Monday, August 15, 2016

Musings: Wipe-Out

The Washington Post recently published a piece that claimed millennial voters — or at least, the 70 it interviewed — view the presidential race as a bad joke:

No matter who wins, they don’t think the next president will address their concerns or even have an impact on their lives. They have grim expectations for their government and have stopped looking to Washington for solutions. Why? Because they see it as too gridlocked — and its leaders too corrupted.

Uh, I got news for ya. That sentiment is not restricted to the under-30 set. Plenty of baby boomers feel the same way. Shoots, that same sense of alienation helped launched the “tune-in, turn-on, drop-out” mantra of the '60s.

But where boomers were into “do your own thing,” millennnials seem bent on ostracizing and shaming anyone with a different point of view:

This generation’s support for Sanders grew so intense that Allison McCartney recalled having to hide her Clinton favoritism.

People who liked Clinton or thought she had anything worthy to say kind of had to hide in a digital hole for a while to let it blow over. Any time you posted anything vaguely pro-Clinton, it was like immediate swamping — ‘You’re a horrible person,’ ‘She’s a criminal.’ ”

And they wonder at the political extremism, the demise of tolerance, as if they themselves, with their self-absorption, superficiality, super-sized sense of entitlement and lack of critical thinking, played no part in the Sanders' charade, or where the world now stands.

Turning our attention to the local elections, what do the returns tell us about Kauai Councilman Gary Hooser and the food/farm “revolution” rhapsodized by his nonprofit HAPA?
Well, turns out they didn't catch the wave of change so much as a snapping shorebreak that hammered their candidates head first into the sand — with no lifeguard in sight. 

Yes, every candidate trained by or affiliated with HAPA went down in defeat:

In the Senate 13th, Karl Rhoads beat HAPA’s Kim Coco Iwamoto 42-30. In the House 3rd, Ag Committee chair Clift Tsuji beat Kuleana’s Jonathan Wong 73-18. In the House 12th, Kyle Yamashita beat Kuleana’s Tiare Lawrence 51-44. In the House 13th, Lynn DeCoite beat Kuleana’s Alex Haller 56-36. In the House 14th, Nadine Nakamura defeated Kuleana’s Fern Rosenstiel 59-33. In the House 28th, John Mizuno beat HAPA’s Ikaika Hussey 68-27. In the House 48th, Ken Ito beat Kuleana’s Patrick Shea 68-25.

As for Hooser himself, he's clearly toxic. Perhaps even the most despised sitting politician in recent memory on Kauai.

Heck, he garnered less than half the votes of the top-runner for Council, and his support is pretty much concentrated in the predominantly white newcomer communities of Hanalei and Kilauea. When it comes to Hooser, the issue of race simply can't be ignored.

Hooser is obviously abhorred in central Kauai, where he ran 11th — behind political newcomers Norma Doctor Sparks and Juno Apalla — in Lihue, Puhi and Hanamaulu. Folks don't like him much in Hanapepe and Kekaha either, where he scored in the bottom three, or Waimea, where he was ninth.

Which leads to the question: Why in the world should Hooser be meddling in westside agriculture when the folks who live there clearly do not like or share his views?

Hooser was in the top seven, but barely, in his home precinct of Kapaa Middle School. They used to like him okay there. But not so much any more.

And apparently, people throughout the state hold a similar disdain for the revolution that Che Hooser is peddling.

So where does that leave us, now that voters are expressing their disgust for Hooser, and the three-year debacle he ushered in with Bill 2491? I liked the words of one anonymous commenter:

Let us not forget that while the strategy of dividing and pitting the community against itself to push an agenda seems to be foundering, it has nonetheless succeeded in dividing us. As good as it may feel to triumph, keep in mind that our success in wresting the focus of debate away from outside interest group agendas only leaves us at back at the starting line as far as addressing the real problems we face--drugs, affordable housing, waste management, infrastructure maintenance, economic opportunity and prosperity for the most vulnerable despite the crushing burden of our cost of living to name a few.

