This election had it all … smear tactics, fear-mongering, blind hope, blind ambition, pure genius and election night trash-talking. It was entertaining to hear freshly re-elected Kaua‘i County Councilmember Mel Rapozo on election night blaming “the newspaper” for Kaipo Asing’s
This election had it all … smear tactics, fear-mongering, blind hope, blind ambition, pure genius and election night trash-talking.
It was entertaining to hear freshly re-elected Kaua‘i County Councilmember Mel Rapozo on election night blaming “the newspaper” for Kaipo Asing’s poor showing at the polls. The reasons Rapozo gave for Asing’s lower numbers were “erroneous reporting and dirty politics.”
As we neared the election the tired message Rapozo seems to trot out at every council meeting about the “pathetic local media coverage” had quieted to a low din. But the “newspaper” Rapozo was referring to election night “caused,” in his estimation, the dip in Kaipo’s numbers. Rapozo’s silence over the last few weeks seemed to imply improved relations between local media and the councilmember.
Congratulations on your re-election, Mel — we look forward to the next two years and hope the newspaper you were referring to wasn’t The Garden Island.
Kaipo Asing sounded morose on election night, but wasn’t willing to blame “the newspaper” for his numbers at the polls. After all he is still on the council. Asing made great strides in improving relations with The Garden Island in the weeks leading up to the election. That gesture was greatly appreciated and we hope to continue an open line of communication with Asing. Congratulations, Kaipo, and thanks for the visit.
JoAnn Yukimura and Shaylene Iseri-Carvalho are bright spots in the county political community. They have remained open to questions and are regularly willing to explain issues and clear up misunderstandings without being defensive or going on the attack.
Congratulations, JoAnn and Shaylene, may our coverage continue to improve with your willingness to work with us.
Tim Bynum, congratulations. We appreciate your time before the election to answer our questions and hope you are willing to share the important work you do on the council with our readers by educating us so that we in turn can educate the public.
Ron Kouchi, congratulations. You have been willing to comment in the past about your stand on the issues and though a community group used your name in one of their advertisements without your approval, you did not attack The Garden Island and in fact utilized the paper to disseminate a message of your disapproval.
Jay Furfaro, congratulations. You have been fair with us and have offered your expertise for many of the stories on the pages of this publication. Not too long ago one of your commentaries graced the Forum page of The Garden Island. You seem willing to parrot the attacks on the media done in open session of council meetings, but only when the others are already well on the way to cooking up a good rant.
As the only newspaper in this community with a displayed willingness to venture into controversial issues, we expect the feedback, both positive and negative. If we can ask for local government and the community to be open to our efforts, it will truly benefit us all.
Ignorance can only be lessened through knowledge.
