Final Chance to Vote for Your Favorite Candidates
Two more days – today and tomorrow are the final days to walk in to city hall, Kapolei hale or the pali golf course banquet hall and vote by absentee.
Many of Hawaii’s politicians have already voted including Gov. Abercrombie, former Gov. Linda Lingle, former Congressman Ed Case and Congresswoman Mazie Hirono.
Polls show several races in a statistical dead heat, including a Civil Beat media poll today that shows Case 1 percent of Hirono in the U.S. Senate Primary. This after Hirono claimed yesterday that her own poll gave her a double-digit lead over Case.
Former Gov. Ben Cayetano could also win the Honolulu mayor’s election by 50 percent plus one vote, or be forced into a run off with either Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle or former Managing Director Kirk Caldwell.
If you miss voting by absentee, you can go to the polls on the Primary election day, this Saturday, August 11.
Your vote can make a difference so make sure to show up and bring family and friends along – if you are an employer, talk to your employees about the importance of voting and voting informed. Check Hawaii Reporter for a variety of interviews with select candidates.
Also tune into KHVH News Radio and Hawaii News Now on Saturday evening for election analysis from Hawaii Reporter and other Hawaii media.
Smack in the Middle of a National Controversy, Reid Endorses Hannemann
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid sparked a national controversy when he recently accused GOP Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney of not paying taxes for 10 years based on an unnamed source.
Reid claimed an investor in Romney’s former company Bain Capital told him Romney had not paid any taxes over a 10-year stretch.
Romney adamantly denied the claim and slammed Reid for refusing to provide proof.
Conservatives and liberals across the country have been critical of Reid, calling his claim “BS.”
Smack in the middle of this national controversy, Reid made a surprising announcement.
Yesterday he said he’s endorsing former Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann for the 2nd Congressional District Seat.
Reid said he and Hannemann go back many years.
Reid said he worked with Hannemann and Senator Akaka to help save Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and he worked with Hannemann and Senator Inouye on infrastructure funding and strengthening tourism across the country.
Reid said Hannemann’s record of achievement, experience, and relationships in Washington, D.C., would make him an invaluable member of the Democrats’ team on Capitol Hill.
By the way, Reid did not say whether or not a secret source told him that.
Mitsunaga Fights Back
Dennis Mitsunaga has sponsored another media blitz aimed to defend his reputation from what he calls smears from the Pacific Resource Partnership and the Carpenters Union.
In a series of radio commercials, PRP Hawaii’s John White is accusing Mitsunaga, a friend of former Ben Cayetano, of giving illegal contributions to government officials.
Mitsunaga denies the charge and said he’s already taken and passed a polygraph test to prove he is telling the truth.
He is challenging White, a failed candidate for city council, to prove White did not take illegal contributions and that he spent his money legally during that 2010 council race.
Mitsunaga points out that White solicited and accepted contributions from the very people who were convicted and fined (for making illegal contributions in the past) when he ran for city council and lost two years ago.
See Mitsunaga’s full editorial in Hawaii Reporter.