PRESS RELEASE by Beth Fukumoto, Director of Minority Research

HONOLULU – In keeping with the legacy of Republican President and staunch environmentalist Theodore Roosevelt, Republicans in the State House of Representatives successfully led the way in opposing a series of bills that would have resulted in lasting damage to our environment.

"This year, the Republican caucus defended Hawaii's environmental laws against many attempts by the Majority to erode our longstanding environmental protections. With the support of our communities and many coalitions, we successfully defeated many bills that would have endangered the quality of life for our residents and their children. We are very proud to end the 2012 session knowing that we helped to preserve the State of Hawaii for future generations."

A few of the bills that House Republicans successfully opposed were:

SB 2927 SD2 HD1 CD2 could have resulted in unrestrained development near train stations planned for the controversial 20-mile elevated railway project from Kapolei to Ala Moana.

SB 2235 SD2 HD2 would have required state and county agencies to review all commercial broadband-related permit applications within 60 business days, or else the projects would automatically gain approval. The Department of Land and Natural Resources called this time limit far too restrictive – especially for projects in State Land Use Conservation Districts requiring public hearings.

SB 755 SD2 HD3 would have "temporarily" exempt certain airport construction projects from environmental reviews and public involvement. Testifying in strong opposition, the Hawaii Audubon Society said this bill "is not in the public interest and is not protective of Hawaii’s native flora and fauna or cultural resources." Rep. Corinne Ching warned this measure would create an “open season on the treasures of the land…and health of the people.”

HB 2250 HD2 SD1 would have appropriated funds for the establishment of an emergency environmental workforce for short-term employment to maintain watersheds, eradicate certain plants and animals. The bill had myriad unintended opportunity costs and negative consequences including threats to already effective watershed projects, the loss of dollars vital for match for federal grants, and potential reduction in staff.

Hawaii Reporter

HONOLULU - This is a significant day at the Hawaii State Legislature. This is last day for bills to pass out of conference committee, so the proposed legislation can be voted on next Tuesday and Thursday, in time for the session’s end on May 3.

Conferees have been wrestling with the operating budget, which held up dozens of bills with funding attached.

The Senate, as it did last year, plans to end negotiations with the House promptly at 6 p.m. tonight, meaning whatever legislation does not emerge from conference committee, will die.

A number of controversial bills have already died in conference committee.

That includes the controversial birth certificate bill, which would allow transgenders to change their name and sex on their original birth certificate filed with the Department of Health.

The back door Internet Tax, or so called “streamlining tax”, a favorite measure of Sens. Carol Fukunaga and Suzanne Chun Oakland, has died in conference committee for the eighth year in a row, thanks to House leadership.

A bill pushed aggressively by Senator Mike Gabbard would have allowed the public utilities commission to give Hawaiian Electric Company an even higher rate of return and surcharge in exchange for participation in power purchase agreements.

Another bill that died sought to extend the University of Hawaii’s exemption from the procurement code.

The House and Senate still have not finalized legislation that allow the state and counties to exempt themselves from the permitting process so government construction can be expedited.

The legislation is opposed by a coalition of environmental and community organizations.

Unlike last year, no major widespread tax increases will pass, but fees in many agencies will either be introduced or heavily increased by the end of this session next Thursday.

Meanwhile, the looming federal reapportionment lawsuit, which will be heard by a federal panel on Friday, May 18, is causing a big stir around the state capitol. That's because legislators are unsure whether their district lines will be redrawn yet again, so they are pulling papers for more than one district.

The general consensus among legislators is the plaintiffs in the lawsuits against the state, including Rep. K. Mark Takai, will win their based on their 14^th amendment challenge.

That is based on the current reapportionment plan, which excludes 108,000 military and their dependents, in what they say is a violation of one man, one vote rule.

Because of legal delays cause by two state challenges in Hawaii Supreme Court and one federal challenge, the filing deadline for all candidates has been pushed back to June 5. All 76 seats are up for election.

To read the original article, please see http://www.hawaiireporter.com/report-from-the-hawaii-state-capitol-in-final-days-of-session/123

Civil Beat by Patti Epler

HONOLULU - The closely watched race for Hawaii's open U.S. Senate seat is taking financial shape as the frontrunners plump up their campaign treasuries in anticipation of what promises to be a hard-fought general election.

U.S. Rep. Mazie Hirono, a Democrat, took in just over $1 million in the three-month reporting period that ended March 31. She has about $1.6 million in the bank, according to a Federal Election Commission report posted online Sunday.

