GaryHooser's Blog

After many conversations with advocates and friends across the archipelago and across the entire “issue spectrum,” the Pono Hawaii Initiative (PHI), will be embarking on a new more aggressive “strategy for change” in 2021.

In short, we will be proactively engaging in direct communication with the constituents of key policymakers who are preventing progressive public policy initiatives from moving forward.

This will be done via targeted social media and “district-specific” direct mail.

As is too often the case, individual legislators who occupy key positions, block or kill important initiatives by refusing to schedule an item for a hearing and/or avoiding an actual vote by utilizing the committee strategy of bill deferral.

Legislators are most sensitive to those constituents who live and vote in their district. Our goal is to deliver compelling messages directly to these constituents via targeted social media and direct mail. The intent of the messaging will be to educate these constituents on the issue and motivate them to contact their legislators directly.

If a legislator is blocking a discussion on an important issue by refusing to schedule it for a public hearing or killing initiatives without a public vote – their constituents deserve to be informed of this in a timely manner. Likewise, if a legislator is pushing to reduce worker rights, cut social services or weaken environmental protections – their constituents deserve to know this as well.

Purchasing targeted social media is relatively inexpensive and a budget of only $500-$1,000 focused on one issue and one or two zip codes will go a long way. To design, print, and mail a targeted post-card to a legislative district cost $3,500 to $5,000 but mailers have a longer shelf life, can hold more information, and are guaranteed to reach every single home in the district.

To make this happen, we need your help. Our goal is to raise $36,000 via online contributions prior to January 1. If you can help today with an online contribution it would be hugely appreciated. Whether the amount is $20, $200, or $2,000 all are welcome and much needed. https://secure.everyaction.com/5LWqPJUnuU-BFdjqy9ccbQ2

Or visit: https://ponohawaiiinitiative.org

Because PHI is a 501c4 nonprofit involved in education, advocacy and in electoral politics – contributions are NOT Tax Deductible. It goes without saying that we are hopeful that the impact of constituent outreach made in 2021 surrounding issues, will carry over to the elections of 2022.

PHI runs on a very tight budget. During the end of the year, the budget is inevitably even tighter, so your help today and prior to January first is important. Contributions may be made online or by mail at:Pono Hawaii Initiative, P.O. Box 871, Honolulu, HI 96808.
https://secure.everyaction.com/5LWqPJUnuU-BFdjqy9ccbQ2

In the interest of full transparency: The entire 2020 annual PHI budget was approximately $42,000. The majority of funds are used for communications, research, admin support, legal, software, email support, and travel (pre-Covid inter-island). As the Executive Director, I was paid approximately $17,000 by PHI during this past year. I love what I do and am thankful for the opportunity to be able to do this work.

Many of you have given in the past to PHI, and also have made contributions to our endorsed candidates and related causes – Please know your help is valuable and deeply appreciated.

PHI will continue its aggressive advocacy in support of positive progressive legislation at the State and County levels during the coming year. To increase the effectiveness and strength of our collective voices, your help, and active participation is essential.

To all who offer help and support in so many ways, please know that my door is always open should you wish to talk or collaborate on projects of mutual interest. Of course “my door is always open” is a metaphor for “call, text, email or Zoom anytime” 😉

Sincerely,

Gary Hooser – http://www.garyhooser.com
Executive Director
Pono Hawaii Initiative

Budget Note: The target amount to be raised, $36,000 will be allocated as follows: $10,000 toward PHI’s basic first-quarter expenses and $26,000 for the target communications described above – ($10,000 for a strong and targeted social media push and $16,000 for at least 4 targeted district mailers).

We are only two U.S. Senate seats away from breaking the gridlock “do nothing” status quo in Washington. January 5, 2021 is the magic day. It’s possible, that if we all push very hard over the next few weeks, we can on that day send U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell and his regressive majority packing. If we pull together, focus on Georgia and help elect Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, systemic change for the better will be at our fingertips.

A Democratic in the White House and a Democratic majority in the U.S. House and Senate opens the door for expanded health care protections, a phased-in $15 federal minimum wage, a massive job-creating Green New Deal that will rebuild long-neglected public infrastructure and drive innovation, and much more. Please join me today in helping these two exceptional candidates win in Georgia by donating online to each – https://warnockforgeorgia.com and https://electjon.com

As labor unions and progressives take turns pounding on Governor Ige for his decision to furlough public workers, Hawaii’s legislative leaders watch safely and ever so quietly on the sidelines.

House Speaker Saiki, House Finance Chair Sylvia Luke, Senate President Kouchi, and Senate Ways and Means Chair Donovan Dela Cruz could fix the problem if they wanted to.

But yet they stay quiet, hiding in the politically safe space wedged between support and opposition. Like so often is the case, they straddle the middle ground while wringing their hands and bemoaning the situation.

One would think that someone at the top in the House or Senate would have said by now, “Not on my watch.” But instead, all we get are crickets.

The legislature has both the responsibility and the legal authority to change the tax laws and raise the funds needed to protect these workers and the valuable services they provide.

The reality is they should have called for a special session months ago in anticipation of the budget and other emergency needs brought about by COVID.

Fortunately, some individual legislators have begun to speak out opposing the proposed furloughs and the accompanying austerity mindset. House/Senate leadership however has remained silent preferring it seems to watch the Governor twist in the wind, sidestepping their responsibility and framing the issue as one that’s between the governor and the unions.

If our legislative leadership continues to remain silent, they are as much to blame for the furloughs as the governor. If they support and value public workers, they should say so, and announce now their willingness to increase revenue and avoid furloughs.

Cutting valuable public services to balance the budget is a bad idea. Anyone thinking this can be accomplished without negative tangible impacts to health, environment, and education is fooling themselves.

We are talking about the men and women who protect our health and environment, process our permits, clean our parks, pave our roads, and provide essential social services to the neediest in our community.

Teachers are included in these furloughs. Teachers are already woefully underpaid. We ask them to put themselves in COVID high-risk situations teaching our keiki in person. Then we ask them to learn a whole new way of teaching electronically. Because of their dedication and commitment, they do it all and more, and now this is how we show our appreciation?

Our children need more teachers in the classroom, not less. Our economy depends on government civil service workers to process professional and construction permits and applications. Health and environmental protection require people to do the testing and reviews needed to ensure safety.

The convenient sound-bite of “Everyone must be willing to sacrifice a little,” ignores the fact that when public workers are furloughed that “sacrifice” is magnified and reverberates through all sectors of society as necessary services are reduced or eliminated.

Cutting the days on the job by approximately 10% means a reduction in services by an equal amount. As we exit the pandemic, we need our government services infrastructure more than ever to be up to full speed or better.

There are MANY ways to raise the revenue needed, but all require legislative action and cannot be accomplished by the governor alone.

For starters, here are 8 different funding options from the Hawaii Budget and Policy Center that could easily close the gap in funding being used to justify public employee furloughs. (https://www.hibudget.org/blog/eight-progressive-ways-to-raise-revenue-hawaii-covid-19) These new funding sources total over $600 million and none of these funding options significantly impact middle or low-income local residents.

In addition to these 8, there are many more possible funding sources that could be added to the list, not the least of which are cannabis and the Hawaii Tourism Authority.

The legalization of cannabis for responsible adult use generates $300 million annually in tax revenue for Colorado. For Hawaii’s legislative leadership to continue delaying what most believe is inevitable is beyond comprehension.

The $100 million budget of the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) must also be put on the chopping block. State Funds derived from the transient accommodations tax (TAT) should be used to support public services and public workers. The Hawaii Tourism Authority provides many valuable services, however, tourism marketing money should come directly from the industry that benefits. #defundHTA

The Governor cannot make any of these 10 ideas a reality on his own. He doesn’t have the power to actually introduce and pass legislation. Only the legislature can do this.

While awaiting the implementation of these various revenue measures, the Federal Reserve is an available source for super low-interest borrowing of up to $2.13 billion.