While I understand the sentiment, we cannot rightly ask a part of our community to "leave local politics" and "shut up". In returning to addressing our real issues, let us not now adopt the divisive, bullying tactics used to push 2491. Let us instead learn from that experience to strengthen our community against future divisive campaigns of that sort and find healthier ways to address our differences. There is no other way to succeed, and we owe it to both those who came before us and the future generations who will follow us.

Farmer Les Drent articulated a similar perspective on my Facebook post:

I'm hoping that they can now start to focus on matters of real importance to Kauai. Over development and abuse of Ag land, trashing of neighborhoods and communities by TVR's, education, traffic, drugs... I wish they would actually consider a serious capital gains tax to deter real estate speculation so that some of our extraordinary and well educated youth can return to Kauai and make a living. There is a horrible void of intellect with that generation on Kauai. Nobody can afford to live here but the wealthy and those limping by and on the edge of welfare.

Yes, there's much hard work to be done, and far more serious issues than the already highly regulated practices of the most successful agricultural enterprise in the Islands.

With Hooser, and his self-serving distraction on the way out, and a few new faces on the Council, Kauai is well-positioned to catch a wave, and tube it all the way to shore.

43 comments:

  1. Need Gary Johnson and Jill Stein to run on same ticket. That would give the voters a real 3rd choice that wouldn't cannibalize each other. Voters don't want to fear wasting a vote, and that's what the libertarian and green party are doing by running separately. Combine the efforts and get some momentum going. There aren't many voters that truly like either Trump or Clinton, and are merely lodging protest votes to assure the candidate they despise more doesn't get in.

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  2. IMHO the WaPo article was borderline stupid. It seemed to go out of its way to find individuals who would justify the conclusion that they wanted to make. It was a hit piece on millennials. Who is to benefit from this artificially created divide between generations? Perhaps Pete Peterson in his continuing effort to privatize Social Security?

    WRT the comment about how the Clinton supporter had to hide her views, I will agree there is a huge divide between the Clinton camp and the Sanders camp. However,in my case the vitriol originated from the Clinton side. It was especially evident on the Daily KOS where Sanders was accused of being equivalent to Satan and any comment or article in support of Sanders was greeted with personal insults and what can only be described as hate speech. It quickly descended into a pit of both "sides" doing it, although there were many overtures made from Sanders supporters to beg for calm. (I don't recall any from the Clinton side.)

    The animosity at the DPH convention was horrible. Again, who benefits from this fight? This one doesn't present to me an obvious agent provocateur, but certainly Fox News is part of it. Turning Americans against one another has some other goal.

    I don't understand the viciousness in the attacks against Sanders. In my case, the stronger they are, the more I find myself disliking Clinton. With the Republican Party in disarray, what group is it that benefits in exasperating this divide? Clinton is certainly directly responsible for the expansion of ISIS into Libya (not alone of course). She is a war hawk. I fear she will continue support of the American Empire. I don't support expansion of the Military Industrial complex. We have gone insane spending our wealth on weapons of war which even Eisenhower recognized was a "theft from the American People". And what is the result? A useless invasion of Iraq that totally destabilized the Middle East leading to the rise of ISIS and the denigration of an entire religion. Again, who benefits? No one who reads this column.

    One of Kawakami's positions is to take care of the homeless. Yet, income inequality continues to concentrate wealth in the hands of fewer and fewer people. Confusingly, many of those missing out on prosperity like the message Trump is selling, as if anything is going to get accomplished by such empty bravado. Those that have, already think America is Great. Trump's real policies (such as elimination of the "Death Tax" which affects only estates over $5M) only benefit those who already own everything. His proposed tax credits for child care only benefit those who pay taxes. If you received any Earned Income Credit, that doesn't include you. I received a tax credit for installing solar panels three years ago. I still haven't used it. Trump is selling smoke and mirrors.

    Apparently America is just full of Calvinists who use religion to justify an individual's lot in life. If you're poor it is because God wills it. If you are rich, it is because God wills it. Throw a few alms to assuage your conscience, but don't change the structures of society that guarantee that nothing will change.

