ELECTION 2006

LINGLE HAS RENEWED HOPE FOR ISLE HOMELESS

Never before has a governor tackled homelessness so aggressively. Gov. Linda Lingle has given the homeless renewed hope and opportunity and inspired thousands of people, including myself, to search within themselves and find what they can give and how they can help others.

It's this quality that makes a good leader, and it is for this reason that I'm voting for Governor Lingle. Just think what new, positive and exciting things could happen for Hawai'i with another four years of her leadership.

HAWAI'I PUBLIC SHOULD VALUE 2-PARTY SYSTEM

I would like to applaud your endorsement of Barbara Marumoto, a moderate Republican. Coming from China, the one party state, I value the importance of the two-party system in the U.S.

There are only 10 Republicans in the House out of 51 representatives and 5 senators out of 25 Senate seats. The Republican Party should work hard to come up with good candidates like Linda Lingle and Barbara Marumoto.

But the Hawai'i public should also realize the importance of the two-party system.

THIELEN, HOGUE WOULD BE FRESH VOICES IN D.C.

While our senior statesmen are good honorable men who have served Hawai'i well, the reality is that Hawai'i needs to have a balance in Washington that better represents the future. Electing different Democrats still gets us the same old mindset and ideas.

Cynthia Thielen and Bob Hogue have done a great job for Hawai'i's people in the state Legislature. Their fresh voices and perspectives on a national level would certainly benefit all of us. They would continue to serve the people of Hawai'i well in a much larger arena to the benefit of us all.

LET'S SEND A WORKER TO CONGRESS, NOT A FIGHTER

Bob Hogue says he wants to go to Congress to "work" for us. Mazie Hirono says she wants to go to Congress to "fight" for us.

Frankly, I would much rather be represented by a moderate worker who looks at issues with the nation's interest in mind rather than by a biased "fighter" guided only by a party's interests.

One only needs to look at their campaign ads to judge how they would represent us in Congress — his ads are positive with commendable goals, while her ads are negative and contain no substance other than bashing the president.

Let's have our Congress working more and fighting less!

'YES' ON CHARTER 3 IS A VOTE FOR OUR FUTURE

I strongly support the passage of city Charter question 3, channeling 1 percent of property tax revenues into land conservation and affordable housing.

Mandating legislative action by charter amendment is exactly the right place for priorities. The City Council would have a hard time making room for them otherwise. Saving for the future is never sexy or dramatic enough for today's politicians, so this is a way for us to make sure we do it. It's already been done in Maui County — all without raising taxes.

These funds will be used to match federal and state money in supporting private affordable housing or open-space projects — so the city isn't going to be managing housing or new parks. Open space and affordable housing are critical needs for Hawai'i's people. I encourage every one to vote 'yes' on 3!

'NO' VOTE URGED FOR FIRST CHARTER QUESTION

In the 1992, Honolulu voters, by a nearly 80 percent margin, approved term limits for the mayor and City Council. Voters voiced their belief that having politicians in office too long can breed arrogance and disregard for the public.

That belief is still true today. Voters should leave term limits in place for the Honolulu City Council by voting "no" on the proposed Charter question 1.

While there are some excellent public officeholders in Ho-nolulu, and unrestricted incumbency may have advantages both for them and the public, the same cannot be said for all politicians. A limit on terms is a better fundamental city policy.

As former members of the Honolulu City Council, we share this belief. Term limits are endorsed by Mayor Mufi Hannemann, who was once our Council colleague, as well as by a number of former councilmembers, including state Sen. Donna Mercado Kim, George Akahane, Dan Clement, Boyd Andrade, Darrlyn Bunda and Leigh-Wai Doo. Current councilmembers Charles Djou, Gary Okino, Rod Tam, Nestor Garcia and Todd Apo also support term limits.

So why has a deeply divided Charter Commission decided to ask the electorate if they want to remove term limits for the City Council, but keep them for the mayor? Perhaps some councilmembers want permanent fulltime jobs.

Voting to eliminate term limits also will create disparate treatment between the councilmembers and the mayor. Voting to eliminate term limits will weaken the "strong mayor" and "strong council" form of government as contemplated in our charter if councilmembers may potentially serve indefinitely, while the mayor changes every four to eight years.

Save yourself from virtual lifetime appointments to the City Council. Just Vote "no" on Charter question 1.

KANAHELE PASSIONATE ABOUT KANAKA MAOLI

Aloha, my name is Tennille, and I am Bumpy Kanahele's daughter. I just want everyone to know that my father is very passionate about his work, and very passionate about the kanaka maoli and the issues that surround us today.

I have seen, felt and lived every bit of my father's struggles and accomplishments. Words can never express how much pride and love I have for being a part of his life.

I hope you will make the decision to vote him into the Office of Hawaiian Affairs so that you, too, may experience what my father, Bumpy, has yet to share with the Native Hawaiians and non-Hawaiians alike.

PERSONAL CAMPAIGN ATTACKS A TACKY GESTURE

Quentin Kawananakoa tried to shame state Sen. Bob Hogue with colorful handouts delivered at my residence one week before the primary.

Sorry dude, you lost. It backfired, and now Mazie Hirono is doing the same with her TV commercial criticizing Senator Hogue. It's a tacky gesture.

I have known Bob Hogue as a friend for many years, and I have never met a more sincere, honest and down-to-earth person.

I did not vote for Kawananakoa and I am positive I won't vote for Mazie. No politician should ever launch personal attacks on any opponent. When they do, I lose respect for that candidate.

LINGLE CAMPAIGN AD SHOWS DESPERATION

Gov. Linda Lingle's campaign is deceptive, and apparently getting desperate. In a recent television ad, she shows that the Japanese Chamber of Commerce of the Big Island is endorsing her.

The public should know that this organization of 150 members on the Big Island is not the same organization of the larger and more recognized Honolulu Japanese Chamber of Commerce, which never endorses any political candidate. Apparently, the purpose of this ad is to deceive the AJA (Americans of Japanese ancestry) community into believing that because a major Japanese-related organization endorsed her, you should too.

Shame on you, Governor Lingle. When will you realize that the AJA community has never and will never officially endorse any political candidate?

VOTE FOR THE PERSON AND NOT FOR THE PARTY

This election season, everyone should clear their heads of "party politics" and vote for the person over the party.

It's the person who is going to affect your life, not the party. Listen to what they have to say, how they say it and how they act upon it. This is a much stronger indication of their abilities. Vote with your head, not with your party. Choose Gov. Linda Lingle, not Randy Iwase. She puts the people of Hawai'i above party politics and has proven that she can walk the walk, take on tough issues and make things happen.

MAUI

MAYOR DID NOTHING ABOUT ABANDONED CARS

I see by recent letters that people feel one good quality about Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa is his ability to listen to all of the facts and make a quick decision. So my question is, will any decision do even if it is wrong?

My case in point is the problem we had with abandoned cars on the roads last year, and no company contracted to pick them up. I think we can all agree that it was a disgrace for Maui, an eyesore that caused tourists to see Maui as a third-world country. So what did the mayor decide to do?

Nothing! As I heard the mayor on several occasions explain this decision, he wanted to haul the cars to a cane field and hide them until they could be disposed of. But he couldn't, because lawyers had warned him of liability from damage to the ecology (leaking fluids, etc.) if he did this. So to protect the county from a possible lawsuit, he did nothing. Nothing to stop this grand disgrace to the quality of Maui's greatest asset, its beauty.