Ironically,
Mason was picked for the second-most powerful position on the Council
after saying he didn't feel qualified to even head a Council
committee. He has never served in political office.
Councilman
Mel Rapozo, a veteran politician, won support for the position from
Council Chair Jay Furfaro and Councilman Ross Kagawa. But
Councilmembers JoAnn Yukimura, Gary Hooser and Tim Bynum voted for
Mason.
In violation of the sunshine law, JoAnn earlier sent emails
to all her colleagues announcing her desire to serve as vice
chair. However, she couldn't secure a nomination.
Curiously, Gary
didn't say a peep about JoAnn's actions, though he raised a stink about county communications director Beth Tokioka allegedly
violating the sunshine law in an episode where its provisions did not even apply to
her.
Could it be that Gary and JoAnn subscribe to situational transparency, to go with
their situational ethics?
Meanwhile, in another jaw-dropping move, Tim,
architect of the second failed vacation rental law, was named chair of
the planning committee. JoAnn, architect of the first failed TVR law, is vice chair.
The
reorganization occurred after Nadine Nakamura left the Council to
work as the mayor's top aide. Last Friday, Jay joined Gary, JoAnn
and Tim in picking Mason to help override the mayor's veto of Bill
2491. Mason will finish out the final year of Nadine's term.
Mason is being played BIG TIME and Joann has GOT TO GO
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteMake me do right or make me do wrong, I'm your puppet….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpQWbvYbeZE
And it all started last week Thursday with..."let's take a recess...to stack the deck"
ReplyDeleteWell, the hands are being played now...and people are surprised at the power play by Gary, JoAnn, and Tim?
Mason, I admire your values and integrity, but I hope even you can see how at your 2nd meeting being voted as Vice Chair is a bit much... good luck, brah. Reminds me of an old saying, "Old age and treachery will always beat youth and exuberance"
All I can say to the Kauai public is, remember to vote at the next election :(
joann cant run for coucil as term limits are coming.
ReplyDeletethis all sucks! could Mel and Mason vote for the vice chairperson?
ReplyDeletethey voted for their selves
ReplyDeleteMason is unknown to most people. Give him a chance. Gary and Tim are master manipulators and hopefully, Mason will see thru their BS and act as his own man. His hands will be held thru the mysteries of Council procedure. He is not beholden to anyone, he is ON the council. He will have to run next year. He may survive, but if Kauai has any hope for an economic future, Tim and Gary should be swept in to the political dustbin. Joann is needed for observance of the psychedelic thought processes.
ReplyDeleteThis is hilarious... It goes to show the divide there is with these council members... From somebody that was unjustly voted onto to the council to vice chair....
ReplyDeleteNow you know why Kualii wasn't voted in, Joann, Tim and Gary didn't want Mel to be the vice chair. They all knew Kualii was going to vote to over ride the mayors veto, it was a political move by the 2491 backers... I'd be so ashamed if I were them...
ReplyDeleteGary for mayor.
ReplyDeleteah the better to insert the national agenda here. Tim is a psychologist by training even if he plays dumb. This really sucks for Kauai and those who really care. They will bankrupt the county. Is there a prostitute movie with Jay in it they are holding over his head these days? One must really ask WTF?
ReplyDeleteGary should run for mayor so we can watch him get his ass kicked. But he won't try for mayor because he is angling for something bigger. "delusions of grandeur"
ReplyDeleteGary blew with the Big Time Dems in Honolulu, they saw him for what he is, self-serving. He is unable to get any support state wide. Of course, he will always have his Kauai block of wealthy people of the Caucasian persuasion. His sleazy history of tax cheat, real estate development and using other peoples money will haunt him in any real political bid. He has said many times that he is not running for Mayor, but in today's bizaro double speak it probably means he is.
ReplyDeleteWOW. Even myself, who knows Mason well, and I am a strong 2491 supporter do NOT agree with Mason being named as vice chair. And that is saying a lot.
ReplyDeleteAs for Mason being an unknown, he is only unknown to those that are not local, or don't have under-priveleged kids, or haven't really been part of the local community. Mason is well known, well liked and well respected all over Kaua'i.But Mason has never been in politics before, ever. And not been in council chambers, nor does he know how it can be in there. He is a political innocent.
I certainly do not want to see Mason thrown under the bus. Mason was a well known fireman, and like I said, everyone knows him.
However, Mason, who knows nothing of the political process inside council chambers should not have been named as the vice chair. Joann though should not have been named either, and neither should Mel. Problem is, in my opinion I don't know why we even need to have a vice chair. Just one is enough if you ask me. And I know the process well in there.
