Mayor's decision opens door for others

Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their party. Although surprised and shocked by the sudden abandonment of the governor's race by Mayor Jeremy Harris, Hawaii's Democratic Party should take advantage of this opportunity. It should encourage more viable candidates to run for the governor's office to ensure the voters that at least a few of the candidates are persons of wisdom and compassion, immersed in the democratic ideals of social equality and justice.

The party may consider this request to be unfair to existing candidates, but I would like to see Matt Matsunaga join the Democratic race for governor.

Richard Will

State lost chance to have great governor

My heart goes out to Mayor Jeremy Harris and his family. They have been through so much during the past year. It's no wonder he bowed out of the governor's race. Who could blame him? Our state is the big loser for he would have made a great governor.

C. Uyehara

Fellow Democrats didn't defend Harris

Hawaii's Democrats have cheated the public of the most promising and intelligent candidate for governor. For reasons that have not yet been exposed to us, Democratic leaders sat in silence as frontrunner Jeremy Harris was attacked and called a criminal by members of his own party.

First, they allowed the public to believe without question the charges against Harris from Robert Watada, executive director of the Campaign Spending Commission.

Second, Democrats said nothing when Harris was attacked for events such as Brunch on the Beach program, which some saw as an attempt to use public money for his own self-promotion. This is a ridiculous point, simply because all good deeds of any politician are driven by desire to be loved and re-elected.

In this sense, the only thing that matters is whether a politician uses the cash we give him to improve public space and public morale. And no one has done more than Jeremy Harris in that respect.

If the Democrats lose the election to the Republicans, it certainly isn't because Harris is a quitter. It it simply due to the fact that the members of the Democratic Party failed to put up any sort of defense for a man who was clearly the best thing that they had going for them.

Cindy Mackey
Hawaii Kai

It took courage to drop out of race

Where is it written that well-qualified candidates can't reassess their candidacies for one office or another based on all relevant factors?

While I feel sorry for other affected office seekers, I'd rather see a flexible candidate with enough common sense and courage to change his or her mind than those who doggedly seek an office in a Harold Stassen-mindset when it appears the deck is stacked against him for whatever reason.

Rick De Freitas

When going got tough, Harris bowed out

When we were keikis, we had a name for Jeremy Harris "kine" -- chicken! And that's how we will think of him from now on.

Sherrie Miller
Kaneohe

Hawaii's taxes aren't excessive

The article "Some thrive in Hawaii's business climate" (Star-Bulletin, May 20) recounts the long-held myths of the Forbes magazine about high taxes, unions, health insurance and environmental laws. To Forbes, "business in Honolulu has become nearly equivalent to suicide."

In that article, Sam Slom claims that "successful businesses such as (Thanh Quoc) Lam's Ba-Le chain are the exception rather than the rule." That claim was contrary to the views of Lam, who recently was honored as the national small business person of the year.

If Forbes and Slom are correct, why would Nieman-Marcus, Macy's, Nordstrom, Home Depot, Wal-mart, Sam's Place, Costco, Best Buy and others be opening big stores in Hawaii? Apparently, they see good economic opportunity, rather than suicide, in Hawaii.

Also ridiculous in the Forbes-Slom hokum is their "high-tax" myth. According to the national publication State Rankings (Morgan Quito), Hawaii ranks No. 22 in the nation in total state and local taxes.

As a legislator, Slom should know that our city taxes are the lowest in the nation. That's because our cities don't pay for schools, as they do in other states. In Hawaii, spending on public schools takes one-third of state revenues. Adding state and city spending in Hawaii makes per capita taxes just about average in the United States. These are facts, not myths.

Jerome G. Manis

November will offer votes many choices

With so many offices open this coming elections, there is a golden opportunity for those who are eligible to register and vote. And the registered voters who did not participate in the last election should do so this time around. In November we'll be electing:

>> Two congressmen
>> Governor
>> Lieutenant governor
>> 25 state senators
>> 51 state representatives
>> All nine Honolulu City Council members
>> Six Board of Education members
>> Five Office of Hawaiian Affairs members

Remember, the primary election is Sept. 21, and the general election is Nov. 5.

Roy E. Shigemura

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