These could be mistaken for headlines in today’s news.
Penalties asked against unregistered lobbyists.
Both political parties rely on big developers, PACs for funds.
Rail transit lobbyists evade public disclosure.
But they actually date back 20 years to my own entry into self-publishing, a small monthly newsletter that I called “Hawaii Monitor.”
Fresh from a couple of years working as “senior advisor” to then-City Councilmember Neil Abercrombie, I put my vintage Mac Plus and a brand new Apple Laserwriter printer to work to produce an almost monthly 8-page newsletter about money and politics in Hawaii. This was before blogs, and before the internet. Print was the only way to reach a wider audience.
“Almost monthly” because it took me nearly three years to produce 26 issues. Hawaii Monitor’s life was cut short when I accepted a job as an investigative reporter for the old Honolulu Star-Bulletin.
Looking back, I’m surprised to see how timely many of those articles remain today.
In any case, in response to a recent inquiry, I put together these scans of the entire set of Hawaii Monitors.
Have fun browsing through Hawaii political history.
Hawaii Monitor Newsletter
Published June 1990-January 1993 by Ian Lind
The first issue of the original Hawaii Monitor, an 8-page monthly
newsletter, appeared in June 1990, and the final issue appeared in January
1993. Publication ceased when I accepted a position as investigative
reporter for the Honolulu Star-Bulletin beginning in February 1993.
All files are in pdf format.
Volume 1 (1990-91):
# 1- Horita funds flood City Council
# 3- Horita contributions on hold. Cash and controversy mark new faculty PAC
# 4- Convention center consultants give to council campaigns. Campaign funds go “beyond the call of duty“
# 5- Developers create dozens of linked political committees. Enomoto contributions exceed limits
# 6- Mayor Fasi sues Hawaii Monitor. UH faculty PAC fails to report ad costs
# 7- Both political parties rely on big developers, PACs for funds
# 9- Waihee received $93,450 in excess contributions. Top PACs for 1990 listed
#10- Attorney General faces conflict of interests. Inside a California public
corruption case.#11- Legislators’ financial interests detailed
#12- Gov. Waihee’s campaign refunds $126,000 in illegal contributions. Donors get checks, no punishment.
Volume 2 (1991-1992)
#1- State Rep linked to firm in price-fixing case. West Loch developers pitch in to erase Harris debt.
#2- Chinatown tenants charge “cronyism” in city choice of Kailua elderly housing developer.
#3- Influential investors give new securities firm political clout.
#4- Old campaigns create “slush funds” for officials.
#5- “Call Danny Kihano,” state-county workers told.
#6- Fasi relies on “usual suspects” for $2.8 million campaign war chest.
#7- Waste, junkets mark legislature’s travel program.
#8- Rail transit lobbyists evade public disclosure.
#9- Honolulu faces prospect of campaign sign wars.
#11- Kim, Mansho tops in city council fundraising.
#`12 UH faculty PAC sets campaign spending record.
Volume 3 (1992-1993)
#1 Architects and engineers provide bulk of Democratic funds, most donors received non-bid contracts
#2 Galbraith Estate: Proposed development raises trust company questions. Some beneficiaries get only 31 cents annually from $74 million trust.
THE END
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I loved Volume 2, #8 on the rail project. Back in 2002 it was a “billion dollar” project. So I put that number in my inflation calculator and it said that $1 billion in 2002 equates to $1.249 billion in 2011. So how the heck did we get to $5.3 billion?
Gosh, I guess I didn’t need to keep my complete set all these years! (But I’m still not getting rid of them.)
I’ve only had time to read Vol. 2 #8 as well, but what I found even more fascinating than the rail story was “Ameron official offers blunt political advice …the way things get done”
We all know this goes on constantly, yet there’s something about having the process spelled out openly that astonishes me a bit.
“According to a transcript of portions of the meeting, Kerby told the group that Ameron used strategically placed campaign contributions at least twice in the last year to get favorable government action”
The Ameron rep was not talking about merely paying for access, but “action,” as in “pressure is put on by donations to state senators, to City and County people that can put pressure on other people and get things done.”
Besides the usual day to day, year to year implications, one can only imagine the kind of pressure a multibillion dollar public works project can exert. I’m amazed we’re not yet building an undersea railway to Molokai.
Lots of other good stuff in this issue. You can’t judge these newsletters by the headlines alone, there’s more depth than the featured stories reveal. I’m swamped lately but can’t wait to read more when I can.
And one more thing I noticed in this newsletter: “So please don’t copy this newsletter. If you are unable to afford the cost of a subscription, you may call to make special arrangements.” You don’t see that too often anymore. In my mind, that’s one big problem with putting the Star-Advertiser behind a paywall, those without the means to afford a subscription go voiceless. Before, a homeless person could spring for single issue if she sees her life situation described in the front page of that days issue. Then, she could go to a public library computer terminal to share her perspective. Now she can’t.