This will hurt Masons, budding political career, and frankly, to me, it looks bad. Now if it looks bad to me, imagine what it will look like to others who aren't on our side of most issues. Yikes.
As for Joanne wanting to be vice chair yet again, I think she has had enough time in the sun. It's time for her to move over and let others onto the playground.
Also, I know for a personal fact, that Gary Hooser has absolutely no intention of leaving the council. He has personally told me very emphatically that he will be staying on the council and will not be running for mayor.
On the text issue, I have first hand information that it was actually Joanne that initiated the texts, and not the Mayors office. I feel that it is inappropriate for her to email everyone and beg to be vice chair. I wonder if she regrets nominatingMason now, that he has just usurped her higher paying position. However, my source tells me, that the Mayors office has learned its lesson and won't be doing that again.
There should be a lot of people not on the council next time. I feel that Ross, much like Dickie, is a great guy but wholly unsuited for a politicians position on the council. Deer in the headlights, mostly, with that innocent look he gives most of the time. Sincere, but ill suited for the job. And that has nothing to do with 2491. He, like Dickie, remained silent on most issues, had nothing to say, and was pretty ignorant of most of the basis process of it all. I think maybe a few years of testifying in council chambers perhaps, and then making another go of it would be better.
Frankly, as for Jay and Tim, they both seem ill to me, and I think they should both take a rest. Joanne and Mel will be affected by term limits. So that leaves the council pretty open and lots of seats available. We cannot just look to vote in council members on the issue of 2491 alone, although I can see it being a factor of anyone's campaign at this point.
Poor Mason. I hope he can keep his head above water with all of this stuff.
Jay is getting bitter in his old age. The Mason Chock vote was done in pure spite as he didn't want a 3-3 tie therefore giving the Mayor the authority to appoint the next interim councilmember. This spite was over the 2491 veto and selcting Nadine as Managing Director, a position he coveted for himself. He sold his soul to get one vote and now has lost power to the leftists with serious socialist agendas. It's only a matter of time until JoAnn or Gary dethowns "King Jay" as Chair. Even if they don't, they now have the controlling votes. Welcome to the new Peolple's Republic of Kauai. Expect new initiatives (or re-hased failed ones) to expand public transportation, add public housing, and reduce homeowner taxes while simultaneously asking the state and feds for more money. And, how in the world can Tim oversee Planning as this is the very department he's suing. Kauai's economy is in great peril. Our citizens will need to filibuster every socialist initiative that drains our limited County resources until the next election.
ReplyDeleteAmazing that the council puts Bynum as chair of the planning committee yet he is the very one suing that department for millions of dollars! These council yahoos have absolutely no interest in protecting the taxpayers with shameless conflict of interest grabs like this that smell of corruption. Someone should report Bynum and the council to the ethics commission
ReplyDeleteMason do not trust Gary, Joanne & Tim they are using you.
ReplyDeleteMan, KPD is ready to kill.
ReplyDeleteAs far as Tim and Jay looking ill.
ReplyDeleteIt is the lighting in the chamber, it is harsh. I hope they do a study on the lighting, it may be unhealthy, many doctors suspect that harsh lighting is very bad for you and can cause cancer and such, and it should be modified with a lot of candles, patchouli oils and some Ravi Shankar music. There should also be a lighting engineer on hand to study the light intensity, an aromaoligist for proper fragrance, and no legislation should be discussed within 3 feet of the walls.
Don't forget about having a council drum circle post meeting. Studies show that drum circles help to share rhythm and get in tune with each other and themselves. To form a group consciousness. To entrain and resonate. By entrainment, I mean that a new voice, a collective voice, emerges from the group as they drum together.
ReplyDeleteNAMASTE!
For all Mason's lack of Council experience, he showed an honest heart, and comes from a true Hawaiian background. Not corrupted, and I was moved when he said on the 2491 vote how he respected the Mayor, but that if one child could be saved by 2491 he was voting to override the veto. Damn right, Mason. His firefighter morals trumped the bullshit of Mel, the Mayor and Ross. I'd rather have an honest, inexperienced council member run the meeting in Jay's absence, than Mel and his ethics. Good choice.
