Letters to the Editor
Hanabusa is the only demonstrated leader
What have the congressional candidates actually done to show us how they might effectively represent us on the national level?
Ed Case was once the House majority leader, but couldn't retain support for that, so he quit. He never had any other leadership position during his eight years as a legislator.
Matt Matsunaga never had a leadership position, despite being in politics for 10 years.
Colleen Hanabusa served as Senate vice president, co-chair of the Ways and Means Committee and is now Senate majority leader.
Don't be fooled by all of the flashy advertising that always mentions Case's and Matsunaga's ties to the late Sen. Spark Matsunaga. Case says he's not of the "old-boy network," yet he never fails to mention his ties to it. Matsunaga said that he didn't want to rely on his father's reputation, but one just needs to read his advertisements or go to his Web site to see that's not true.
Ask yourself, "What have they, themselves, actually done, rather than just said what they want to do?"
Send someone to Congress with demonstrated leadership ability. Colleen Hanabusa has accomplished the most — relying on her own abilities.
Wade Shimoda
Correction: Democratic congressional candidate Matt Matsunaga has been endorsed by the Hawai'i State Teachers Association. Also, during his time in the state Senate, he served as majority policy leader, a leadership position. Letters published Wednesday suggested that the teachers' endorsement went to another candidate and that Matsunaga had not held a Senate leadership position.
Vote for Case despite lack of endorsements
There are three high-profiled Democrats — Ed Case, Colleen Hanabusa and Matt Matsunaga — competing in the special election Saturday to fill the congressional seat of the late Patsy Mink. There is a clear difference among these three candidates.
Hanabusa has received the endorsement from the teachers union leadership. Matsunaga has received the endorsement from Russell Okata, head of the HGEA. Ed Case has not received any endorsement from union leaders. But this is not to say that the majority of the government workers and teachers follow their union leaders' endorsements.
Linda Lingle and Duke Aiona won without those union endorsements. Matt Matsunaga lost his bid for lieutenant governor even with the HGEA endorsement and his campaigning on the name and legacy of his father, Spark Matsunaga.
Ed Case has never been beholden to the union leaders and special-interest groups. His performance and record in his tenure as a state legislator prove that he has worked hard for all the people of this state. He has been a champion of the working-class people. He will be an outstanding congressman who will fight for Hawai'i's interest and welfare.
I am a long-time HGEA member who has supported the union most of the time. But this time I am supporting Ed Case, who I believe is the most qualified and best person to serve the people in Congress, for the future of Hawai'i, our children and our grandchildren.
Henry Kim
Why hasn't Lingle intervened in strike?
The media have the responsibility to call it like it is. The reason Linda Lingle has not intervened with the nurses' strike is that the pro-business philosophy of her and her party sees skimping on worker benefits as an entirely acceptable way of maximizing profit.
It would have been "Governor refuses to step in despite crisis" on the front page if this were done by the previous governor.
Perhaps The Advertiser is concerned that the working people may realize they are on the losing end of Lingle's "Open for Business" vision for Hawai'i, that her true affiliation is with those who attended the invitation-only inaugural dinner, rather than with those at the inaugural fireworks at the park.
Kaz Minoyama
Wait till honeymoon over before criticizing
In his Dec. 29 letter critical of Linda Lingle's record after one month in office, former Democratic Party Chairman Richard Port displays an arrogant contempt for the cooperation and bipartisanship that will be necessary to turn this state around.
Give it a rest, Dick. After 40 years of your party's control, maybe we should at least give the Lingle administration one legislative session before we castigate her performance.
Robert Chanin
Kailua
Those advocating ban are also selfish
Your Dec. 28 editorial advocating a total ban of fireworks accuses those who support the use of fireworks of being "selfish."
Aren't those who advocate a total ban being equally selfish?
Why don't we just ban having fun altogether and turn Hawai'i into one big old fuddy-duddy home? I'm sure Scrooge would approve.
Bill Nelson
Hale'iwa
