I have to admit that trying to report that story about the Aloha Aina Party yesterday was very, very strange.
A couple of months ago, I had noticed something odd about the new Hawaiian party. It is registered as a limited liability company. Major parties are set up as nonprofits, and some small 3rd parties appear to be unincorporated associations. To my knowledge, Aloha Aina Party LLC is unique in being set up as if it were a business.
It isn’t clear just how you fit a square peg LLC into the round hole meant for a political party. Can the LLC have business that is outside of the party? Could it have two sets of books, one of politics and one for, well, business? I made a quick check with the Campaign Spending Commission, and it turns out they had not been aware the party was an LLC and had not considered what issues, if any, this would present.
Then early yesterday morning I checked the status of Aloha Aina Party LLC in the online business registration database of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. I was shocked to see that the party’s former officers had been removed, and it is now listed as controlled by something called Forerunner Consulting Inc. That sent me scrambling back to review earlier filings and trace the change of control.
What does this mean? My closest analogy is that the former leaders of the political party are going to get back home and discover someone has changed the locks and they can no longer get in the door.
I started making calls, and finally reached the chairman of the Aloha Aina Party. Or, atleast, the chairman listed in the organizational report on file with the Campaign Spending Commission.
And this is where it got really weird. He said the former treasurer, the one who has essentially “changed the locks” and taken control of the underlying LLC, may be a CIA plant assigned to infiltrate the party. It felt right out of a QAnon conspiracy. I asked why the party reported neither receiving any campaign contributions or making any expenditures, although what appears to be the party’s official website explains the party’s background, touts its candidates, offers logo merchandise for sale, and solicits funds. If I understood it correctly, he said the party got no money and therefore any website must have been unauthorized. This despite the fact that most of the Aloha Aina Party candidates referred to the party website in their candidate filings with the office of elections. And when I pointed out another site soliciting contributions on behalf of the party, he again said it was not authorized.
It was now clear that I wasn’t going to get any more useful information, so I ended the call, intending to call the party’s attorney.
First, I tried to call the person listed as the party’s social media coordinator at a Southern California phone number. Again, no answer. Again, I left a voicemail. My message was not returned.
Not long afterwards, I received a text message from the chairman, prefaced by a photo of Pierre Omidyar, the entrepreneur billionaire known here for founding and supporting Civil Beat.
It is certainly going to be interesting to see how this plays out.
In the meantime, if this were my political party as a voter or a candidate, I would be mighty worried about what the heck is going on.
Discover more from i L i n d
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
This is so far beyond bizarre, going from the basic sovereignty argument, o Ian your a Democrat – Ok. Than, you work for a high paying Billionaire Pierre at Civil Beat, making a fortune and of course your a CIA agent 008…comedian at best.
Sounds more like a bad bunch of banana’s, that make local drug dealers look like respectable businessmen. Or, giving Saint Hood to Sammy Amalu and Keanu Sai.
For those of us Hawaiian’s that had high hopes of a new political option it’s simple sad! And to see My father and grandfathers, long years with The Royal Order of Kamehameha I, used for personal enrichment is a true disaster!
This will drag on over years of investigation, Civil and likely Criminal in State and Federal Courts, embarking Hawaiian’s.
The defense of blaming the CIA, in blame is simple shades of Ron Rewald. I’m just curious to see how the money was wasted.
DO NOT HESITATE TO VOTE FOR AAP CANDIDATES! They didn’t get a penny of support from there party in most cases. One House candidate of AAP pleaded online for $9 to keep Her effort alive. Hopefully, a reorganization by accountable parties may right this terrible wrong.
Great sleuthing! Keep digging! The come back remarks to your questions are interesting. I’ve lost respect for the supposed ‘high makamakas’!
I know some of the Aloha Aina Party candidates whom I respect very much.
Too bad what you are writing in your blog does not reflect well on some of those associated with this party.
It sure wouldn’t be the first time a sleezy opportunist invoked ethnic identity to pull a scam and spin kooky conspiracy theories. Just look where that sort of stuff got Trump!
IAN, I remember Vicky Holt Takamine getting credit in local news for starting the Aloha Aina party back in 2000. What happened?
And since this political party is registered as a business, can contributors sue to get their donations back?
BTW, what is the status of Third Parties in Hawaii?
Keiko Bonk had a fun run for the Green Party once upon a time. Libertarians come and go. But I haven’t heard of any in a while.
The Aloha Aina party should be correctly structured as a nonprofit. Uncle Don plays beautiful Hawaiian music but sounds like this is not a good fit for him as spokesman. His family history ties shouldn’t be ignored but the party needs revamping to get up to speed.
Starting a political party takes some improvising. If they persist past this election they may have to get organized. Anybody remember “Hawaii’s traditional five-party system”? I think it was the Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, Peoples Party, and Independents for Godly Government.
I imagine they were just trying to register an organization and didn’t know how to do it. But, really, a privately-owned, profit-making political party? The more I think about it the stranger it seems. Could Microsoft or General Motors start their own political party and run a slate of candidates?
Daniel Decker is an imposter to the AAP. He’s using this a means to acquire money, Black Pen/Forerunner LLC. Basically he went against the leadership of AAP after finding out Don did not accept a loan Decker set up. You are right that someone changed the locks on the party and it is Daniel Decker. How he did it? An investigation in underway.