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  3. 9:38:

    Johnson is a Libertarian. He is for abolition of the EPA so that corporations can pollute wherever and as much as they want. He is for doing away with Social Security and Medicare and turning it over to private hands so that some already rich guy can skim off the top the way health insurance companies do now. He is for privatizing public utilities, water and electric. The solution for the bad roads is to set up tolls again run by private companies. The Kauai Bus would probably disappear.

    Johnson has nothing in common with Stein. It would probably be easier to get Scott Walker to run as Clinton's VP.

    May I suggest to those who want to send a protest vote that they consider the American Shopping Party? It has a candidate for Senate against Schatz. I wasn't able to find out if there will be a presidential candidate or not.

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  4. A point on taxes. It's relatively easy to have high property tax rates on offshore owners and vacation rentals, if you have political will. The problem with capital gains taxes, or other taxes, is that they happen at the time of sale. Wealthy people are buying into Kauai real estate using a strategy called "buy and hold". They keep it off the market for decades and it appreciates during that time adding to ther wealth. A property tax, taxes them annually and raises the cost of their holding the property. A lot of vacation rentals are playing the same game. They just are relatively poorer. So let's adopt a property tax for them at Cleveland or Cincinnatti rates $2 to $3 per $100 valuation. Same thing with time shares.

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  5. I very much agree that these results, which reflect a statewide shift in perception, are extremely important, though not really astonishing since it's been clear for some time that the extremist fringe that has propelled the anti-GMO wave and the phony pesticide issue does not speak for the vast majority of people on Kauai and throughout the islands. I've thought for a long time that we all need to recognize that, outside of small enclaves, this was never an issue that most people thought was of dominant importance, especially measured against the bread-and-butter issues: schools, water quality, safety, roads and congestion, public agency budgets and health care. The fringe will continue to try to propel its narrow issues. What needs to happen is that the rest of us must simply move on to what really matters. I live in Kilauea and so I'm acutely aware of the isolated local perspective on these issues that goes from Haena to just this side of Anahola, but no farther.

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  6. Prediction- Joan and her legions of anon sock puppets will be eating a lot of humble pie when Hooser is re-elected.

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  7. August 15, 2016 at 12:01 PM Hope you took a look at the precinct level voting before you consigned us "sock puppets" to the humble pie line. Had you done so, you might not have been so bold in your prediction. Hooser put out a call to rally his troops, but with the exception of some of the ultra-luxe and reality challenged precincts of the 14th district, they were either out fishing or non-existent (like in "Ground Zero" of Waimea-Kekaha). Or we could consider it a failure of the Hooser Plunking Ploy, perhaps? Or maybe he's just lulling the opposition into sloppiness? Nevertheless, as Joan has pointed out, favored boodlers of his CFS puppeteers with the exception of the snake Jen Ruggles are off the ballot in the General. Let's hope there's no resurrection for Hooser. Enough of him is too much by far.

