Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Musings: Debating the Candidates

Over at a friend's house, rainy afternoon, I spot his mail, piled on the kitchen counter.

“I see you haven't opened your KIUC ballot yet, either. Who are you gonna vote for?”

“Let's see what they got to say for themselves.” He rips open the envelope, scans the glossy KIUC Board of Directors Election Guide, flips it over, expands it to all four panels, flips it over again.

“All the Filipinos gonna vote for him,” he says, stabbing a finger at the picture of Phil Tacbian. “Oh, there's David Iha. All the educators gonna vote for him. He was the KCC chancellor, you know.”

“Yeah.”

“Who's this guy?” He points to Neal Chantara.

“Smart meters. But he's asking the two people who were gonna vote for him to cast their ballots for Jimmy, Jonathan and Adam instead. You know, the guys who just lost the opt-out fee election.”

“Adam Asquith. Oregon State. It says he is a mahi'ai kalo, hoa'aina ha'aha'a — a taro farmer, a humble steward of the land,” my friend translates. “Oh, and a Hawaiian patriot. OK, you know he's goin' for the local vote. Look, his photo even get one extra dark tint.”

I look. 

“Chuck Lasker. Self-employed. Doing what? For sale to the highest bidder?”

“Is that what self-employed means to you?” says I, self-employed, slightly affronted.

He laughs, ignores the question.

“I know this guy.” He is staring at the photo of DJ Jackson. “Oh yeah, he helped me when I had my dive accident. See, he's an ER nurse.”

“He's also the director of Malama Pono, and a friend who worked for him did not have good things to say.”

“That's the PMRF guy,” he says, pointing to Stu Burley. “Swabbie. He was on the board before.”

“What do you really know about Peter Yukimura?”

“Businessman. Isn't he on the board now?”

“Interesting how they don't have the incumbents clearly labeled. Just the code, 'nominated by nominating committee,' which means a group of board members picking each other and past board members. But the other guys only gotta get 25 signatures to run. Anybody could do that.”

“Hmmm,” says my friend. He is looking at the photo of Daniel Erickson. “Masters in science. But what does he do?”

“Who is he?” I lean over my friend's shoulder, read the blurb. “It says he works at KCC.”

“But who is he?” asks my friend.

I shrug, shake my head. “As you can see, I'm not really keen on any of these boys, old or new.”

“Yeah.” He tosses the paper back onto the counter.

“So where does that bring us?”

“Back to the old boys?” he asks dubiously, and then laughs. “Well, they do already know how the whole system works.”

“I'm hungry.”

15 comments:

  1. We need a 100% turnover. Too many status quo directors. Directors have become too complacent and are no longer serving the best interests of the members.

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  2. Adam, Jonathan and Jimmy have cost the coop A LOT of money. I will never vote for them.

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  3. For the record: DQ Jackson is no longer the ED at Malama Pono. In fact, his replacement just resigned 2 weeks ago.

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  4. Re: Star Bulletin dated October 18, 2003, Adam Asquith pleads no contest to damaging Hawaiian cultural sites.

    Not sure about the local votes for this fella.

    But the rest of your friends analogies looks quite accurate.

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  5. To Feb 11 10:32 am: KIUC continues to gouge its members. Why is David Bisel costing members almost $400 thousand before benefits and taxes? Why are members paying $1,400,000 for the top 5 employees? The coop is unique and on an island but the board is asleep at the wheel by allowing that compensation structure. I'm guessing that it runs all the way down to the lowest paid employee.

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  6. look for yourself


    http://kauai.coopwebbuilder.com/sites/kauai.coopwebbuilder.com/files/2012_irs_form_990.pdf

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  7. 1:45 -- We at least get something for that money. The same cannot be said for the 3 stooges.

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  8. what exactly do we get? higher rates? wasted free flow power money? a ceo out of touch with members? why are there so many more employees under kiuc when compared to ke days?

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  9. The County should run KIUC. Put Tim and Gary in charge, then we can see some results for the people.
    People power.

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  10. @ 4:49pm

    ROLMFAO 5X too funny. Cats and power don't go well together.

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  11. How much do KIUC board members get paid per year?

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  12. Anonymous said...
    Adam, Jonathan and Jimmy have cost the coop A LOT of money. I will never vote for them.

    February 11, 2014 at 10:32 AM

    This is coming from a KIUC Bot. I voting for these 3 guys because I feel confident that they will be able to break the staus quo.

    Anonymous said...
    We need a 100% turnover. Too many status quo directors. Directors have become too complacent and are no l.onger serving the best interests of the members.

    Yes we do and it all begins with getting rid of the current board members and voting Jay, Asquith, and Trujillo to represent the people of Kauai.

    Anonymous said...
    what exactly do we get? higher rates? wasted free flow power money? a ceo out of touch with members? why are there so many more employees under kiuc when compared to ke days?

    February 11, 2014 at 2:17 PM

    This is the same thing that is happening to county jobs. This is how you buy votes and extend your power over the sheep.

    These people only hire their family, friends, and campaign managers.

    Watch carefully on who the people are who suppose to do the 10-20 year RUP study. I guarantee it's gonna be a bunch a cronies.


    Posted: Sunday, January 26, 2014 1:45 am

    Tom Hasslinger - The Garden Island




    LIHUE — The board’s decision stands.

    Members of Kauai Island Utility Cooperative voted to keep a fee structure in place that charges only members who opt out of using a smart meter.

    Of the 10,901 ballots received, 8,010 voted in favor of the fees while 2,797 opposed.

    The nearly 11,000 ballots amounted to a record turnout for a co-op election, with 43 percent of the 25,205 members casting a vote, according to a KIUC press release Saturday.

    KIUC knows if only the same amount of people vote then they have an advantage on what cronies with have the seats on the board.

    This is the same with the county of Kauai council and mayor positions. Same ol good ol boys and gals.

    WE NEED TO CHANGE KAUAI'S STATUS QUO in these coming elections.

    This is the year that we get rid of Kauai's Home Grown Terrorists.

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  13. So Jimmy Trujilo and Daniel Erickson are both faculty from Kauai Community College?? What exactly are their qualifications and what do they teach at KCC? It would seem that they both teach short non-credit courses as part of the Sustainability program at KCC, and are not actual faculty members. Why are all of these activists associated with Kauai Community College and what is it that KCC is promoting?

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  14. Anonymous said...
    How much do KIUC board members get paid per year?

    February 11, 2014 at 8:24 PM

    How Much Do These Guys Get Paid?

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  15. They dont get paid, its the power of control they hold

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