HI Gubernatorial Election 2014 Discussion

[Vega]

Can this thread be changed into "Hawaii Gubernatorial Election 2014"?

Anyway, I do hope that Ige wins. And I'm sure it will be a close race.

[Vega]

Why does that mean?

Schatz is a great senator; Hanabusa is gross and should retire. She isn't very intelligent, or perhaps she might be senile. It doesn't really matter what her views are at this point.

Interesting thoughts, my friend. I respectfully disagree with them.

[Vega]

Mufi Hannemann might be in too... as a Republican.

A new party, the Hawaii Independent Party, successfully petitioned for ballot access. It sounds like one of their motivating factors was to draft Hannemann.

I'm not quite sure what they are thinking; there platform is basically saying, "Hawaii should secede from the union". I doubt they have much of a chance. Mufi has been on a loosing streak, lately, too.
 

[Vega]

Ige and Abercrombie are tied at 37%; according to a Civil Beat poll:

http://www.civilbeat.com/articles/2014/02/24/21241-civil-beat-poll-a-referendum-on-hawaii-gov-neil-abercrombie/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=hawaii

[Vega]

Former Hawaii Circuit Court Judge and Senior Pastor Elwin Ahu has announced that he is entering this years Republican primary for Lieutenant Governor.

http://www.hawaiireporter.com/former-judge-announces-candidacy-for-hawaii-lt-governor/123

[Vega]

Former Hawaii Circuit Court Judge and Senior Pastor Elwin Ahu has announced that he is entering this years Republican primary for Lieutenant Governor.

http://www.hawaiireporter.com/former-judge-announces-candidacy-for-hawaii-lt-governor/123

Doubt he stands much a chance against Aiona.

Indeed, I mis-typed.

Aiona is running for Governor, not LG.

[Vega]

Just bumping. We have a thread for the General election.

[Vega]

Hawaii will probably go from toss up status to at least a lean D status now. 

I beg to differ. It'll be closer than most Hawaii elections because Aiona is a very strong candidate. But Ige will win by at least 7-10 points in November.

[Vega]

http://www.civilbeat.com/2014/08/hawaii-monitor-mufis-lowball-bet-looking-unlikely-to-pay-off/

Civil Beat has a good article talking about how Mufi Hannemann's Gubentorial campaign is failing and apparently isn't making signs or advertising at all.

[Vega]

Abercrombie blames his loss on Republicans crossing over to vote against him in the Dem primary because he signed gay marriage into law.  That's right, twice as many Republicans than the number who actually voted in the Republican primary decided to vote in the Democratic primary instead, and all because of gay marriage.  Seems legit, Neil.

Soooooo, you vote for the guy who voted for Gay Marriage in the legislature, but against the guy who signed it? Yeah....

[Vega]

Abercrombie blames his loss on Republicans crossing over to vote against him in the Dem primary because he signed gay marriage into law.  That's right, twice as many Republicans than the number who actually voted in the Republican primary decided to vote in the Democratic primary instead, and all because of gay marriage.  Seems legit, Neil.

Whatever happened to the unity breakfast?

Yeah, I thought Abercrombie threw his full support to Ige, and "respected the people's will" when they threw him out of office.

[Vega]

I don't see him reneging on his support for Ige; he's simply complaining that he lost and making up BS reasons for why it happened.

Seems like he's kinda demeaning Ige's victory by saying "cause' Republicans voted".

[Vega]

I don't see him reneging on his support for Ige; he's simply complaining that he lost and making up BS reasons for why it happened.

Seems like he's kinda demeaning Ige's victory by saying "cause' Republicans voted".

Yeah. The point of unity breakfast is to accept defeat, make amends, and eat pancakes. It's pretty ridiculous to think that 80,000 people who vote Republican voted against Abercrombie (who was the weaker candidate).

I don't know why they would exactly vote for someone who has the same basic policy positions as Abercrombie. His argument is makes no sense. Talk about grasping at straws.

[Vega]

The Hawaii Teamsters & Allied Workers Union, Local 996 is endorsing Mufi Hannemann for Governor:

http://www.civilbeat.com/2014/09/teamsters-backing-hannemann-in-governors-race/

[Vega]

The Sierra Club endorses David Ige for Governor.

[Vega]

Abercrombie supporters definitely wouldn't flock to Hanneman, considering what happened in the 2010 primary.

[Vega]

"Governor-elect David Ige on Friday announced the appointment of Mike McCartney as his chief of staff when he assumes office on December 1, 2014. McCartney is currently the president and chief executive officer of the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA), a position he has held since 2009."

http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/27329060/governor-elect-ige-appoints-mike-mccartney-as-chief-of-staff

Good pick, McCartney has a wealth of experience.

Also, would anyone here be opposed to this thread becoming a "Hawaii MegaThread"?

[Vega]

Today is Governor Ige's inauguration; I'll be sharing pictures when it kicks off.

[Vega]

Governor Ige being sworn in:



Lieutenant Governor Tsutsui being sworn in:



The Lieutenant Governor giving his Inaugural Speech:



The Governor giving his Inaugural Speech:

[Vega]

Does anyone have any idea what this Ige character believes in?  No one here in Hawaii seems to know anything about him.

He's your standard rank and file Democrat. I think he supported Gay Marriage before it became "cool" to do so. He's a budget wonk, often wanting to spend more on social programs than Abercrombie.

Nothing that notable though.

[Vega]

Does anyone have any idea what this Ige character believes in?  No one here in Hawaii seems to know anything about him.

He's your standard rank and file Democrat. I think he supported Gay Marriage before it became "cool" to do so. He's a budget wonk, often wanting to spend more on social programs than Abercrombie.

Nothing that notable though.

We shall see.  The impression I get from talking to people (many of which are well-connected in the local Democratic party) is that he only won the primary because he wasn't Abercrombie and the general election because of the D next to his name.  No one seems to know anything about him.  I watched some of his tv interviews and he never gives a proper answer to any question (which is rather typical for a Hawaii politician) and he's not particularly articulate either.  I honestly liked Aiona more (for the record I didn't vote this time).

I couldn't agree more on the wait and see opinion you're taking. To be honest, I think that with a lesser candidate, Abercrombie would have won, though.

I lived in Hawaii for about 30 years... Ige was my Senator for 6 of them, he seems nice enough. He's not abrasive like Abercrombie, which will be to his benefit.