If you believe that our criminal justice system needs an overhaul then Jacquie Esser is your candidate for Honolulu Prosecutor. If you believe that people should not go to jail simply because they are poor and homeless, then Jacquie is someone that you will want to support. If you want a prosecutor who will aggressively go after white-collar crime and political corruption – Jacquie Esser is your candidate.
Honolulu Prosecutor candidate Jacquie Esser can win, but she needs our help today. She is very, very close to making it into the General Election (see Civil Beat Poll). Jacquie has momentum, she has worked very hard to make it this far and needs to push her t.v. advertising just a little bit harder over the next few days. 50 of us giving $100 apiece online TODAY can make a huge difference in this very close race.
Regardless of where you live, if you have the capacity to help – please send something to Jacquie Esser today. She is very close and just needs a little bit more support – from all of us.
Jacquie is the one and only candidate for these times, at this moment. She has been endorsed by Senator Bernie Sanders as well as a wide range of organizations and community leaders.
A friend sent me an email recently asking, “Why Esser over Alm?”
My brief response, “On Judge Alm and Jacquie Esser: My general view of the world at the moment (and not just because of COVID) is one of intense urgency. Esser brings the values, commitment, and energy needed for the moment. Jacquie is actively out in the community every day it seems, sharing her values, plans, and thoughts on criminal justice. I don’t think I have ever seen anything from Judge Alm at all. Perhaps he is not on social media, or maybe because he is the comfortable front-runner he has not been campaigning aggressively – However I would prefer someone with “the eye of the tiger” and not someone comfortable with the status quo. And…I would be less than truthful if I did not say that I find Esser as a woman and someone much younger than Alm…a more refreshing and inspiring candidate. This is coming from a 66-year-old white man 😉 We need to move our state, our country and our world more quickly along that “arc of the moral universe” which is long, but it bends toward justice.” (Dr. King) – and I believe Esser has the “fire in the belly” we need to do this.“
My fellow baby boomers: we have seriously messed up. it’s time to give the next generation a shot at fixing what we broke. Please help Jacquie Esser today if you can.
GaryHooser's Blog 
Once again, a little nudge from you, a little donation from me…sharing this so you know your endless efforts do make a difference Thanks Gary for all you do!
Sent from my iPhone Sharon Douglas
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Thank you Sharon!
For the record I don’t have a horse in this race…yet. This piece is total fluff with no actual substance. Saying “However I would prefer someone with “the eye of the tiger” and not someone comfortable with the status quo. And…I would be less than truthful if I did not say that I find Esser as a woman and someone much younger than Alm…a more refreshing and inspiring candidate. This is coming from a 66-year-old white man.” Really?? So you are saying that your opinion is based on gender, age, and the “eye of the tiger”? Then you qualify your statement by saying you are a “66 year old white man”, like that should be of some relevance. It is thought processes like this that drive me crazy. Wouldn’t your argument be more compelling if you sited actual positions on issues of your candidate vs. the sited positions of their opponent? What should race, age, gender, or some silly “look” have to do with anything, including validating you as the author of this opinion piece. How would you like someone posting hearsay crap about you, basing their opinion on what they “haven’t heard” and based on no credible facts? FYI, if you had done your homework on Judge Alm, you would have known his record on the bench for being fair, compassionate, and caring. Have you ever sat in his courtroom and listened to a case he ruled over? I have. Years ago I popped into Judge Alm’s courtroom one day and had a seat. Unbeknownst to me, Judge Alm was meeting with a long time chronic drug offender. This person had completed the rehabilitation program Judge Alm had sentenced them to (HOPE). They had been successful in not only completing the program but completely turning their life around. They had secured employment, housing, and had stayed clean for 1 year! Judge Alm read these accomplishments like a list of felonies to the open court. He then stood up and applauded this individual along with the entire courtroom. There were a lot of tears shed by everyone in the room. Judge Alm had the choice during sentencing to lock them up and throw away the key. He chose a path of rehabilitation (HOPE Hawaii Opportunity Probation with Enforcement) instead of a path of punishment as he saw this person not as a offender but as a human being in need of compassion and help. What I had seen in his courtroom was not a hearing but more of a graduation ceremony welcoming a former addict offender back into society as a law abiding citizen after completing a life transformation. After witnessing this, I wasn’t totally sold, so I did some research. Did you know that Judge Alm has a long track record for rehabilitating criminals that pass through his courtroom. He indeed was the author of the HOPE program. It has seen many successful graduations like the one I described. Through his deeds he earned my respect.
Again, I don’t have a horse in this race yet. I am still researching the candidates. I will go with the candidate that bests aligns with my values and beliefs. With your platform, could you bring intelligent issue/fact based political commentary vs. fluff and non-fact based information to your pieces? It would be great if you could keep the gender, race, and age crap out of it. SUBSTANCE! SUBSTANCE! SUBSTANCE! If we were all “woke” we would know that being “refreshing” should be based on the substance of our character, evidence of our deeds and actions, and not on the age, gender, or the color of our skin. Those are vehicles that divide us, not unite us. I think you will find that people like me don’t care at all about that crap. We care about who you are and the acts/deeds you do more than anything else.
Thank you for taking the time and the energy to comment. Clearly, this issue is important to you. I stand on my comments and respectfully disagree. I am not sure how to quantify “fire in the belly” or “the eye of the tiger”…I know what those terms mean to me and I believe Jacquie Esser possesses those attributes. To be clear, I do not say nor imply that Judge Alm is not an honorable man. I know also that he has a stellar reputation in the legal community. I do not question his track record, nor his character or integrity. But, I do believe that Jacquie Esser is the best person for this position, at this particular point in time.