Political File
News, notes and anecdotes on
government and politics
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STAR-BULLETIN / APRIL 2006
The North Shore's Jack Johnson has recorded an ad urging a yes vote on a city charter amendment.
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Musician pitches recycling
Associated Press
Grammy-nominated musician Jack Johnson has recorded a 30-second song urging listeners to vote yes on a Honolulu charter amendment creating curbside recycling on Oahu.
The Sierra Club Political Action Committee paid for the ads to be aired during drive times on Honolulu radio station KSSK.
"Reducing the amount of opala we send to our landfill is important to me," says Johnson, using the Hawaiian word for garbage. "Convenient curbside recycling will make it easy for residents to do the right thing."
The North Shore resident has long been an advocate of recycling. He and his wife, Kim, founded the Kokua Hawaii Foundation to support environmental education. And Johnson frequently visits local schools to promote recycling.
According to the Sierra Club Hawaii, 83 million pounds of recyclable material have gone into Oahu's Waimanalo Gulch landfill since the island's curbside recycling plan was scrapped a year ago.
Abercrombie expects gavel: Heading into tomorrow's elections, Rep. Neil Abercrombie says he's confident he'll be re-elected to a ninth full term against a little-known Republican candidate.
The race for Hawaii's 1st Congressional District has gone by virtually unnoticed this election year, with no debates or TV ads for either Abercrombie or his rookie opponent, Richard Noah Hough.
"I haven't been campaigning as intently as I would in other circumstances, but that speaks to the caliber of my opposition," Abercrombie said Monday. "I'm not obligated to do the Republican Party's campaigning for them."
Abercrombie, 68, says he's been making speeches to rotary clubs and political groups as well as appearing on behalf of other Democratic candidates.
Hough, who served with the Army in Iraq and Bosnia, faced a steep uphill climb from the start.
In addition to Abercrombie's advantages of incumbency and name recognition, Abercrombie also raised more than $1 million for his re-election, compared with Hough's $17,000.
Hough, 35, is still sign-waving on the streets of Honolulu, but he sees the writing on the wall. He anticipates returning to active duty with the Army for a deployment to Afghanistan next year.
"I'm not some cuckoo who decided to run one day. I had some strong positions outlined and a good head on my shoulders," Hough said.
If Abercrombie returns to Congress, he anticipates that his seniority will land him the chairmanship of an armed services subcommittee if the Democrats take over a majority in the House of Representatives. That kind of responsibility would give Abercrombie more leverage to call for troop withdrawals from Iraq.
Abercrombie also said he would continue to push for a rail transit line on Oahu.
"It's not as if I'm an unknown quantity," he said. "My reputation is one of candor and clarity."