Kauai Election 2012 - Council

SUBHEAD: Looking at where the local office race action is in the 2012 kauai County Council election.

By Jonathan Jay on 11 October 2012 for Island Breath -
(http://www.islandbreath.blogspot.com/2012/10/kauai-election-2012-part-1.html)


Image above: Gary Hooser is in real trouble this election. From (http://islandbreath.blogspot.com/2012/08/2012-kauai-primary-election.html).

In order to help in keeping info overload from crunching the voter mind, I think it best to put out 3 separate voter guides:

1 Local Races

2 Ballot Items

3 Oha Race

LOCAL RACES

A.  COUNTY COUNCIL RACE: 
GOAL: A County Council made up of Gary Hooser, Joann Yukimura, Tim Bynum, Kipukai Kualii, Nadine Nakamura, Jay Fufaro, Mel Rapozo.

There are 9 people running for 7 open seats - this means of everyone, ONLY TWO will walk away. Everyone else is IN.

The question is WHICH TWO?

In our minds those TWO should be ROSS KAGAWA and DICKIE CHANG.

In election seasons past, we have talked about voter-dilution and self-canceling  -- even though you have 7 votes, it it best for you NOT to use them all.  To concentrate the impact of your vote, you should vote for no more than 3-4 candidates max.  

So what does the field look like?

From the primary results a couple months back, we can see the  candidates stack up into three distinct groups: 

1. Nadine Nakamura who is in a class by herself, quietly and effectively collecting more than 1,000 votes MORE than any one else in the race 
   
2. Tthose that are solidly in; Jay Furfaro, JoAnn Yukimura, Mel Rapozo, and possibly Ross Kagawa
   
3. And those circling the drain, fighting to be eliminated; Kipukai Kualli`i, Gary Hooser, Tim Bynum, and Dickie Chang.

FOCUSING ON THE FOUR: 
Of all the candidates in the race, who is realistically in danger of being knocked out?  This is what remains to be determined, and this therefore from a tactical perspective, where you votes matter most.

There may be others running you like, but these are the four who are scrapping, and this is the part of the race that is as of yet undecided.  Barring any major upheavals in the race, two of these four gentlemen will likely sit the next two years out.

However, several thousand more voters participate in the general election.  Although it is a longshot, if enough progressive voters concentrate their votes on: KUALI`I, HOOSER, and BYNUM, these three have a chance to leapfrog Ross Kagawa. Then Ross and Dickie could be "on the bench."


Image above: Chart of the results of the 2012 Kauai County Council Primary indicates three of our picks for the council are in deep trouble. Please target your votes for them. Graphic by Jonathan Jay.  

If that 4th vote is still burning a hole in your pocket, I personally recommend a vote for NADINE. Almost just for fun.  There is no chance you will bump any of your other votes out, since she is sure to top the pile.

Plus if she garners 2,000 votes more than any other council member, perhaps she may discover the cohones to CHAIR.  Now, wouldnʻt that be refreshing?  County council meetings that are participatory, well-organized, and effectively run?  Just saying.

CONCLUSION:
VOTING FOR  3: HOOSER, BYNUM, KUALII (some argue that voting for more than your three favorites dilutes your effectiveness in voting.)

But if you choose to VOTE for 4: Add either YUKIMURA or  NAKAMURA

B. COUNTY PROSECUTOR. 
VOTE KOLLAR

According to local media, this one is being billed as the race of the year, but that is at least partially because so many other races were un-opposed.  Suffice it to say, a vote against Shaylene is your best bet here.

What will a KOLLAR administered Office of the Prosecutor look, feel and taste like?  That remains to be seen, but the bad taste Shaylene has left in so many mouths makes no other recommendation possible.

CONCLUSION:
If you think cooking rice is not a crime... Vote KOLLAR for Prosecutor.

See also:
Ea O Ka Aina: Kauai Election 2012 - Part 2 - Charter Update 10/17/12
Ea O Ka Aina: Kauai Election 2012 - Part 3 - OHA Trustee 10/26/12

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