The 2021 legislative session will soon be upon us. Unfortunately, legislative leaders are already telegraphing a fear-driven “austerity mindset” indicating that “tightening the belt” is in order. While the rich on Wall Street get richer and local real estate booms with prices at an all-time high – our legislative leadership tells the rest of us to suck it up and tighten our belts.

There are many paths to increased abundance for all of us and our State Legislature needs to begin thinking with that goal in mind. The time of the pandemic will soon pass and the pent-up demand will cause our economy to come roaring back.

We need our legislative leaders to rise to the occasion and start putting working people, public and private, first on the agenda.

Seems so obvious but to my friends who are thinking about running for election, please remember that elections are decided by the people who show up at the polls.

According to the Office of Elections, there were 832,466 Hawaii residents registered to vote in 2020. 579,165 or 69.6% of those people actually voted.

What do those 579,165 voters actually look like?

According to national statistics, the most reliable voter is over 65 years old with 64% of them voting on a regular basis. Those 45 to 64 years vote 55% of the time.

In the middle of the voting pack, are predictably those also in the middle of the age groups: Those 35 to 44 years old have a voting rate of 44%.

The least reliable voter is 18 to 24 years old, with only 30% of them taking the time to show up on election day. The millennials in the 25 to 34-year-old group are at 37%.

*source U.S. News and World Report (link)
https://money.usnews.com/money/retirement/aging/articles/why-older-citizens-are-more-likely-to-vote

Ok. We know now that a majority of people who vote are not young people. But what else do we know about the people that vote?

The U.S. Census Bureau says that “eligible voters” in Hawaii are:

* 40.0% Asian, 27.5% White, 19.1% two or more races, 9.2% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, 8.8% Hispanic or Latino, 2.1% Black or African American,, 0.0% Native American or Alaska Native

Source: Slacker (link) https://nptelegraph.com/news/voter-demographics-of-every-state/collection_f38c7a0a-6009-59a8-99b3-d8781fbb9a67.html#1

The conclusion, which of course every person who holds elective office already knows, is that older voters of Asian descent are a critically important voting group in almost every district in the State of Hawaii.

A greater more important conclusion is that in general, no candidate can win election with only a narrow “base,” whether it be by “issue” or age, ethnic or other demographic – as no base is large enough (by definition 50% plus one voter). The exception to the rule is when there is a “crowded primary” with no clear front-runner, but that anomaly is for a future discussion.

Many candidates are often focused on a “single-issue” or perhaps a handful of issues. They are passionate about and perhaps even an expert on “their issues”, but often “their issues” and those issues most important to the district in which they hope to be elected, are different. The candidate may lay awake at night thinking about environmental protection, while the voters in their district may only think about the horrendous traffic they have to face the next morning.

For candidates, the challenge is always about expanding their base, and the first step is understanding the demographics of the district. The second is stepping out of one’s comfort zone and engaging with people who are not your “natural constituent” or from the same demographic group.

The only real way for a candidate to expand their reach into the variety of voting blocks necessary to win most elections in Hawaii is to reach out and engage in face-to-face conversations. While in the time of COVID this has been a challenge, during a normal election this translates to ole fashion door-to-door campaigning.

When a candidate knocks on a door, introduces themselves and actually LISTENS to a voter, the impact is huge. When a candidate comes back a second time and actually remembers the voter’s name and the issue that is important to them, he or she will most certainly gain the support and vote of that person.

A thoughtful, long-term and persistent door-to-door campaign can overcome all obstacles. If a candidate is authentic in their passion to serve, demonstrates basic competence on the issues, and is willing to actually get out in the community and connect with people outside their own bubble – they can win.

Final election tip of the day: Do not fall into the trap of thinking aggressive use of social media is going to get you elected, or that it reaches “everybody” because it won’t, and it doesn’t.

According to Pew Research 2019 data:
Only 70% of Americans use social media to connect with one another, engage with news content, share information and entertain themselves.
Only 40% of those over 65 years old use social media regularly
Source: https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/social-media/