Cravalho was a rare individual who made a mark on both Maui and Hawaii history. A man of considerable intelligence and energy, he wielded tremendous power on state and county stages for 25 years. But in the days following his death on June 27 at the age of 90, the obituaries for Cravalho that appeared in […]
UPDATED: Know your 2016 Maui County election candidate: Tulsi Gabbard
And in what will likely be the last of these Know Your Candidate posts we put up before the Aug. 13 Hawaii Primary Election, U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D–Hawaii, just squeaks in under the deadline with her completed questionnaire. First elected to the U.S. Congress in 2012, Gabbard–who is also a major in the Hawaii […]
UPDATED: Here’s why the Hawaii LGBT Caucus doesn’t support Rep. Tulsi Gabbard’s reelection campaign
[NOTE: A few hours after this story went live we finally received comment from Rep. Gabbard’s campaign. The story has been updated to include it.] Back in the summer of 2012, while preparing our political endorsements for that year’s Hawaii Primary Election, we couldn’t figure out what to do in the 2nd District Congressional race. […]
Know your 2016 Maui County election candidate: Miles Shiratori
Back in 2014, Miles Shiratori ran in the Democratic Primary to be state lieutenant governor (in fact, his website Milesshiratori.com hasn’t yet been updated since that race). He lost to Shan Tsutsui by about 118,000 votes. This year, he’s one of five Democrats in the U.S. Senate race (the incumbent, Democrat Brian Schatz) is running […]
Know your 2016 Maui County election candidate: Shay Chan Hodges
Democrat Tulsi Gabbard, the U.S. Congressional Representative for Hawaii’s 2nd District, is enormously popular. In the 2014 election, she won reelection with nearly 76 percent of the vote. But she’s far from universally loved–in fact, she’s been something of a rebel this year. Long a critic of President Barack Obama’s military and foreign policy, she […]
UPDATED: Why is Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard refusing to debate Democrat Shay Chan Hodges?
In October, U.S. Congressional Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D–2nd District, made nationwide headlines for pushing back against those in charge of the Democratic Party. Specifically, she called for more debates between presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton and Senator Bernie Sanders, Gabbard’s preferred candidate. “More and more people on the ground from states across the country are calling […]
Kula Community Assoc. 2016 Maui election forum
Though the filing deadline for the Maui County candidates in the 2016 election is still a couple weeks away (June 7), a few races already loom large on the political radar. There are a lot of candidates out there and a ton of issues. But the Kula Community Association wants to help you this Wednesday, May 18 […]
Making sense of water rights in Hawaii in light of Alexander and Baldwin’s recent East Maui stream restoration announcement
Sometimes I get the distinct impression that the Hawaii Legislature, though controlled by the Democratic Party, really has no clue as to what their constituents are actually saying. We saw this last month when local elected officials (with just a couple of exceptions) fell over themselves to endorse Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination, […]
Drew Toonz asks if 3 Democratic Party superdelegates know that Bernie Sanders won Hawaii
Illustration: Andrew Miller
Drew Toonz votes for Reptillary!
Illustration: Andrew Miller
U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard explains why she supports Iran Nuclear Agreement
Hawaii’s U.S. Congressional Representative Tulsi Gabbard (D, 2nd District) surprised me this weekend. And not in a bad way, either. Well known as one of the Democratic Party’s strongest hawks (in part, no doubt, due to her also being a captain in the Hawaii Army National Guard), Gabbard released a measured, cautious and eminently […]
Marcia Tagavilla appointed new Hawaii Republican Party executive director
We don’t get a chance too often to write anything about the Hawaii Republican Party because, well, we live in Hawaii. Sure, the dozen or so individuals trying to grab the Republican presidential nomination offer nothing but screaming headlines these days concerning their, well, let’s be generous and say “controversial” stances over immigration, racism, abortion, […]