Our political system is full of monsters. There are stupid politicians who roam the island like zombies and never really listen, undead establishment characters who rise from the earth to cling to power, evil sycophants who band together and allow abominations, and donor wizards who manipulate the voodoo dolls of the elect.

Like the monsters that roam door to door on Halloween, however, things aren’t always what they seem. Ghouls in the political system can also be exposed and exposed … that is, if you can defeat the beast that is the Hawai’i Campaign Expenses Commission website.

For our scariest number of the year, we decided this was the perfect task for a bunch of kids like us at MauiTime. We’ve sifted through the top 2018 Campaign Contribution Reports for all council members and mayoral candidates still vying for your vote in the November 6 general election, so you can see who and what at what. stadium, pays to influence the election in Maui County.

If under the mask you just find another monster, remember: the voting booth is your quick fix.

Stanford carrer

Total donations: $ 5,500

Recipients:

Alan Arakawa ($ 2,000)

Riki Hokama ($ 1,000)

Mike Victorino ($ 2,500)

Carr is the chairman of Honolulu-based development firm Stanford Carr Development LLC, which has statewide projects on the Big Island, O’ahu, and Maui. In Maui, Carr’s only active project is Kahoma Village in Lahaina, which includes 102 townhouse units and 20 single-family homes as part of a residential workforce housing program that targets families. earning 80 to 140% of the region’s median income (80% of the AMI for a family of three is $ 77,500). Not that scary, right? Well, some of Carr’s other businesses include luxury developments Wailea Fairway Villas, Wailea Pualani Estates, and Pukalani Fairway Estates. About the Wailea Fairway Villas, the Stanford Carr Development website states, “Built in 1998, the owners live here full-time, part-time, or rent long-term.” Now it’s scary. Additionally, Maui Tomorrow reported that its development in the village of Kahoma has requested 15 (!) Exemptions from county laws governing development, including exemptions from impact fees and grading permit fees. Consider Carr organized a fundraiser for Arakawa that cost $ 1,000 per person at a glamorous Waikiki restaurant, and the connection here is getting downright creepy.

Hawaii Regional Carpenters Council

Total donations: $ 6,000

Recipients:

Stacy Crivello ($ 2,000)

Mike Victorino ($ 4,000)

This is the Hawaiian chapter of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters, a union whose mission is “to be strong with our members and business partners to help them succeed.” UBC education and training advances leadership, skills, quality, productivity, safety and attitude with the goal of creating a constructive culture within the construction industry and providing a competitive workforce to our contractors and owners. I’m not the type to go after unions for no good reason, but it should raise eyebrows to see who this union thinks will do the best to keep builders employed.

Chad S Goodfellow

Total donations: $ 6,500

Recipients:

Yuki Lei Sugimura ($ 1,000)

Riki Hokama ($ 2,000)

Alan Arakawa ($ 1,000)

Mike Victorino ($ 2,500)

Chad Goodfellow is the president of Goodfellow Bros. Inc, a general contractor that operates in North America with offices in Hawai’i, Oregon, Washington and California. The company has more than half a billion dollars in current and future contracts with the county’s engineering department, and it looks like it wants to make big donations to keep the money rolling. Sure, road improvement and drainage projects sound great, but when a company makes its money negotiating million dollar contracts to pave and level the island, you have to ask yourself: what is it? what its president hopes to gain by donating to these politicians, and is this the Maui we want?

Choy shank

Total donations: $ 7,000

Recipients:

Alan Arakawa ($ 2,000)

Riki Hokama ($ 2,000)

Mike Victorino ($ 3,000)

Choy is the vice president of sales for a company called H2O Process Systems, and, boy, if you want to scare yourself, go check out the company’s website… it’s a design from around 2000 that is enough to drive a man crazy. H2O Process Systems is a company specializing in the management of waste and pumps and other associated equipment. In January, the company received $ 93,728 from the county for “Furnishings and Delivery of DOT 8 Sound Attenuation Trailer-Mounted Diesel Pumps” for the Department of Environmental Management. Given the county’s problem with injection wells, one can hope for the best and think that the donations are proof of support for our waste management modernization efforts, not pay-to-play.

