Musings: Inevitable

After licking his wounds for a couple of weeks following his dismal Primary showing, Kauai Councilman Gary Hooser has emerged to announce: “Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.”

Actually, no one reported that Hooser is politically dead. We just observed that he's circling the drain. As is the inevitable fate of every failed politician.

In surfacing, Hooser relies upon his usual double-pronged strategy: beg and blame.

I was surprised and disappointed more Kaua’i residents who share our values, goals and vision for Kauai’s future did not show up to vote on August 13th.

Uh, Gary, did you ever stop to think that's all there is? That the measly 5,035 votes cast for you — half the number Derek Kawakami received — represent the extent of your support?

Heck, just look at the precinct results, and your own campaign contributions. It's evident your base is North Shore haoles. And that's not enough to either win the election, or claim that you represent the people of Kauai.

Yet Hooser blames others — “the agrochemical industry and large landowner/developers” — for his pathetic showing, again falsely claiming that his enemies are running a slate of “Super 6.”

No, Gary, you're the only one who had a slate — your Kuleana Academy candidates, remember? And aside from that lyin' Big Island Council candidate Jen Ruggles, they all did as poorly as you, across the entire state.

Which is a strong signal that disgust with you personally, and disenchantment over your regressively “progressive values,” is deep-seated, and widespread.

Yet Gary — still oblivious to the repellent nature of his smug self-righteousness — clings to the deluded notion that his values are superior:

We must share our vision of the future. We need to contrast our values clearly against those candidates who; while they say they are “for the people” have shown that they inevitably make decisions that put development and profit ahead of people and the environment.

As opposed to, say, candidates like Hooser, who claim they are “for the people,” but inevitably make decisions that put their own egos, their own narrow agenda, their own nonprofit fundraising goals, their own grandstanding, ahead of the electorate.

I did have to giggle when Hooser, who supports throwing residential zoning out the window in Lihue, as well as TVRs and B&Bs on ag land, claims to be in favor of “controlled development.”

Or maybe he's refencing development controlled by the gentrifying high-end Realtors, after he's has destroyed viable agriculture on the westside.

And I laughed aloud when Hooser asserted his is a “strong voice” in support of open government.

This from the man whose political advocacy group, HAPA, masquerades as an educational nonprofit; who refuses to disclose HAPA's funding sources; who misses Council meetings to advocate for HAPA's goals, while claiming it's not actually lobbying because he doesn't get paid; whose mob bullied a 3 a.m. Council vote on Bill 2491; who manuevered to get Mason Chock on the Council, solely because he was a guaranteed vote to override the mayor's veto of Bill 2491.

Oh, yeah. Hooser is a real beacon for open government.

After blaming the big bad “other” for his crummy Primary showing, Hooser turns to begging:

Campaign contributions are needed prior to September 1 to restock campaign supplies.

Hooser spent a whopping $62,089 on the Primary — more than any other candidate in the Council race — and he still came in ninth, beating only the unknowns who are running for the very first time.

Never mind that Derek spent $51,323 and got twice the votes. All Hooser needs is more cash to pull it off.

Hey, you go right ahead, Gary.

Burn through another $62,000. 

Paste your bumper stickers on cars crawling through the Kapaa traffic that you never addressed when you were in the state Senate:

Print more campaign signs that will end up in the landfill:

Waste the precious time of your few volunteers who could be doing something useful for the community:

Hooser Campaign - SignHolding at Airport Gateway

9 people interested · 5 people going

There's no changing the inevitable: