An established organization decides to back Neil Abercrombie in the Democratic primary race for governor and then find itself confronted by a newly-formed group adopting a very similar name and announcing its support for Abercrombie’s opponent, former Honolulu mayor Mufi Hannemann.
When it happened recently to the Hawaii Venture Capital Association, it made news.
But when the same thing happened to the liberal-leaning Progressive Democrats of Hawaii earlier this year, it went largely unnoticed by all but a handful of Democratic Party activists.
The Progressive Democrats of Hawaii (PDH) are an established group within the Hawaii Democratic Party which was organized in 2005 and held its first general meeting in January 2006. It has a website, blog, has sponsored many events, and maintains an active presence on facebook.
But just days after the 2010 Democratic Party of Hawaii State Convention, where it was clear that PDH and its members supported Abercrombie, a new group calling itself “Progressive Democrats for Hannemann” (also with initials PDH) suddenly appeared with its own facebook page.
The new group was the effort of Trisha Kehau Watson, a consultant who describes herself as a “policy advisor” to Hannemann’s campaign.
In an earlier telephone interview, Watson said she joined the Democratic Party for the first time earlier this year. She quickly caught the political bug and, with the support of some friends, ran at the convention for a slot on the State Central Committee against an active member and officer of Progressive Democrats of Hawaii. A tie vote was resolved through a two-out-of-three match of jan ken po. Watson lost.
Watson was obviously unhappy about her personal loss, and also felt she was subject to unfair personal attacks during the convention election process (she was referred to as a “Mufi-bot” in one exchange) and by hostile comments towards Hannemann by members of Progressive Democrats.
Watson said:
“I genuinely like and believe in Mufi. I am a strong supporter of rail. I really love his support for Hawaiians and Hawaiian issues. I have always found him to be a great leader and strong environmentalist. I firmly and absolutely believe he is the governor we need to help address the needs of Hawaiians going into the future. “
The result was Progressive Democrats for Hannemann, which Watson readily acknowledges has “absolutely no crossover” with Progressive Democrats of Hawaii.
It’s probably no surprise that, according to one of the Hannemann campaign’s facebook pages, Watson is also co-chair of another group, Hawaiians for Mufi.
A longtime member of the original Progressive Democrats of Hawaii said the group spent weeks discussing whether to respond publicly to Watson’s appropriation of the “Progressive Democrats” label, but eventually decided it would not be worth the effort.
“If they wanna start their own group, they should try another name,” he said.
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Good call on the part of Progressive Democrats of Hawaii–very little that Kehau Watson does or says is of any consequence. She has made it clear time and time again over the course of this campaign that her ego trumps all. I’ve almost gotten the feeling that she thinks people should vote for Mufi because of her own (somewhat inflated) affiliation with the campaign. Although I think she might make a better Governor than Mufi Hannemann, I wouldn’t vote for her either. And may we all pray she never lands herself in elected office.
From 2001:
Trisha Watson, a first-year law student, drove up to the Manoa campus with a box of malasadas and a passenger’s seat full of cups of iced coffee from Starbucks for those on strike. “My dad is HGEA,” Watson explained. “It’s important.” April 6, 2001
Which rock is this Watson wahine living under?
There isn’t a development that Mufi does not like.
He spent $10 Million fighting against upgrading the sewer facilities.
He spent ???? fighting against the north shore for a supplemental EIS (25-years-old) to the Supreme Court and Lost.
He gave Waimea to a developer till he got caught and had to change his mind.
He cheated the people of Kahuku on the Kahuku beach areas to be sold to developers.
This is just this side of Oahu.
Hawaiian issues?
He is helping Hawaii Reserves over-run kuleana land to pave the way for EnvisionLaie.
Plenty local Hawaiian families no can pay raising taxes and their homes are being foreclosed.
He raised GET taxes that cause hardships on poor Hawaiian families who are furloughed or lost their jobs.
Apparently he also is in favor of burning the book of mormon.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/9/10/900784/-Hawaii-stealth-Democrat-Tied-To-Hard-Christian-Right
She wasn’t the only person who showed up for the first time ever and ran for leadership at the state central committee. There were Mufi-bots doing the same thing at many districts, all people who never participated at all before, brought their own support, and ran to run the party. Talk about arrogance.
I called them Mufi-bots too, because that’s all they cared about.
It looked like Mufi tried to take over the party, but he failed.
ok not all they cared about maybe but all they seemed to care about.
They didn’t attend the committee meetings or left in the middle for Mufi’s big party scheduled right in the middle of committee meetings that only happen once every two years.
They didn’t appear interested in the resolutions we were voting on at the tables, which had been worked on for months prior and finalized at the meeting the night prior.
Trisha KehauLANI Watson was the blogger behind He Hawai‘i Au on the Honolulu Advertiser’s site and has been an extremely enthusiastic and zealous advocate for Hannemann throughout the campaign.
A wag on another blog the other day suggested Neil’s people might want to strike back with a “Hawaii Government Employees for Abercrombie (HGEA)” endorsement.
I think the continuous stink from the Mufi campaign is turning off voters. The more you know him, the less you like him. I just hope neighbor island voters get to know him as well as Oahu voters, so his support there will decline to Oahu levels.
Although I am an original member of the (REAL) PDH group, I haven’t been involved directly with it for the past year or so for both personal & political reasons. These reasons have nothing to do with where I stand on the political specturm but whether PDH should be tracking & responding to actions & decisions at all three levels of government rather than just state politics.
Back to the topic: I’ve had some dealings with Ms. Watson over the years so I’m not at all surprised to read about this.
In approximately 174 hours from the time that I am writing this post, we will know who has won the nomination. Hopefull, it will NOT be Hannemann.
I’m curious about what the intention was behind making two groups with names similar enough to confuse people.
If the intention was to actually confuse people, that speaks volumes.
PDH leadership deserves credit for its good judgment in choosing to allow this action to stand on its own.
I have no doubt that Ms. Watson is sincere in her admiration for Mr. Hannemann, though so many Hawaiians are supporting Neil. It’s nice that she bought iced coffee for the profs nine years ago too.
Good article, good comments. One thing regarding the title, it seems a bit sensationalist. It implies there is a “fight” but the real group wisely declined to have a true “fight”. Better title would be “Another Phony Organization Cockroaches Endorsement Spotlight”. Seems you’d bust the Starvertiser if it under-delivered on such a title. ; ) Keep up the great work!
Ms Watson ran a blog on the Advertiser web page for several years which I read occasionally. I had occasion once to question something she wrote. I had thought my words mild, they certainly did not rise to nasty. Her response was perhaps the most vicious intemperate uncontrolled I have ever received from an adult.
I have never met her and do not know her and have no plans to alter that state of affairs. Life is too short.
Found this page for Trisha Kehaulani Watson-Perreira: http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/ShowRatings.jsp?tid=725576
Is she related to Randy Perreira?
Ulu, I had a similar response once when I dared to ask a question on her facebook page regarding her support of Mufi…over the top anger. I concluded that Ms. Watson doesn’t want a conversation. She only wants her way.
This on was Olelo 52 last night at 8:00 pm.
http://olelo.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=30&clip_id=14716
Sounds like Mufi’s ‘Country Vote’ is as solid as his ‘virtual’ transit?
Politics are not really real. Friendships are.
Please, allow me to defend my friend, Trisha, just a bit.
First, I do not believe Trisha is related to Randy Perreira. That is her married last-name. Last I knew, she was separated, if not divorced. I really think I would have heard by now if Randy was her former father-in-law or even related by marriage in anyway. While I can understand the question, lets put that potential rumor-in-the-making to rest, right off the bat.
Second, I dont really know about PD-Hanneman. But I do know Trisha was treated really very poorly by certain members of PD-Hawaii during the convention. And we are not just talking about the vote. She was very upset. Given what I know about that all, theres not many of us who wouldnt be. I didnt know she started a new group, but I can understand, if as you indicate Ian, why she might have felt that Progressive Democrats were an exclusive group and rather than join ‘um (she wouldnt have been welcomed, anyways), she went off and created her own little group. And for that she gets Ian on her okole? I see, Ian, that, really, youre trying to add another ‘there Mufi goes again’ layer, but my hunch is that this is a bit different. And is it really a group or just a FB page? Trisha does tend to be a bit of a FB-junkie.
Third, lets go personal. Trisha is relatively new to Hawaii’s political scene. Though she literally grew up eating politics like poi because of her fathers political involvement, shes just now emerging onto Hawaii’s political landscape. Turns out, shes been a little busy, accruing those J.D. and PhD degrees. How many of you can say you have all those letters after your name, much less at the ripe age of a mere 32? I’ll assume all of your collective silence. That educational achievement alone should accord her greater respect than she is getting.
When she says she ran in Mufi at the Elton John concert, shes telling the truth. I was the one who brought her to that concert – and I wish all of you could have been there to see my jaw hit the ground.
I will assume that Mufi saw what we all see: a highly educated, outspoken, passionate, beautiful, Hawaiian woman.
Mufi grabbed Trisha for his campaign. For better or for worse, really. She really is a brilliant handful, which by now, Im more than sure he has realized, as have all of you. Im her friend and the woman can exhaust me. I can just imagine those campaign talks around the table. Good luck, Mufi! 🙂
But who is he and who are we to try to bring her down? Isnt she what we all want for members of our Hawaiian community – to be educated and to thrive in Hawaii? Shouldnt she be exactly who we would want to try to build up as a role model to not just woman of Hawaiian ancestry, but for all young women here in Hawaii?
Trisha is still a bit young, perhaps a bit too loud, but I certainly anticipate that time and probably this experience will, fortunately and unfortunately, temper her very passionate spirit. Politics does this, doesnt it? Still, knowing Trisha, I know she’ll fight it with that same determination that got her those advanced degrees. That focus and that mana, if you will, thats not just brains, you know. The thing about that girl is she really does have a big Hawaiian heart to match that big mouth! I can positively state that we all are just seeing the beginning of Trisha. Those degrees will get doors much more easily opened for her, but it will be what she ultimately makes of those opportunities that she must account for herself. I, for one, cant wait to see how she grows and what life has in store for my dear friend.
While I personally have yet to decide if I will vote for Mufi or Neil (just because shes my friend that doesnt mean they dont still get to earn my vote) I do know that I will ardently support every one of my friends right to stand up and fight that good fight. Good for each of them, young and old, for being involved and for being so passionate about their candidates. I can only hope and ask them all to be respectful towards each other, and to be careful to not shred each others character.
Politics is not really real. Friendships are.
We are at the end of this very brutal primary campaign. Let us all take deep breaths and remember that we, those of us in politics up to our necks, all really do have one common, unifying passion for why we do what we do: Our Aloha for Our Hawaii.
Thank you.
But I did not, as you put it, get on her okole.
I did describe the situation, including the reasons she cited in speaking with me about it, which I found no reason to dispute.
I don’t think newness or oldness to Hawai’i politics is really an explanative factor for her behavior. It is rationally related but irrelevant. Mufi has the same apparent type of victim-persecutor complex and he’s been around Hawai’i politics for several decades. Perhaps the subtlety of it will grow in years to come, but it seems the core of having a rationalization for acting out and being mean to people who do not share the same opinion and never being responsible for one’s own actions remains the same.
Hi Malia~
I just have to say that though friendships are real, politics are real too.
I’ve been thinking lately about young women, and how shocked they are to hear that birth control was illegal in our lifetimes.
The threat of the far right wing to take away women’s right to control her own fertility is very real.
Thank you for your wise reccommendation to look at our common aloha for Hawaii; your thoughts are much appreciated.