Follow the law
Regarding the ballot printing mistake (in which Mitt Romney is listed before President Obama) … we live in a state with laws.
Should we uphold our laws or bypass them when it’s inconvenient to uphold them? Someone made a BIG mistake on the printed ballots, and others, who should have been checking for mistakes, were apparently asleep at the wheel.
Thanks to our Hawaii County clerk for acknowledging that someone at the state level made this error, and that it should be fixed.
The “hang loose, no problem” guys are saying this error is of no consequence, and perhaps they are correct — this time. But to let an error like this stand once creates a precedent which will have consequences at a future time.
And, again, the content of this ballot is against the law. Hawaii statutes demand that the ballots be printed correctly, with all candidates listed in alphabetical order. If it were up to me, the financial responsibility for the error and the cost of fixing it would be with the person(s) charged with assuring that our ballots are printed correctly.
But we all know that no bureaucrat will ever feel enough shame to correct his or her own costly mistake, so you and I, as taxpayers, will pay for fixing it, because it must be fixed if we are a state of laws.
Francine Pearson
Hilo
Shake up HEI
I am wondering why we as rate-payers must pay for some other business to sell HELCO energy. Oh, and who pays for the full-page ads? Perhaps it is time for a statewide shake-up of HEI, as Kauai seems much better off with a co-op.
Kevin Bradley
Hawaiian Paradise Park
Lingle is independent
It is well known that Linda Lingle is “pro-choice” — in contrast to the national Republican Party, which is “pro-life.” This simple fact disproves the false allegations of desperate Democrats claiming that Lingle is not independent and will always toe the party line.
On Nov. 6, voters will get to choose between an independent-minded moderate Republican and a left-wing Democrat whose socialist views are so extreme that she voted against the free-trade agreement with South Korea, and therefore against the interests of the farmers and agricultural industry of Hawaii, unlike the other Democrats in Hawaii’s congressional delegation.
Ben K. Azman
Hilo
Enough sign-waving
I’ll vote for whoever sign-waves at me least. Is governance a popularity contest?
Paul booth
Hilo
