Friday, March 20, 2015

Musings: Aspirations and Off to India

By now, everyone knows that Gov. Ige has withdrawn his nomination of Carleton Ching as director of the state Department of Natural Resources.

Not so well known, but confirmed by a well-placed source, is that Kauai Councilman Gary Hooser had sought the job. Yes, the guy who was booted from his position as director of the Office of Environmental Quality Control was again seeking a cabinet level position. Talk about delusions of grandeur.

And what do those aspirations say about his commitment to the people of Kauai? Not that we don't already know, given his frequent trips to the state Legislature, and even missing a Council meeting to attend.

But when Ige bypassed him for Ching, Gary helped mount a vigorous attack on Ching.

Though Gary repeatedly claimed he had nothing against Ching's character — and even wrote a blog post to that effect — his opposition was of course rooted in concerns about Ching's character. Namely, concerns that Ching would favor his developer friends and colleagues over the public interest.

Certainly the governor should seek a candidate who is more middle of the road, which rules out Gary, and not so closely affiliated with the development sector. It'll be interesting to see who he picks for the post now.

Federal Judge Susan Mollway, meanwhile, has extended the injunction on enforcing the Maui GMO moratorium until at least June, citing the possibility of legislative action that could affect the case. In other words, the moratorium, which was supposed to be lifted March 31, remains on hold, dashing the aspirations of SHAKA for a quick resolution of the case. The Kauai and Big Island pesticide/GMO regulatory ordinances were already struck down and are under appeal.

On another note, blogging will be intermittent, and offering a more worldly content, over the next couple weeks as I head for India on a freelance assignment.

So stay tuned, and be patient with comment moderation, which may be somewhat delayed.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bon voyage Joan! Looking forward to your posts from India.

Anonymous said...

Gary wanted the DLNR positon? hahahaha... that was news to me. Have a safe trip Joan!

Anonymous said...

Have a great trip, and thanks again for all you do.

Dave Smith

Anonymous said...

Have a good trip.
Thank you for your blog and your insight on Kauai.
You are a good one.

Jackie Kido said...

Hi Joan! Jackie Kido here. It's totally not true that Gary was seeking to be DLNR Director. Your source is wrong. How do I know? Because during the Ige campaign I actually had lunch with Ige, Gary and Ben Cayetano at the Highway Inn on Ala Moana Blvd. We were discussing environmental issues, including the pesticide legislation. Gary made it CLEAR that he was not interested in going to Oahu. You should tell your source shame on him/her for giving you bad information! Hope you are well. Jackie

Joan Conrow said...

Hi Jackie. Thanks for sharing that information. However, I must note that your observations occurred in a meeting before the election. And things — and aspirations — can and do shift with the ever-changing political tide.

I am well, and hope the same is true for you!

Anonymous said...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/20/surfrider-animals-at-gunpoint_n_6899036.html?utm_hp_ref=hawaii&ir=Hawaii&utm_hp_ref=hawaii

Did anyone see these "Animals at gunpoint" pictures/ad's by surfrider. I'm all for reducing waste and consuming responsibly, but showing pictures aiming scanners at endangered species head is pretty disgusting. I would hope surfrider could find a better way to communicate their message.

Anonymous said...

Yawn - another dig at Gary from an unnamed source. Yawn.

Joan Conrow said...

And another dig at me from an Anonymous! yawn...

Anonymous said...

Gary Hooser leave a job for greener pastures? That would be so out of character.

Anonymous said...

Err Joan me thinks your focus on Gary is clouding your focus :-) His travel and his attendence at Council meetings is either on par or more responsible than the other council members. Why is it you give Ross a free pass? And I am pretty sure da hoos was not booted from the OEQC. The HRS does not allow the governor to boot this particular position. Gary for sure did not get along with Bruce Coppa (mr prp) but neither Bruce nor the Governor had the power to boot the Oeqc director. The position was set up to protect it from political pressure.

Joan Conrow said...

Me thinks you conveniently miss the point that my criticism of Gary has not been for travel or missing Council meetings per se, but for lobbying the Lege on issues that support the HAPA group he heads, which is a clear conflict. Please cite the relevant chapter of HRS that you believe prevents the gov from asking any of his political appointees to leave the office he appointed them to, especially if he has indications of their wrongdoing.