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  8. "Perhaps even the most despised sitting politician in recent memory on Kauai."
    Well Said.
    Gary is for himself. But I feel sorry for him, that empty feeling one gets when abandoned, unloved and rejected.
    But as far as "farmer" Lee Dent, a newcomer himself and one who was violating the laws for quite a while....a few years back.... espousing raising taxes..that is a joke. Local people sell too ya'know...and then their is that we are Americans, citizens li'dat. Off-islanders OWN over half of all properties on the island, they can't vote, but boy, they sure get taxed. It is the waste of the government that's a root of evil...200 million in revenue and zippo services and no new roads.
    There are no real AG opportunities between Kealia Stream And Wailua River. NS Ag is a joke as well. Who is kidding who? Buy a property at one million plus and have it pay for a mortgage? No way. What? are we all idiots....? The Ag scam is scam and we are so entrenched in it that the County would be BANKrupt if any Ag rule was enforced. A County of illusions and law-breakers.
    Face it. Ag is lost. To allow local kids a chance to own a house, all the County has to do is allow greater density in already impacted areas.........like Wailua Homesteads, Kapaa Homesteads and Kapahi. Give a house per 1/2 acre. Force the JoAnn inspired Water Department to give up on their harsh opinions on water capacity and storage. Kapaa Wailua has DOUBLED the storage capacity in the last few years. Multi-millions in storage and unlimited capacity. The Koloa Basalt Plateau (from whence Kapaa Water is derived) can produce untold millions of gallons per day. Untold.
    As long as we allow the County to choose to push kids and adults into Apartments, we are lost. This island has always been about SFR, even when the evil Sugar Barons ruled with iron fists. The families had fruit trees and gardens.
    This edenesque Ag routine is a joke. And even as the County forces all Ag lots to include language in their DEEDS that allow the County to enter your OWN property at anytime they want, to watch you...and as every rule, regulation cost money...say good-bye to the kids owning. At 600,000 average price for a house we are doomed. The County is usurping private property rights and giving themselves extreme power, whilst they can not even keep the Homeless off of their own property or keep bathrooms clean at Hanalei or even patch a few road pukas. A joke on a joke.
    Whether TVRs are good or bad is an opinion, but eliminating TVRs will NOT reduce rent cost or housing cost.
    The Council in its decision making process on allowing ARUs(rental units) in Lihue-- is focused on abuse of the TVRs. Our COUNCIL thinks that ALL laws, good or bad, need to be stopped if there is a potential for an evil TVR abuser. Lawbreakers should never be the nexus of law making. Laws should be made for the benefit of ALL of the people. It seems Hooser's ploy of trying to pass laws that benefit a few is now the mantra of the rest of the Council. Pass laws based on merit, not fear.
    I never had a TVR, but I am sick of a one-focus Council.

    Great Balls of Apparatchik Bureaucratic Hypocrisy Batman--- ....Housing is easy. It is the County that makes it hard.
    --One man and his one Hammer - who pays over 30,000 per year in property taxes and sells a few bunches of Bananas.

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  9. 9:38:

    Johnson is a Libertarian. He is for abolition of the EPA so that corporations can pollute wherever and as much as they want. He is for doing away with Social Security and Medicare and turning it over to private hands so that some already rich guy can skim off the top the way health insurance companies do now. He is for privatizing public utilities, water and electric. The solution for the bad roads is to set up tolls again run by private companies. The Kauai Bus would probably disappear.

    Johnson has nothing in common with Stein. It would probably be easier to get Scott Walker to run as Clinton's VP.

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  10. 12:01 wait you predicted Hooser would do good in the primary, so whose the anon fool you or me all I'm saying is I'll bet you $10k more that Hooser will be out of the top 7 in November

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    1. I'll bet 1 date with your wife and if I lose you can have as many dates with one of my dogs. Hahaha fuck your 10K that's all you got.

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  11. Looks official, Margaret Wille is out of her council seat on the Big Isle. She was the rep for our district. Mixed feelings here, she was good on other community issues, if completely lost on the GMO issue. I discussed it with her personally a couple times, the evidence she was citing was just bad.

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  12. 12:01

    laughable. he's a goner

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  13. Is your dog cute?

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    1. You've got to admit guys, if you had to compare the pros and cons of your girlfriend versus your dog... who would come out on top? It's hard for a female to offer you all the great things that a dog can. There's a certain amount of love, respect and loyalty with a dog, that your girl just may not possess. Here's why we think your dog is better for you then your girl.

      By Haley Kittsmiller

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  14. John Kauai,

    Your first comment made me think you had your Grape Nuts this morning. Enjoyable, but way too simplistic and not leaving room for your average person that is not so cut and dry as you seem to be John. Your second comment same thing. It is like your the 'peace' dude but ya gotta get ' one last dig in'. Disharmonious dear z-man...

    1:47PM---right on......Lucky for 12:01you were being nice .I can't wait to see when you 'let loose'! 12:01, I would recommend a fall back position if I was you!!

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  15. These random predictions about Hooser pulling off miracles in November are like telling us that Bill 2491 was a success. Full of Shit, worthless. His political career is dead, good riddance. Mason and Joanne too.

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  16. Can a dog cook, pick you up when you are too drunk to drive, shop for your favorite food, wash your clothes, hang your clothes, take it off the line and fold them? Can a dog sweep, mop, vacuum the house? Can a dog accompany you to a movie or fancy restaurant? If your dog can do all these it is a keeper....