Still, her Republican rival, former Gov. Linda Lingle, collected more than $1.3 million in the same period and ended the quarter with about $2.2 million in the bank, at least for now a sizable cash advantage over Hirono.

Lingle received more than $1.1 million in individual contributions and $189,000 from political action committees.

Hirono collected about $751,000 from individuals, $139,000 from PACs and $23,000 from Democratic party committees.

Lingle has no serious opponent going into the Aug. 11 primary, so she's not being forced to spend heavily to fend off an early challenge. John Carroll, a Republican who has filed for the seat, turned in a 14-page handrwitten report to the FEC for this quarter, showing he raised about $2,700 but has a campaign debt of more than $21,000. Lingle's report ran 485 pages.

Hirono does face a serious primary challenge from former Congressman Ed Case. But he has fallen behind in his ability to raise significant campaign funds, collecting about $138,000 this last quarter. He reported about $211,000 cash on hand as of March 31.

While Case has spent much of his political wad on TV and other advertising — nearly $150,000 this last quarter alone, the report shows — Hirono and Lingle have been spending money mainly on raising money, paying out tens of thousands of dollars to fundraising consultants and for fundraising solicitations and events.

Hirono paid Media Strategies and Research of Denver just over $100,000 for "media buys" and Lingle spent about $26,000 on online ads. She benefitted from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's independent campaign supporting her, a series of dozens of TV spots in February that cost the chamber nearly $250,000.

Case, who's raised more than $600,000 since the beginning of the campaign, has been continuing his visits to neighbor islands and community groups in an effort to win supporters. His report reflects numerous small expenditures at places like Office Max and Office Deport, Sam's Club and a self-storage place. He paid BannersOnTheCheap.com $4,880.

Lingle, who has raised more than $3.1 million since she began campaigning last year, reported spending about $487,000 in this last period. More than $40,000 went for fundraising letters and direct mail. She paid Virginia-based fundraising consultants more than $75,000 for their services.

More than $30,000 went to fundraisers around the country. The report lists catering and room rentals in Honolulu, Chicago, Oklahoma, Texas, Denver, Pennsylvania, Missouri and California.

She paid $418 for lapel pins, $1,714 for polo shirts and $5,564 for campaign t-shirts.

Lingle also is supporting a large campaign staff — more than a dozen people. All together they were paid more than $70,000 for the last three months' work.

Hirono has raised about $2.2 million since the election cycle began in January 2010. This last quarter she spent about $376,000 and also reported another $237,000 in debt. Some of that debt is for campaign services like consultants and fundraising but about $125,00 is a loan she made to the campaign.

Between money paid out by the campaign and money for services she still owes to various vendors, Hirono spent more than $130,000 on fundraising consultants, mailers and other services.

Hirono also has a hefty payroll, though not as large as Lingle's. She has five paid staffers, according to the report, and paid them about $54,000 for the three-month period.

Case has no paid staff, according to his report.

To read the original article, please see http://www.civilbeat.com/articles/2012/04/23/15627-hawaiis-us-senate-candidates-raise-big-bucks-but-are-spending-frugally/

By Honolulu Star-Advertiser staff

HONOLULU - Former Republican U.S. Rep. Charles Djou's campaign reported raising $84,000 in the first quarter of 2012 as he prepares for an expected rematch with incumbent Democratic U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa in the November general election.

Djou, who returned in early March from a six-month deployment in Afghanistan with his U.S. Army Reserve unit, has raised about $256,000 in the current election cycle, according to his report filed this week with the Federal Election Commission.

Including money carried over from his 2010 campaign, Djou has about $387,000 in cash on hand.

Hanabusa reported raised $224,000 in the first quarter of 2012, for a total of $770,000 with about $428,000 in cash on hand.

Neither is expected to spend heavily before the Aug. 11 primary — each is favored to win their party's nomination to represent the 1st Congressional District, representing urban Oahu. It would be a rematch of 2010, when Djou was the incumbent after winning a special election in May of that year to fill the final months of the term vacated by Neil Abercrombie, who had resigned to concentrate on his run for governor.

To read the original article, please see http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/147867035.html

by Honolulu Star-Advertiser staff

HONOLULU - Former Gov. Linda Lingle raised $1.3 million for her Republican primary campaign for U.S. Senate in the past quarter, while U.S. Rep. Mazie Hirono, who is running against former congressman Ed Case in the Democratic primary, raised more than $1 million.

