All hands on deck.
As expected the power and political muscle of A&B will not easily be letting go of their $62,000,000 and our water.
“Some senators want to help A&B. Now, sources say leadership in the House of Representatives is pressuring their counterparts in the Senate to force a floor vote on the bill Tuesday.”
Yes, this is an outrageous attempt to subvert the process and put the interests of the moneyed and the powerful ahead of the public.
Pulling a matter out of committee to force a floor vote is an extraordinary tactic that I have seen attempted only once in the 8 years I served in the Hawaii State Senate.
Extreme pressure is now being put on each and every Senator to “toe the line” with the House and Senate leadership who desire to pass HB1326 HD2, and support A&B.
You can be sure there threats of retribution against those who oppose this and who intend to vote NO, and the fear of that retribution is strong among some in the Senate. They fear losing bills, losing CIP (money for projects in their district), and possibly even losing their committee chairmanships.
I believe the Senate is better than this. When I first got elected in 2002, I will never forget the wisdom of Senator Les Ihara who mentored me at the time. Senator Ihara told me that there were two types of decision making – integrity based decision making and fear based decision making.
Interestingly enough, I have found that integrity based decision making is the easiest, you simply listen to your na’au, your inner core. Then you are sure to always wake up the next morning being proud of who you are.
On Tuesday all of Hawaii will bare witness to what truly drives the Hawaii State Senate. Is it integrity or is it the fear generated by the demands of special interest and big money?
Please call YOUR SENATOR today, (yes again it is today when we need your help) and tell them politely and professionally, but directly – that we are tired of the games and power plays being made on behalf of big money special interest.
We have 13 friends in the Senate, of this I am sure. Please ask your Senator if he or she is one of those 13 friends, willing to vote NO on HB1326 HD 2. If so, please Mālama them! If not call them back tomorrow with the same question.
The battle for water is really about integrity. It’s that simple.
Please, call your Senator today. On the weekend, you will likely get voice mail and that is ok. Remember – polite, professional and firm. Please also send an email. All contact information is here.
Your Senator, the Senator who represents you and the district you live in, is the most important person to contact. Yes, reach out to others also if you can, but the most important person for you to connect with is the Senator who represents YOU.
With deep aloha to all,
Gary Hooser http://www.garyhooser.com
Join us on Tuesday, April 9 at 9:30am in the capitol rotunda as we rally to #freethestreams ahead of Tuesday’s floor session. Details HERE.
More background and email links can be found here:
Wai For All – Free The Streams-
GaryHooser's Blog 
Enough cajoling special interests and inept corporate welfare that is limited to facilitating plundering of ressources, racketeering tax payers
To each you, please remember that we are watching your every move and we vote. There’s very little trust left in our political and judicial system. Your wheeling and dealing behind closed doors is not acceptable.
Reblogged this on Dawn Morais and commented:
When business cannot be trusted to do the right thing, we have to ensure government intervenes to protect the public, not corporate interests. The courts have told A & B that they had no right to sell water that was not theirs in the first place. These repeated attempts to get around that ruling through the legislature are obscene. As Senator Kahele pointed out: A&B….should have had no right to put the public’s trust resources in your contract…those waters, those rivers were not yours to put in your contract, and that is not this legislature’s kuleana to get involved in that transaction.”
But A & B seems determined to keep trying. So, if you have not got involved yet, please do.
Please email or call your senator and ask them to kill HB 1326 HD2.
Mahalo for the update. I will address our Senatores regarding this Bill.
Thank you!
Thank you Gary,
I’ve shared this blog with many today!
Who are the 13 Senators committed to killing HB 1326?
Thank you for your spot-on coverage on this!
David Hunt, Honokaa
This is a good question and a moving target. HB1326 HD2 is a specific measure that we want killed. Some Senators are open to amending the bill to take A&B out of it, which to many would be an acceptable outcome, however depending on the final language still may not go far enough. I hesitate to name names at this point as I do not want to put words into the mouths of any senator, or violate the confidence they have placed in me. Senator Kahele and Senator Riviere have both made very public statements in opposition to HB1326 HD2. Many other Senators have made private statements to me, and many have done the same to their constituents. It is safe to say we have a list of over 13 Senators who have said directly in public or private, via email or in person, that they will vote no on any bill that includes the provisions of HB1326 HD2 or similar. Some of these on the list are as we say “squishy” and their commitment may be “qualified”…etc. We continue to ask residents to contact their own district Senator and find out if they are in the yes or no column on HB1326 HD2.