ReplyDeleteJoan,
ReplyDeleteSunshine Law specifically does not apply to organization of legislative bodies such as the council.
i think mason will be a good CMember, but vice chair? dont get that at all..maybe just to be of an independent, unlobbied neutral mentality?...guess the clerk will have to hold his hand when struggling with parliamentary procedure tho or the powers of the chair..etc......so lets see when the first test comes and hope the learning curve is a quick one. im sure he is putting in some long hours to study the upcoming issues and getting schooled for the chair duties....i wish him the best....aloha Dean
ReplyDeleteJoan,
ReplyDelete1. was it legal for the council to recess with 6 members and reconvene with 7?
Mason shouldn't have voted. if his only logic was to save childrens lives, when there is NOTHING ZIP NADA NOTHING proving the dust and pesticides caused these particular illnesses....WE'RE IN TROUBLE. to come into the council and think that he's well informed enough to vote is already BIG HEAD.
and then for him to be vice chair after saying he going look to the other cms like gary as mentors?! all pau!!!
i one local, and i kanaka, but brada mason, you shoulda known better and use your head not your fear to cast your vost.
bet he didn't even read ALL the executive session minutes they had since july. NOT INFORMED!!!
I really don't see this as much of a story. After all, these are politicians. Politicians will maneuver and attempt to make deals in keeping with their own best interests. What gets them reelected or gives them the best chance at a higher seat will be their move. Every once in a blue moon someone will actually do what's best for the people simply because it's the right thing to do. I don't see much of that lately. Gary wants a higher seat and will throw anyone or any group under the bus to achieve that. Mason is one of the good ones but he'll learn the political game quickly. Joanne, like her or not, has a lot of baggage to overcome. I think her heart is finally in the right place even though I disagree with some of her positions.
ReplyDeleteJoan,
ReplyDeleteSunshine Law specifically does not apply to organization of legislative bodies such as the council.
It still applies to sending emails to more than two other council members. HRS 92-2.5(c)
Nobody's perfect and 'before you accuse me take a look at yourself'
ReplyDeleteHot damn! This is better than a fortnight in the Royal Duchy of Fenwick. Drum circles, rotten ethics, newbies and sagging nubilities, citizens thrown under the bus- constantly, prattling councilors, where's Rob Ford when you need him, sunshine laws where the sun don't shine, mother of all recesses- excesses, put some pancake on them palefaces and in time for the drum circles for sure. Nastyme. I haven't had so much fun since the pigs ate my little bro'. Yee haw! Cry havoc and let loose the dogs of law.
ReplyDeleteThey should just do audio broadcasts. It's hard to look at some of those guys and not think they don't eat gmo.
ReplyDeleteI have lost all respect for Mason Chock. You should have deferred to experience in Mel Rapozo instead of letting your vanity run loose. Mel woul have provided much needed support to a council chair who clearly has no control and is only looking out for the path of least resistance. How shame. Is this what they teach at leadership kauai. Oh I guess so... Look who is past alumni... Furfaro, Bynum, Carvalho, and now you...worst yet you were the former executive director.
ReplyDelete08:21, 09:29, 19:17 and 20:13, you are killing me! Thanks for the laugh!
ReplyDelete9:28 PM,
ReplyDeleteTOTALLY agree with you. Chair lost control of this council once gary came on board. Mel would at least keep it fair.
Gary wants Jay's seat and will do anything to get there.
He was a loser at State leg and now he's going to drag down the council.
at least the Mayor can truly shine now while council goes down in flames.
shame shame mason, shame shame. you should've recused yourself from voting and you should've declined the nomination for vice chair. just one more local bradah that drank the cool aid. i had much more hope for him than this.
Gary doesn't want the chair. He wants off the council and onto a bigger, better seat. Think mayor, state senator, lt gov, etc. The council is beneath his ego.
ReplyDeleteI am amused by the appointment of the new Vice Chair Council Member Mason Chock.
ReplyDeleteHe is inexperienced and voted himself as Vice Chair?
His sister is an activist for the bill 2491?
His girlfriend sued Big Island County for being fired at the Elections Department.
He sued Kauai County while in the Fire Department.
Shame on you both for taking money from tax payers. You call this leadership? Your appointment into office was fixed because they knew you would have voted for the bill to be passed. Your dirty laundry is being aired out because Kauai has the Right to Know your true colors. This system is very crooked. Kipukai was voted by the people and should have been appointed. From now on your personal life will be public. It is what it is.
Joan, the law is still up for interpretation as to whether texting or emails during deliberations should be public record, it is immaterial whether the texts or email are with their private accounts or not, in almost all other jurisdictions they are public record. The OIP under the Lt. Gov. is not above politics itself, esp. under this Gubernatorial Administration. Keep that in mind, Joan.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could click Like on most of these comments...
ReplyDelete