Monthly Archives: June 2009

Saturday…Looking at the City Council special election to fill Bainum’s District V seat

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The City Clerk’s office is going full-speed towards a special mail election to fill the now-vacant District V city council seat.

The Star-Bulletin reports:

Candidates seeking to fill his District 5 seat can begin filing paperwork Monday, said acting City Clerk Bernice K.N. Mau. The deadline for candidates to file is June 25.

Ballots to roughly 49,000 registered voters in the district will be mailed out soon after the voter registration deadline of July 8, and voters will have until Aug. 7 to return them.

Information about the election procedures and deadlines can be found on the city’s Elections Division web site.

Candidates will have learned from the experience of the recent District III mail election. In regular elections, traditional wisdom has been that advertising targeted to hit jut before election day has the most impact. But in a mail election with an extended period to return ballots, when is the best time to spend precious dollars on those ads?

Candidate John Henry Felix paid for an advertising barrage in the final days before the ballot deadline, and ended up in 5th place with just 7% of the total vote.

According to a chart in the final report on the District III special election, half of all ballots cast were received in the first three days.

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So it would appear that prime time for advertising in a vote-by-mail election is just when the ballots are mailed, and in the few days before they are received by registered votes. In a very close election, though, advertising through the period may be vital. Note that over 16% of ballots were received in within three days of the deadline which, in a close election, could have been decisive.

The clerk’s report adds another interesting wrinkle:

For this special election, return postage was pre-paid (business reply) by the City. However, in the future, a decision would need to be made whether to continue this practice.

How would having to add your own stamp impact election participation? I’m sure we can guess the answer.

Assuming that elected officials could tap their existing campaign funds for this special race, they could have a distinct advantage.

Here’s a quick look at the campaign bank balances reported at the end of 2008 by elected officials who may be eligible to run in District V:

Rep. Belatti $9,677.79

Rep. Saiki $21,372.90

Rep. Nishimoto $40,667.26

Sen. Fukunaga (-$9,507.46)

Ann Kobayashi $19,256.97

Will any of them jump at the chance?

I’m sure we’ll see soon.

Friday (2)…Recommended reading (& viewing) for the day

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Here are some suggestions for Friday reading.

KGMB News Director Chris Archer discussed covering the breaking news of Duke Bainum’s sudden death on his blog.

My friend, Gene Stoltzfus, recommends this report of stories told by refugees from the Swat area of northern Pakistan as “must read” material. He’s right.

And Gene’s own Peace Probe blog continues to report on his travel in the area. Earlier this week, he interviewed a resident of village along the border area between Pakistan and Afghanistan which had recently been hit by a missile fired by a U.S. drone. His story should also be required reading.

From the Columbus Dispatch, a great series on a little noticed category of loan defaults.

You probably missed the 2009 FOIA Summit sponsored by the National Freedom of Information Coalition, but thanks to technology you can now view a video archive of most of the proceedings. Highlights of the meeting are described in this entry from SPJ’s FOI blog.

Friday…Kamehameha Day meets Feline Friday

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I’m only part way through this entry and it’s time to start our walk, so I’m going to post what I’ve got and return to the task when we return.

[text]I should have thought to refer back to these photos yesterday, which was Kamehameha Day in Hawaii, a state holiday.

I found these snapshots among my fathers papers and photos. I’m guessing that they date back to the first year or so that he was in Hawaii. He would have seen his first Kamehameha Day parade in 1939, and that’s the approximate date I put on these pictures.

The festivities here were taking place between Iolani Palace and the Kamehameha statute across the street, and then in a short stretch of King Street.

[Ooops. Cat fight sounds out front. Had to run out and check. Found Romeo next door nose to nose with one of the young orange cats that has been sneaking around. Intervention successful!]

In any case, just click on this parade scene to see the little collection.

[text]And for those who wish every day were Feline Friday, here’s the latest look at our Kaaawa Cats.

This is Mr. Silverman. He saw Meda drop a bag on the counter and he was on it in seconds for a bit of a nap.

Click on Silverman for more.

Thursday…Reflections on an emotional day

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For those of you on the mainland who don’t follow all the Honolulu news, I joined Honolulu City Council Member Duke Bainum’s staff on Tuesday, filling in a staff vacancy in response to a request from Duke, who I’ve crossed paths with for about 20 years.

That evening, he experienced chest pains and was rushed by ambulance to the Queen’s emergency room. He did not survive, the victim of an aortic aneurysm.

I received the shocking news Wednesday morning a bit before 6 a.m. after posting here but before leaving on our early walk, just about the same time council members were being called.

At the time, the news was not yet public, so I couldn’t blog more than a very cryptic message.

Duke’s council staff gathered at 6:30 at city hall, joined by Cindy McMillan of Communications Pacific, a former council staffer and friend of the staff. By the time I arrived at about 7:30 they had issued a succinct statement to the media confirming Duke’s passing. Bainum’s family in Arkansas also issued a press release.

Then followed a series of tasks as we huddled behind a closed door in Duke’s council office. Arranging a hurried press conference with council chairman Todd Apo. A statement delivered with much difficulty by Duke’s senior advisor, Mallory Fujitani. Delicate communications with Duke’s wife, Jennifer. Fielding media inquires from many sides. Deciding how to convey the bad news on Duke’s Facebook page and web site. Then the council began deliberating on the budget and related bills, which were up for third and final reading.

I don’t know what the protocol is for such situations, but I was a little surprised that, unless I’m mistaken, there was no call or visit from the mayor or managing director. No doubt that Duke and Mayor Hannemann were political opponents, but I would expect that in situations like this a gentlemanly impulse might be displayed. The mayor did issue a public statement, although when we clicked the link on the city web site, it returned a “page not found” error message. Such is life, I suppose.

[text]Downstairs in Duke’s office, his top-notch staff–Fujitani, Mary Schmidtke, April Coloretti, and former state senator Bert Kobayashi, along with John Gollner–followed the budget debate as it was broadcast and ripped into the budget documents to follow the impact of each intermediate decision (real property tax rates, homeowner rebates, parking rates, etc) on the final budget bill. It’s really a shame–these folks are really a dream team, with layers of background and experience. Duke was about the reap the benefits of bringing them all together, and I was feeling privileged to have the opportunity to join in the ride.

Truth be told, it was all very surreal.

We all met Tuesday morning with Duke. He was still glowing about viewing the Pan Pacific Festival parade with his family. When he arrived at the office, he was sporting a silly three-corner hat in a kid’s size, part of a gift for his boys. He sat at his desk with a half-cup of strong coffee and a bottle of his trademark chocolate milk, and we talked transit, budget, and the upcoming council meeting. Then he headed off for an mid-morning interview, and I didn’t see him again.

But he was working the phones into Tuesday evening, making calls in advance of yesterday’s council meeting. And then he was gone.

Click on the photo of Duke’s desk for a few more images.