Musings: Beyond the Echo Chamber

Mayoral hopeful and political novice Dustin Barca may have been baffled by the election results, but that's what happens when you live in an echo chamber.

Dustin, a former pro-surfer/MMA fighter whose campaign was funded by Hawaii Life realtors and off-islanders, apparently thought he was going to waltz into the Round Building with a platform of platitudes and minimal campaigning. Because, after all, he was on “a mission from God.”

But Dustin and the other candidates who emphasized an anti-seed company platform fared poorly. Dustin got just 30 percent of the votes in his race against Mayor Bernard Carvalho, and Dylan Hooser was similarly trounced by Jimmy Tokioka in the 15^th House District race. 

County Council incumbents Gary Hooser and Tim Bynum, who co-sponsored pesticide/GMO regulatory Bill 2491, came in sixth and seventh, respectively, and Mason Chock, who was brought in to override the mayor's veto of the bill, looks likely to lose his seat, with a dismal tenth place showing.

Meanwhile, incumbents Mel Rapozo and Ross Kagawa — the only two Councilmembers to oppose the bill — took first and second place, respectively, and were joined in third place by pro-seed candidate and Grove Farm employee Arryl Kaneshiro in his first bid for office.

Newcomer and pro-seed company candidate Arthur Brun also edged out anti-seed company candidate Felicia Cowden for eleventh place, despite her advantageous connections to “community” radio station KKCR.

Equally interesting is the vote spread. Mel was 2,300 votes ahead of incumbent JoAnn Yukimura, who took fourth place, and nearly 4,000 votes ahead of his nemesis Tim Bynum, who has former Councilman KipuKai Kualii and Police Chief Darryl Perry nipping at his heels.

While Kauai typically lags behind the state in voter turnout, things were different this time. Some 47 percent of Kauai registered voters cast ballots, compared to the statewide total of just 38 percent. Absentee votes accounted for 28 percent of the figure, with the remaining 19 percent going to the polls. That poll voting made a difference for Gary and especially Tim, who was seriously lagging in the first return of early walk-in and absentee ballots.

Still, despite all the talk of “change,” it's apparent that folks don't really want any, since the incumbents did so well. The only exception was Gov. Abercrombie, who was soundly defeated by Democratic David Ige. It's hard to say whether folks were tired of the guv's acrimonious personality or his decades of slurping at the public trough, but in any case, he's out and good riddance.

Other notable results: Though Rep. Derek Kawakami easily won re-election to his 14^th District state House seat, which encompasses parts of Kapaa and the North Shore, some 25 percent of the Democratic ballots were left blank in that race.

Looking at the precinct returns, (which start on page 331) Dustin, Felicia, Gary, Tim, Jay Furfaro, JoAnn, Mason and newcomer Tiana Laranio were the top vote-getters in Hanalei and Kilauea, as expected. But their gains began to erode in Anahola, and in Kapaa, Arryl started showing up in the top five and the mayor was beating Dustin.

In Hanamaulu, the tide had solidly turned toward the final results — a trend that continued around the island, including Koloa, and becoming more pronounced as the vote moved westward. 

Which tells us three things: the anti-GMO movement is indeed North Shore-based, a reality that they repeatedly denied; the movement is smaller and less powerful than has been claimed (or feared), and the westside vote is still critical to a candidate's success.

Given the results, perhaps some of the waffling Council members will find the courage to grow a backbone and consider the interests of the entire island, rather than a vocal minority.

As for Dustin, if he truly likes to "strive for perfection," perhaps he could start by getting an education so that he could more successfully formulate and articulate his views. Dylan, meanwhile, can go back to raping the sea of sunrise shells, and hopefully Felicia no longer fancies herself the voice of Kauai.