Musings: Slogging Along the Campaign Trail

One stellar October day just keeps flowing into the next, prompting me to enthuse, when I called Farmer Jerry yesterday for a story I’m doing about water, “Well, it’s another gorgeous afternoon!”

“Yes, it is,” he said in a chipper voice. “Unless you’re a thirsty plant desperate for water.”

I always appreciate people who can make me laugh and offer a different perspective on things.

Later, returning with a friend from the beach, where the pohaku are donning their autumn coats of limu and the sand is starting to slip away to wherever it spends the winter, I mentioned that I was thinking of attending the Abercrombie-Aiona debate that evening.

“Do you want to go?” I asked.

He gave me an incredulous look. “Are you kidding? What a waste of a beautiful evening.”

We both agreed we already knew how we were going to vote — Abercrombie — although when I expressed surprise that the race is close, wondering if there was a trend toward conservatism in Hawaii, my friend, who is local, explained it this way: “No way. It’s who you gonna vote for, the locals or the haoles?”

Then we got to talking about the Council race.

“No need vote for Derek, because he’s gonna get in no matter what,” my friend said. “And you just watch. Kaipo’s gonna pull it off. He’s got a lot of supporters out there.”

We also agreed that Nadine Nakamura, JoAnn Yukimura, Mel Rapozo and Jay Furfaro are going to make it. So then who best to round out the Council, perhaps by plunking for one candidate? I like KipuKai Kualii, because he’s a caring person who supports progressive issues, has a strong sense of community and knows how to organize and work with a group. My friend is leaning toward Ted Daligdig, saying that earning the rank of colonel shows he’s smart, works hard and knows how to play politics.

Because in the end, we agreed, if a politician can’t build political alliances and work with others to get his or her bills passed, they’re useless, no matter how grand their dreams.

So instead of continuing on the campaign trail to the debate, I took Koko walking through the splendors of the mountain trail, returning by the light of a waxing moon cozying up to Jupiter as the last smoldering remnants of day were devoured by the blackness of night.

And it was confirmed I made the right choice when I read about the rather ho-hum debate this morning on Civil Beat. It offered a succinct rundown, although it seemed the reporter kind of gave the gubernatorial candidates short shrift. Guess we’re all wearying of the rhetoric.

Of note in the LG debate was the inclusion of “fresh topic” in reference to GMOs. Does that mean the subject never came up until the candidates got to Kauai? Anyway, both Schatz and Finnegan took the industry-friendly stance of opposing GMO taro, but supporting genetic modification of other crops.

Not so fresh was The Garden Island’s splashy report today on the $1 judgment in the Brescia vs Kaiulani Edens-Huff case, which I covered a week ago. Unfortunately, Paul Curtis still got it wrong, writing:

Although Brescia redesigned plans for the home to avoid directly disturbing the remains, protesters had camped on the public beach near his property and, in at least one case, were arrested for trespassing on the property where Brescia has been trying to build a home for seven years.

It’s been 10 years, Paul, and there’s no more “trying.” The house is pau already. And not only does Bresica’s house sit right on top of seven burials, a number of iwi were damaged by heavy equipment during an archaeological inventory survey. If that’s not “directly disturbing the remains,” I don’t know what is.