If you read or watch the news, you probably saw the report about the man who ran to assist a family whose car had overturned in downtown Honolulu last week.
Randy Gonce, 27, was one of several Good Samaritans who rushed to help a family of four out of their SUV after the terrifying experience.
“It was my worst fear. The first thing I heard out of the vehicle was a mother screaming, ‘My babies are in the car!’” the Ewa Beach resident told KHON2.
Gonce says he dropped his bag on the sidewalk and sprinted toward the car to help pull them out.
In the chaos, he realized, his bag was gone. Someone had stolen his things.
The incident, and a subsequent arrest in the case, got a lot of mainstream news coverage.
What I didn’t notice in the mainstream coverage is that Gonce, a Democrat, is an active Bernie Sanders supporter who had already formed a campaign committee to support his run for the State House of Representatives from the 40th District in Ewa/Ewa Beach. The seat is currently held by Republican Bob McDermott.
McDermott previously served three terms in the house (1997-2003), and is finishing his second term after being elected again in 2012.
Gonce registered his campaign committee, “Friends of Randy Gonce,” on April 18, 2016, and amended it six days later.
According to records of the Office of Elections, Gonce picked up nomination papers to run for the 40th District seat on April 16. Once is one of two Democrats to take out papers to challenge McDermott. No one has formally filed their nomination papers to date.
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go get ’em, Randy! may the force be with you always.
News Release from Ted Cruz Hawaii February 22, 2016
HONOLULU, Hawaii – West Oahu Republican state lawmaker Bob McDermott today endorsed presidential candidate Ted Cruz.
Representative McDermott, Hawaii State House District 40 (Ewa Beach-Iroquois Point) proclaimed: “I am honored to be onboard with a man of decency, class, principle, and courage. Go get em, Ted!”
McDermott, 2012:
“Despite the dedicates of the PC police, there is absolutely a difference between the nurturing, love and tenderness that a mom can deliver and that of two men who practice homosexuality. In fact, science tells us that a child cannot be created without a male and female. So why would we ever obligate a child to an artificial situation where they will never ever have a mother or father to speak of? Who speaks for the child? Do they have a choice in the matter?
“Imagine for a moment, a loving husband and wife go into to adopt a child, next to them are two men who practice homosexuality. All things being equal, if the Judge says, I think the child would do better with a mom and dad, he is now a bigot. In my view he is exercising common sense.”
McDermott, November 2013:
“I do not believe [homosexuality] is an immutable characteristic, like skin color,” he said. “It is a behavior that one chooses.”
McDermott, January 2016:
“What if I want my kids — they’re questioning, they’re on the fence — and I want to steer them to the rich life of being a heterosexual, and as a parent, I don’t have that right?”
The “Rich Life”??? LOFL. who elected this jerk?
“t” wrote: “who elected this jerk?”
The voters in McDermott’s district, obviously. Iroquois Point has been pretty much a conservative GOP stronghold for quite some time now. Randy Gonce seems like a nice fella, but I suspect he will be yet another in what has become a long line of Democratic nominees who get their hopes up when they receive more votes than McDermott in the primary election, then proceeds to get his okole handed to him in the general.
Aloha Allen,
Iroquois Point has been changing drastically. I personally live there. I have had a lot of great support from my neighborhood and neighbors as we all are well aware of the neglect our district has been subject to. Did you know that Iroquois Point doesn’t even have a bus route? You have to either walk or bike a mile or more to even get to a place where you can see a bus stop. Along the road to get to the stop there are no lights and no road shoulders. I don’t see issues like these as Republican vs Democrat issues. They are quality of life and community issues. I have spoken to many Republicans already who are wanting solutions to their problems. It will be great race.
I would not have pulled papers if I didn’t think I had a good chance at winning the seat. I believe firmly that this will be the race the Incumbent never had. The ‘long line’ of Democratic nominees who have ran in this district have been very unprepared or, in one case, the son of another legislator who not widely favored and was ready to be replaced (district 41).
Last weeks set back was unfortunate and put a bit of a time damper on the campaign but I am back with more motivation than ever. I hope to prove you wrong and gain your support come November. Mahalo!
Thanks for the thoughtful response, Randy. I don’t live in your district. But in general, I am supportive of lawmakers who offer specific plans on how to achieve their goals, rather than simply offering up promises. For example, you talk about the lack of bus routes in Iroquois Point. So what are your plans to address that as a state representative?