Lingle has raised $3.1 million overall. While the former governor has outperformed her Democratic rivals, her pace has fallen short of her initial target of $8 million to $10 million.

Hirono reported her best three months of fundraising since she announced her campaign last May. Hirono has collected about $2.5 million overall.

To read the original article, please see http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/147253715.html

Honolulu Star-Advertiser by Derrick DePledge

HONOLULU, Hawaii — U.S. Sen. Susan Collins on Wednesday described excessive partisanship as the “overarching problem” in Washington, D.C., causing gridlock that has prevented meaningful action to reduce the national debt, unemployment and high energy costs.

The Maine Republican, who spoke at a fundraiser for Republican Linda Lingle’s U.S. Senate campaign at the Sheraton Waikiki, said she believes the former governor would work with others in the political center toward bipartisan solutions.

“I am confident she could help bridge that partisan divide in Washington,” Collins said. “If those of us who are in the center, and believe that you should sit down and negotiate and actually try to solve problems rather than score political points, don’t start expanding the number of people in the center, we’re just going to continue to face gridlock and stalemate.”

Lingle considers Collins, a moderate first elected in 1996, a model for how she would approach the Senate if elected.

Collins, citing the low job approval ratings for Congress, said she thinks voters are most unhappy with “people who campaign as common-sense pragmatists and then go to Washington and become lock-step partisans.”

The senator said she has “enormous respect” for U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee and the Senate president pro tempore. “He is an example of a senator who can work with both sides, and does,” she said.

U.S. Rep. Mazie Hirono and former congressman Ed Case are the Democratic contenders to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii. Case, a moderate, has made his potential to work with centrists in the Senate a campaign theme.

Democrats have tried to undercut Lingle’s bipartisan message by linking her to conservatives who are unpopular in the islands, pointing to her support of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin for vice president in 2008 and her appearances at fundraisers this year with U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo.

“We extend our aloha to Senator Collins,” Charles Freedman, the communications director for the Democratic Party of Hawaii, said in a statement. “However, her being here doesn’t mask the fact that Linda Lingle has run huge fundraisers on the mainland with Republicans who are trying to block women’s access to contraception, make deep cuts in our children’s education and force Hawaii seniors to pay thousands more for health care, all while keeping taxes low for millionaires and corporate special interests.”

Political analysts believe Lingle’s main obstacle will be persuading enough independents and Democrats, who will support the Hawaii-born Obama’s re-election in November, to also vote for her.

Collins said she is “living proof” a Republican can win in a Democratic-leaning state with Obama on the ballot.

Collins defeated U.S. Rep. Tom Allen, D-Maine, with 61 percent of the vote in 2008, polling higher than Obama, who won Maine with 58 percent of the vote. While Collins was targeted by national Democrats, she had the advantage of campaigning as an incumbent senator, something Lingle will not have in Hawaii.

“Think of the number of people in Maine who voted for Barack Obama and then cut over and voted for me over Tom Allen,” Collins said. “And I think that’s what can and will happen here.”

John Hart, a communication professor at Hawaii Pacific University, said one of the reasons he believes Lingle has set an $8 million to $10 million fundraising goal is to run the media campaign necessary to help counter Obama’s pull.

“Without that, I think it’s going to be very difficult to persuade the person who is just coming out to vote for Barack Obama and whose tendency is to pull the Democratic lever to cross over in this one case — no pun intended — and vote for her,” he said.

The Honolulu Civil Beat

The Hawaii Republican Party is criticizing Rep. Mazie Hirono for inviting outgoing Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., as a “special guest” to an April 13 fundraiser for her U.S. Senate campaign on Maui.

Hawaii GOP Executive Director Nacia Lee Blom described Frank as “ignorant” at best, and potentially self-serving in his pre-recession approach to regulating the housing market.

“For someone who was so willfully ignorant of how his actions were precipitating such an enormous catastrophe, it is truly astounding that Mazie Hirono would invite him to Hawaii to ask local residents for money on her behalf,” she wrote. 

Taking a cue from Arizona Sen. John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign, Blom recalled remarks from former President Bill Clinton about how Democrats had resisted “efforts by Republicans in the Congress, or by me when I was President, to put some standards and tighten up a little on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.”