    Everyone need to do their civic duty and vote.

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  17. haha That's why I have a dog instead of a husband!!

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  18. Mason will be one of the top seven. Hooser and JoAnn on their way out.

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  19. Will that lead to being an "OLE MADE".

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  20. Ms. Joan, I'm looking at the string of conversations here between 12:01, 3:22, 6:40, 8:35, 6:56, 11:01, and 11:24. here's what I'm reading. There's 1 husband, 1 wife, a female and her dog. the female want's to offer her dog in exchange for the guys wife. straight up for a date! The female prefers dogs over males, and is giving up a night with her dog for a night for a wife.

    1. the female is a sour loosher.
    2. she would rather have a female instead of her dog or a male.
    3. this is only the primary and it's not even a victory for anyone yet.
    4. No one want's to take on this guy's 10K bet.
    5. we've drifted sort of way of the your topic.
    6. and I'm just speculating here, the female is really pissed! (actually I just wanted to finish saying the same thing twice) because this has nothing to do with Wiping out! or does it? Yea, it does.

    That's a first! loosing the focus of this topic within the first 18 post / comments. I guess there's nothing to discuss on this topic.

    Next Post Please!

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  21. Hey its not inconceivable, although unlikely, that Hoosier can squeeze by again like KUalii and Chock ousting Bynum and Furfaro in 2014. So I am not holding my breath, especially with the low turnout. And don't think for a minute that Hoosier will not terrorize us even if he is not on the council.

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  22. Found this in David Brook colomn int the New York Timesl

    The Sanders people have 90 percent of the Democratic Party’s passion and 95 percent of the ideas. Most Sanders people are kind- and open-hearted, but there is a core that is corrupted by moral preening, an uncompromising absolutism and a paranoid unwillingness to play by the rules of civic life.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/29/opinion/the-democrats-win-the-summer.html?rref=collection%2Fcolumn%2Fdavid-brooks&action=click&contentCollection=opinion&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=6&pgtype=collection

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  23. I love my wife and my dog,

    I also wash/shop/clean or whatever you have to do as a working couple.

    Haley Kittsmiller, I do expect my dog to be as full of love, loyalty,and respect that my wife gives and demands of both me and the dog onto her---

    And that is why "we three" are happy.

    You sound like you almost said something brave dear Haley?? Care to 'enlighten' us the rest o the way please???

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  24. Loved the "wave of change" and the surfing analogies--- --""""""shore pound hammering, no life Gaurd in site""""""... That was classic!!

    Even better-------- the wave of change is getting barreled all the way to the beach!!! Absolutey great stuff Joan.. , That,,,,,with real science,,, are fun ways to get your point across and get "reality" out front and center.

    Thankyou Joan
    You rock

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  25. The question is - who to support for #7 - Mason or Joann? tough choice as Mason is close with Gary, and could be his conduit to continue to push his agenda at council. Joann often times makes sense in her rationale, but irritates the hell out of everyone and can't get the support of the other members.

    Also #2 - Ross or Arryl?
    #2 will likely be vice-chair. Ross is popular with the locals, but has grown incredibly arrogant, and is a loose cannon. Arryl shows much better judgement and stability.

    Decisions, decisions...

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  26. Pimping out a dog? What next?

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  27. Can a Kawakami/Kaneshiro council finally get back to good governance? Clearly the Rapozo/Kagawa leadership failed miserably as they only seemed interested in attacking the Mayor and his cabinet members for political gain. Kagawa's success in the polls is an enigma as he's is definitely the dullest tool in the shed. Perhaps his combatant nature keeps him popular as voters are also Ho'ike TV watchers, and Ross definitely provides good entertainment value both with his outlandish positions and his edgy temperament. I think everyone secretly hopes he totally loses it and jumps across the table to punch out Gary Hooser. Now that would be worth the vote. Nonetheless, as a taxpayer I feel Kagawa is a wasted vote as he has no concept of government finances and could run the county into bankruptcy if he continues on his path on giving tax breaks to locals ... who in his eyes are only brown-skinned, long-time residents. This fiscal malfeasance could result in massive layoffs as well as continued inaction of this (and future) administrations in dealing with the deferred maintenance of our roads, bridges, utility lines, and public parks. Tim Bynum's real property paradigm, that was supported by Steve Hunt and this administration, has given too much tax break to the residents and shifted way too much tax burden to nonresidents. This is a dangerous path as there will never be the political will to increase taxes to the locals. With Derek and Arryl at the helm, perhaps we have a chance to get out of the hole the past leaders have dug for us. One can only hope.