Along the lines of giving voters in your district a reason to support you,… hopefully, you will have more to offer on your website other Tulsi Gabbard’s video endorsement of Bernie Sanders.
Just my two cents, if it’s worth even that. Best of luck to you in your endeavors.
Absolutely! If you watch closely in the video you can spot me and my beard in there for 10 seconds or so. My webpage is under construction at the moment, I encourage you to check back periodically to see the progress. Thank you for your response. Feel free to email me or contact me at anytime. Mahalo!
Re: t”
Wow, a filibuster against McDermott from “t”, what a surprise. Can’t wait to see how long that rant will go.
Gonce seems like a stand-up guy, but as a legislative staffer for Rep. Matt LoPresti, this play is obvious from LoPresti. LoPresti should enlighten his protege Gonce that his campaign mailout letters should not be soliciting political favors using his HPU email address.
Aloha Sprezzatura,
My decision to use my student HPU email address was based on the fact that I do not have another professional e-mail address and gmail offers a great integrative calendar that I sync phone to track school deadlines and professional deadlines. It really helps me organize and keep up with the busy lifestyle I have. As a masters student at HPU there is no conflict of interest here. I do appreciate your concern though.
Also, as mentioned previously my current boss (for 1 more day) Rep. LoPresti had zero to do with me running for this seat. In fact, he was taken back by it when I initially approached him about it. I wanted to make sure I wasn’t breaking any ethics laws while working for him this session or causing rifts in the relationships at the capitol. I was prepared to step down as my position on his staff if either were the case. I personally felt that it was time to take action for the people and continue to do what I enjoy most, serve my country and citizens.
Sprezzatura,
yes, quoting someone is a filibuster. you nailed it. Donald Trump wants to hire you as spokesman.
Aloha Randy, I don’t know the specifics of the agreement with HPU and their email accounts, but from the outside, it looks like campaign use of state resources. It’s easy enough to get an email address attached to your website and would have the added bonus of drawing people to the website itself.
Thank you for clarifying that for me. I never thought of it like from that perspective. State resources even though HPU is a private school not ran by the state?
I have since gotten an official campaign address that I will be using. Thank you for the insight, it really helps to have the ‘outside looking in’ view. I am learning a lot as I continue along this campaign and any other thoughts are greatly appreciated. If you notice any other areas I’ve missed updating the email feel free to reach out to me. Mahalo Natalie!
Oops, I stand corrected on the state resources point. It looks like you’re using HPU’s resources for your campaign.
Aloha,
Thank you very much for your write up and the mention. It was a very unfortunate situation but the most important thing is that the family involved in the accident is doing well and life is back to almost normal for them.
I appreciate the immense support I have gotten thus far for my campaign. As a military veteran with multiple deployments I believe I have what it takes to win the race in District 40. Our district is in dire need of a legislator who is effective, works with their colleagues, and brings all people together from all walks of life.
I can assure you (and user Sprezzatura) that this decision to run was solely my own and influenced by the call of a ‘political revolution’ that Bernie Sander’s campaign as advocated. After working the 2016 legislative session and being intimate with the issues of our area, I saw just how important it is to have a Representative who is effective, especially in West Oahu. Ewa Beach is currently and will be an even larger critical location to Oahu because of coming development and projects.
Incumbent Representatives who have never passed a bill, never gotten a hearing, do not represent Aloha, and divide the citizens of our state should be challenged in my opinion.
re: Gonce
If you don’t understand why using an HPU.edu email address is inappropriate for your political campaign, you should do some more thinking about this and the inappropriate use of resources and affiliation – not to mention reflecting on your judgment. Plus as you mentioned, you could easily use another free gmail address. Other than that, thank you for being a good samaritan and for your service to our country.
Thank you Sprezzatura,
I took your advice and have been set up with an official campaign email address. New endeavors are always a learning process and I honestly appreciate all the insight and suggestions. Mahalo for your kind words, I truly enjoyed my time in the military and serving others.
Feel free to reach out to me if you have any more suggestions or insights, these types of things help me become a better rounded individual and see things from many perspectives. My new email is friendsofrandygonce@gmail.com
Cheers!
Randy Gone