To read the original articile, please click here http://dc808.blogs.civilbeat.com/post/20149149290/hawaii-gop-hironos-barney-frank-invite-astounding

Hawaii 24/7 

From the office of David Chang, Hawaii Republican Party state chairman:

I would like to introduce you to the newest member of the HRP ohana, Nacia Lee Blom. Nacia has recently been hired as the Hawaii Republican Party’s executive director.

Nacia, a Waimea High School graduate, is a long time supporter and member of the Hawaii Republican Party. She attended college in the mainland and after a few years of teaching in North Carolina and Virginia, she returned home to Kauai to teach.

She later re-located to Honolulu, where she became involved first through fund-raising and grassroots organizing with a local non-profit, and later as a part of my campaign.

Most recently, Nacia was responsible for logistics and coordination on an Iowa Bus Tour, where she had the opportunity to work with (and meet) many of the Republican presidential candidates.

Friday, March 31, 2012

The National Journal by National Journal staff

Democrats, bolstered by Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe's surprise retirement in Maine, still feel good about their chances of keeping control of the upper chamber. There are enough Republican seats in play, and strong enough Democratic incumbents, that the party believes the GOP would have to virtually run the table to put Minority Leader Mitch McConnell back in charge.

But those assumptions may be premature, as this month showed: A series of public polls in Massachusetts cast Sen. Scott Brown's reelection hopes in a better light. Ethics questions surrounding Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., have Republicans optimistic they can survive President Obama's turnout operations. And even as Sens. Bill Nelson and Sherrod Brown flex their healthy polling leads, Sens. Claire McCaskill and Jon Tester are still shaky as ever. Finally, Republicans who are pessimistic about the presidential race increasingly view the battle for the Senate as the biggest game in town, raising the prospects that super PACs that give up on the eventual GOP nominee could pour unanswered millions into those down-ballot contests.

The final retirements of the year have taken place, and primary season is in full swing. The outcomes in several states will determine which party actually holds the power when the 113th Congress convenes.

In this, the fifth installment of Hotline's monthly Senate rankings, we examine the seats most likely to change partisan control in next year's elections. That is, we see Sen. Ben Nelson's seat in Nebraska as more likely to wind up in Republican hands than Sen. Kent Conrad's seat in North Dakota (but not by much), and Scott Brown more likely to lose to a Democrat than Sen. Dean Heller of Nevada. Our complex methodology includes a delicate balance of poll numbers, both public and private; fundraising performance; message resonance; buzz on the trail; and, the key ingredient, our gut feelings. From those five factors, we answer a fundamental question: Which candidate would we rather be? In North Dakota, we'd rather be Rep. Rick Berg than former Attorney General Heidi Heitkamp, for example.

The ultimate conclusions are subjective, of course. But they represent months of close scrutiny of each race and our best conclusions as to where the Senate is headed in the 113th Congress.

To read the original article, please click here http://www.nationaljournal.com/hotline/the-primary-questions-20120330?mrefid=mostViewed

Honolulu Star-Advertiser staff

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney will take nine Hawaii delegates and rival Rick Santorum five, according to the official results of the GOP caucus, released Saturday evening.

U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas will receive three delegates.

Results certified by the state Executive Committee show that Romney received 4,548 votes, or roughly 45 percent of 10,228 cast, in the state GOP caucus Tuesday.

Santorum, a former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania, received 2,589 votes, Paul had 1,975 and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich received 1,116, according to an email from state Republican Chairman David Chang. 

Participation on the neighbor islands and rural Honolulu — the 2nd U.S. House District — outpaced that of urban Honolulu, the 1st U.S. House District.

In the 1st House District, the vote tallies were:

Romney: 1,742.

Santorum: 1,160.

Paul: 631.

Gingrich: 474.

TOTAL: 4,007

In the 2nd House District, the tallies were:

Romney: 2,806.

Santorum: 1,429.

Paul: 1,344.

Gingrich: 642.

TOTAL: 6,221

The results changed only slightly from the preliminary tally Tuesday night, when Romney had 4,250 votes, Santorum 2,369, Paul 1,712 and Gingrich 1,034. The official tally included mail-in ballots.

Although none of the candidates have made a campaign stop in Hawaii, Ronnie Paul, Elizabeth Santorum and Matt Romney crossed the Pacific to rally support for their fathers heading into Tuesday's caucus. Gingrich, who spoke to the Maui Tea Party in September, kept his attention on Alabama and Mississippi primaries.

Santorum topped Gingrich and Romney in Alabama and Mississippi, with Paul coming in a distant fourth place.

To read the original article, please see http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/143268286.html