Campaigning
on their mindsMud-slinging brings everyone down
Why must political candidates -- our potential leaders -- be so malicious and sling mud at each other?What do our children -- our future leaders -- feel about the ads they hear on the radio, read in the newspapers or see on television? Are we teaching our children that it is OK to dig up dirt and call each other names? Children learn from what they hear and observe.
I'm glad that there are some candidates who campaign with aloha and do not call their opponents names or sling mud. Maybe all of us need to take a big hint from them and let our actions speak louder than our words so our children will grow up the way we want them to.
Michael Tanigawa
Ewa Beach
One-party power bloc must be dissolved
As I ponder readers' letters and op-ed pieces in this paper, it becomes apparent that two grievous distortions of reality are being foisted upon the public. The first is an ongoing perception that today's Republican candidates still represent the imperialistic ambitions of colonial landowners and power brokers of the territorial era. What nonsense!The second distortion involves oblique references to national Republican figures, implying that our state Republican officials will automatically walk in lockstep with elements of the national GOP perceived locally to be extremist. In 1998 it was alarmist images of Newt Gingrich as ultra-conservative nutcase; in 2002 we have alarmist images of President Bush as rabid war monger.
I present just one simple assertion: One-party dominance is detrimental to the greatest good of any citizenry. A long-time dominant political party becomes increasingly unresponsive to the general public, focusing instead on those who help it maintain its power base. That is why I will vote for every viable Republican candidate in the Nov. 5 election.
My choice does not indicate that I think all Republican candidates possess superior ideas or leadership abilities; it simply reflects my conviction that the Hawaii Democratic Party and its candidates will not become responsive to the average Hawaii citizen until their stranglehold on local political power has been broken.
David Kammerer
Laie
Hirono is part of team that failed special ed
The problems special-education teachers face are so severe that the federal courts have had to intervene. Gov. Ben Cayetano and Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono have had eight years not only to improve services for handicapped children but to improve education for all our students. The fact is, the Cayetano/Hirono administration failed. Our education system is in dire need of change and we need leadership with a new attitude.It is simply common sense. If you continue to do things in the same old way, you can expect the same old results. Cleaning up waste, ending corruption and revitalizing the entire state government system are a large part of the answer. Accountability and local decision-making are also important. Locally elected school boards with the power to spend state funds allocated equitably are essential to help those closest to the schools decide how to improve their schools.
High standards for our schools and our students, reduced class sizes and safety are not exclusive to any political party. Please look at the issues and then look at the facts. The Democrats had 40 years to get the job done. Why haven't they? That's why I am voting for Linda Lingle and Duke Aiona.
Carol Seielstad
Special-education teacher
Hanalei, Kauai
Reforming schools is the answer
Shannon Wood, a Board of Education candidate, attempted to "dis" me in the Oct. 24 "Talk Story" column by Star-Bulletin contributing editor John Flanagan. She seems hopelessly wedded to the political status quo that has our public education system rated by national organizations as one of the worst in the nation.I am a proud supporter of charter schools, local decision- making and putting resources and money into the classrooms where the students and teachers so desperately need our help. We have capable children and talented teachers. Wood and those who think like her are part of the problem.
The solution is reform of the school system as I am advocating, not name-calling.
Sen. Fred Hemmings
R, 25th District (Kailua-Waimanalo)
Gabbard knocked on every door
Board of Education candidate Mike Gabbard is a real man of the people. He actually took the time to go door-to-door to 30,000 homes in his district during the past five months. Few elected officials would have taken the time or had the humility to do this.But if they did, I am sure that people would feel that their interests were being better represented in government. We need more elected officials who really care what people think and are willing to take the time to listen.
Taylor Harvey
Lingle acts cagey on gasoline-price cap
Linda Lingle talks about corruption in Hawaii. She preaches fairness and respect to all, yet said she will try to repeal the gasoline-price cap law if she is elected governor. I have been fighting for fair gasoline pricing in Hawaii since 1997. Attempts by myself and others to contact the Lingle camp to discuss this matter have gone unanswered.Since 1998, internal oil company documents and depositions of oil company employees prove that the people of Hawaii were being ripped off and deceived by the oil companies. A recent study by two accounting professors show possible tax evasion by Chevron/Texaco and pricing schemes that inflated prices for oil used by the Hawaii refineries.
Key campaign supporters of the Lingle camp know who I am and know I represent the truth. Why doesn't Lingle want to deal with the truth? All my testimonies at the Legislature in regard to gasoline pricing have been substantiated by documents in the state's antitrust lawsuit.
I love Hawaii and its people and I have made great sacrifices to represent the welfare of our state. I question the integrity of Lingle's "New Beginning" agenda and I wonder if this is just another scam at the expense of the people.
Frank Young
Former Chevron dealer
Kaunakakai, Molokai
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