Kim Coco Iwamoto

Total donations: $ 7,900

Recipients:

Elle Cochran ($ 2,000)

Trinette Furtado ($ 2,000)

Tamara Paltin ($ 2,000)

Keani Rawlins-Fernandez ($ 1,900)

MauiTime supported Kim Coco Iwamoto in his candidacy for lieutenant governor with the following rationale: “Iwamoto operates on a platform of social justice which is badly needed at a time when the culture of the federal government marginalizes minority groups. Iwamoto has demonstrated that she prioritizes the application of progressive solutions to the causes of living wages, affordable housing, education and the environment. Significantly, she’s ready to say definitively that “one job should be enough” and that preschool through graduate school should be state funded … we think Kim Coco will be the best fit as a lieutenant. -governor to ensure that bold progressive ideals and social justice stay in the conversation and are extended to the public as solutions worth fighting for. “

Our opinion of her has not changed. His donations are only of concern if you consider his efforts to fully fund education, provide affordable housing, impose a living wage, and fight for social justice – in which case, I’m afraid to say, you could be the monster.

Unite here Local Five

Total donations: $ 8,000

Recipients:

Elle Cochran ($ 4,000)

Tamara Paltin ($ 2,000)

Keani Rawlins-Fernandez ($ 2,000)

Unite Here Local Five is a union of hotel and hospitality workers that represents employees statewide. Lately, they’ve been in the news for representing and organizing strikes at Kyo-Ya-owned hotels, including the Sheraton Maui. The union is pushing large hotel companies with the rallying cry “one job is enough” to offer workers better wages and working conditions, and to provide workplace safety measures. Unite Here Local Five’s tactics are expected to scare CEOs like Arne Sorenson of Marriott International, who earned 395 times the median amount of employees in his hotels. For most of us here on Maui, however, Unite Here Local Five is a non-threatening union defending workers’ rights and making sure Maui residents get their fair share of the burgeoning tourism industry.

Hawaii Operations Engineers Industry Stability Fund

Total donations: $ 8,000

Recipients:

Alan Arakawa ($ 1,000)

Riki Hokama ($ 2,000)

Mike Molina ($ 1,000)

Mike Victorino ($ 4,000)

This PAC was formed to fund the interests of Operating Engineers Local 3 in Hawai’i. “From heavy equipment operators and mechanics to surveyors, construction inspectors, road maintenance workers, police officers and other public employees,” the union says on its website, “we represent the men and women who run the plant. ‘economy of this country’. It is therefore a union that relies on continuous development to ensure the job security of its members, but at what cost? Well, the Hawai’i Operating Engineers Industry Stability Fund has supported the plagued rail project in Honolulu and the massive expansion of the Kahului airport. Ouch!

Local 1186 IBEW

Total donations: $ 8,000

Recipients

Alan Arakawa ($ 1,000)

Stacey Crivello ($ 1,000)

Mike Molina ($ 1,000)

Yuki Lei Sugimura ($ 1,000)

Mike Victorino ($ 4,000)

Local 1186 is the local chapter of the National Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, although looking at their website one might get the impression that this is a mustache club (which would also explain the ‘approval of Victorino). Maui’s total membership in the union is 260, making it a relatively small local union chapter, but it still has the wherewithal to support candidates they believe will keep electricians working.

Milton choy

Total donations: $ 9,000

Recipients:

Alan Arakawa ($ 2,000)

Riki Hokama ($ 2,000)

Yuki Lei Sugimura ($ 2,000)

Mike Victorino ($ 3,000)

Milton Choy is another member of the Choy family and an employee of H2O Process Systems, the company awarded $ 93,728 by the county. The Choy family, it seems, are going all out. Liann Choy, listed as company secretary, donated an additional $ 2,000 to Yuki Lei Sugimura, and Lacie Choy donated $ 2,000 to Riki Hokama. Basically the company received almost $ 94,000 and then turned around and donated over 20% of that to political candidates who could help them get more prizes. Interesting. Keep an eye out for this one, especially when County Rewards and Contracts are being awarded.

Shane Victorino

Total donations: $ 10,000

Recipients:

Mike Victorino

OK, Shane Victorino is not a scary monster. In fact, in addition to making Maui proud by killing it in the big leagues, he started a foundation to help underprivileged youth with educational, recreational, and wellness programs. If anything, the real ghoul here is in the details. While candidates for two-year terms (such as council members) are limited by law to $ 2,000 in cumulative donations from a single source and four-year terms (such as mayor) are capped at $ 4,000, Hawaii’s revised statutes provide an exemption for family members to donate up to $ 50,000. So if your family is rich, you are in luck. If you are a grassroots candidate who opposes this type of funding, however, the game is against you. The inequality permitted by law: that is the real horror.

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Where does the money come from?

Cover and infographic design by Darris Hurst

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