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  28. 7:30 you sound like a disgruntled B&B owner who had a cease and desist letter from planning. Too bad, I don't think Derek will help you either :(

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  29. "We" the people voted to make the division of P & R into a Department without knowledge of the cost. The Department of Personnel Services became HR. These two items are costing the people.

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  30. 7:30 the Rapozo leadership has been a huge success, are you kidding. No Gmo 2491 Bills or the like, denying the Mayor's GET request, killing Hooser's stupid smoke bills, and Yukimura's attempts to raise vehicle and gas taxes again, so what are you complaining about? The property tax cap was lifted by the Furfaro led council when Mel and Ross were opposed to the lifting of the cap. Get your facts straight.

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  31. 8:14 Penny wise and pound foolish. The GET and vehicle weight bills would have provided earmarked monies to address our failing roads. By and large, Kauai's taxes and fees are far behind the other counties, but the employee salaries and benefits are not. Don't fool yourself into thinking stopping revenue initiatives is always a win for taxpayers. Without adequate funds, there will be no improvement to Kauai's basic infrastructure needs, just the status quo feeding of union demands. I don't feel happy when our council managed to save me $50 in vehicle registration fees when I have to pay $300 for wheel alignment from pot hole damage. Unless Hawaii becomes Wisconsin and challenges the unions, I don't see things changing anytime soon. People got to stop thinking about government in terms of being taxed to death and start thinking about paying our fair share to invest in Kauai. Again, Mel and Ross have been penny wise and pound foolish.

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    1. Raising taxes doesn't work on Kauai. All the fat cats will do is get raises and then they will hire more of their family to give stick eye and act sassy when you go and pay more of the stupid do nothing county taxes. 1500 county workers is not the answer and raising taxes is definitely not the answer. We've gone to full out gluttons. The budget is a regular Buffett that the Mayor never misses out on.

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  32. 7:57pm you hit it right P&R and HR are useless department led by useless married couple. They need to go or we are fucked...

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  33. We need to check who is responsible for the roads not being resurfaced like before and ask how come we stopped resurfacing.....

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  34. Abusive mayor who thinks he can just spend freely our hard earned tax money. He does not care because he's not up for reelection.

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  35. No mo money that's why. All that money is going to the county welfare program of hiring family and friends. The county should go on a real furlough and not like the faux one they did a few years ago and spent the $60 million to cover up that the county of Kauai had a surplus.

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  36. Allow me to simplify what I observe of "Parks and Recreation"---

    No better yet, let's hear from the visitors about Park restrooms???? That is impossible to make excuses for. Dang, we are competitive with er fourth world countries for pathetic restroom facilities.

    And that alone makes me irritated at the mayor. BUT--- what really pisses me off is dealing with any county admin....

    I, for one get treated with contempt and stink eye by people that cannot speak English . AND I WILL NOT TOLORATE IT any longer.

    You got that future wannabe pollititions?? As far as the Mayor goes---- the "buck stop at his desk" complete and total failure.

    Yes Bernard, I'm talking at you pal. That you cannot get off your ass and 'motivate'your pathetic nepotistic underlings is criminal !!

    I personally think we let the mayor off the hook way way to easy.

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  37. We deserved what we get. We were fooled by the sing and dance mayor.

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  38. kaneshiro for all the good press he gets, is a wimpy fence ride. not likely he will lose in the general, but wen can vote and hope.

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  39. Never again Kaneshiro...he's just a pretty boy.

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  40. drop the pretty and thats what we got

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