Maui.vote

Maui government is corrupted.
Hawaii governments in general are more corrupted than the average peer (99% of US governments are, in actual, corrupted; none have to be). This corruption has consequences for all residents, and visitors, less for those who have bought and influenced their government (the special interest groups, large corporations and wealthy). If you pay taxes, your vote does matter. If nothing else, for the value and return on those taxes - your labor and your money. Taking the time to inform yourself about the candidates and the issues, then voting, will have an effect and is valuable. One might say it is the kuleana of pono citizens. Do something, put your head in the sand, or go along with the corrupted system, those are the options before you today.

WE, Maui residents, all live on an island (or three separate ones), literally. This cannot be said about 99% of other governments; we have a unique opportunity to make our lives better by having better local government. By creating a government in OUR image. Especially in our case, literally being on an island, our local (Maui county) government has the most impact on our lives. Hawaii state government is either a close second or equal, and very relevant to these points. The United States Federal Government is exceptionally corruptted, and even worse today, in contempt of the US Constitution, all three branches, but it's impact on your daily life is far less than local and state; I suggest we start changing things locally. Nothing will change upstream until we start here at home. Maui COULD actually be an example for others, that is the opportunity I see. More than just an incredibly beautiful and magical place to exist.

Maui could create, run and operate a government to be proud of, but that would require effort and change.

I saw Bissen's lack of leadership in the days and weeks following the Lahaina fire and I knew I could not vote for him again. His "leadership" was very poor, when he was put to the test. Character and leadership ability, second only to integrity, are critical to the role of Mayor. Or any executive branch role. Executive branch does not make law; they oversee its enforcement, administration. I voted for Bissen in the last election because I thought maybe, due to his history as a judge (judicial branch), maybe he would start to address corruption. I was wrong, he clearly is far more part of that problem than anything else. I have not seen any actions by him that show otherwise -- Bissen has done nothing to reduce or fight corruption locally. Maui government has gotten no better; an argument could be made it's gotten worse.

I suspect we, the United States in general, are in for challenging times in the coming term... your vote matters. It will have consequences. No vote is better than voting for the wrong person.

Voting FOR a person you can see (has already been tested) to be a poor leader, or FOR a person who has poor character, or voting FOR a person who is corrupted (/ shown poor integrity)... is BAD. But it's your vote: do good, do bad or do nothing. Inform yourselves, consider integrity, character and ability, and help everyone build a better government. It's your choice.