Aloha Friends,

My email is ringing off the hook 😉

Am not sure if you’re too young to remember when phones actually hung on the wall, and when the ear-mouthpiece sections were separate from the main phone?

I digress.

The bottom line is there are tons of legislative “calls to action” going out – so you and I gotta step up the best we can.

I know you’re thinking, “Does it really make a difference?” The short answer is yes. Trust me on this. Yes, even if your email testimony is short, please send it in – and late testimony is better than no testimony at all.

My top priority is Publicly Funded Elections SB1543 and HB967 which have not been scheduled BUT a competing and inferior HB95 has been scheduled for tomorrow Feb. 1 at 2pm. Please submit testimony “comments” on HB95 saying basically thanks but no thanks and ask the committee to instead amend the bill to reflect the contents of HB967 – which is a true publicly funded elections bill.

Read my blog post please: Dancing with the devil…and you will understand better why public funding of elections is so important.

We must have full public funding of elections similar to the Maine and Connecticut system. The Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi supports full public funding of elections and Hawaiʻi Democratic legislators should too.

Also on this same agenda are several “Foley Reform Commission) initiatives including HB89 which “prohibit elected officials as defined in section 11-342(d), HRS, from soliciting and accepting campaign contributions during any regular session or special session of the State Legislature” I encourage you to offer testimony in support of HB89 and to peruse other initiatives on this agenda that may deserve support.

Your testimony in support is also urgently needed for HB444, The Green Amendment – scheduled for Thursday!

There are plenty more bills covering a wide range of topics that need and deserve attention – please don’t count on me to know them all!

So…I’m putting together a list of organizations that cover specific topics (food, agriculture, environment, economic justice, reform etc). I am posting this list on my blog – if there are organizations missing (which no doubt there are) that provide key information on bills and generate “action alerts” on their specific subject matter, please send me the URL and I will update my list.

Maui Heads-Up – A Sleepover For County Council’: Marathon Maui Meeting Raises Concerns About Public Participation “Residents can expect some changes to take effect at the next meeting Friday. Maui residents committed to putting people and the planet ahead of big business and money – should prepare to show up on Friday and support our progressive friends and the hard-fought gains they’ve achieved on the community’s behalf.

Kauaʻi friends who are following the Coco Palms I Ola Wailuanui saga: You might enjoy (in a perverse kind of way) my recap of the recent Planning Commission Meeting. Coco Palms – Pulling Back The Curtain

That’s all I have for today. My apologies if I neglected to dot an i or cross a t or otherwise messed up my grammar or spelling. Am rushing a bit to get this out in time for you to submit testimony on Publicly Funded Elections and other important measures listed above.

Sincerely,

Gary Hooser
http://www.garyhooser.com

* In case you missed my birthday missive (day two was a hard one).