FOUR CANDIDATES FOR HAWAI'I MAYOR were guests Thursday on the PBS Hawai'i public affairs program Insights Hawai'i, hosted by Junji De Neis. The program can be watched at https://www.pbs
hawaii.org/primary-election-2024-hawai%ca%bbi-county-mayors-race/.
Friday, Aug. 10 is election day. It is a nonpartisan election. If no candidate wins a majority, there will be a runoff between the top two in the November General Election.
The four candidates are: C. Kimo Alameda, Breeani R. P. Kobayashi, Mitch Roth and Seaula Tupa'i, Jr. The three other candidates, not on the PBS show, are Daniel H. Cunningham, Kavin H. Kahikina and
Yumi T.R. Kawano.
Roth is running for his second term. He is a graduate of University of Hawai'i Manoa with a law degree from Whittier Law School in California. He served for eight years as the elected prosecuting attorney for
Tupa'i, Jr. grew up in California and received a Masters Degree at University of Washington and moved to Hilo in 2007 where he is Senior Pastor of Overcoming Faith Center in Hilo. He ran for Lt. Governor in 2020.
Kobayshi grew up on this island and has a Masters of Business Administration from University of
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| Seaula Tupa'i, Jr. |
Phoenix. She is General Manager of SCT Hilo Hotel, Executive Director of nonprofit Hawai'i Rise Foundation and owner of Keokaha General Store.
She said she wants to be Mayor because change is needed. "The best time for change is immediately, the second best time is now. I'm ready to take on this kuleana. Sometimes you don't get to choose your kuleana...That responsibility and kuleana chooses you. I am ready to take it on."
Alameda said there are 200,000 people on the Big Island so that's 200,000 issues.... they have all kinds of issues. I'm running for the people. We need a little bit more energy, a little bit more outside of the box thinking. He said he has served in state government for 15 years, county government for five years
Tupa'i, Jr. said, "I feel like I'm a change candidate." He said he is
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| Breeani Kobayashi |
Roth reviewed his record and described "some amazing successes." He said homelessness dropped 29 percent, the largest decrease in the state and one of the largest in the country. He pointed to the county building permitting system going from the worst in the country to best in the state. The Mayor said tat affordable housing in the pipeline has gone from about 1,243 to over 8,200 units.
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| Dr. Kimo Alameda |
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| Mayor Mitch Roth |
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| To register to vote of track the ballot go to https://www.elections.hawaiicounty.gov/home-elections. |
HAWAI'I VOTERS CAN ENROLL FOR BALLOT NOTIFICATIONS ahead of the 2024 Elections. Voters who sign-up will be notified about the status of their mail ballot“We encourage all voters to sign up for ballot notifications,” said Chief Election Officer Scott Nago, “this will let voters know when to expect their mail ballot packet to be delivered as well if their voted ballot has been received and accepted for counting.”
Voters have the option to receive alerts by text, email, or a phone message. Once signed up, voters will be notified when their ballot has been mailed and received. Reminders will also be sent to voters to return their ballot as the deadline nears or if there is an issue with their return envelope.
Voters who choose not to sign up for ballot notifications will still be able to track their ballot by going to elections.hawaii.gov or by contacting their County Elections Division.
Hawai'i voters can expect to receive their Primary Election ballot in the mail by July 23, 2024. For official election information, visit elections.hawaii.gov or call (808) 453-VOTE (8683). To register to vote or to sign up to follow the ballot, go to https://www.elections.hawaiicounty.gov/home-elections.
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| Saturday evening view from webcam of upper Southwest Rift Zone of Kīlauea, view is to the south. Image from USGS |
HAWAI'I VOLCANOES OBSERVATORY REPORTS Summit and Upper Rift Zone Observations: Rates of seismicity beneath the summit, upper East Rift Zone, and upper Southwest Rift Zone were slightly elevated over the past day. About 25 earthquakes occurred over the past 24 hours. Earthquakes were mostly located beneath the south caldera region and upper East Rift Zone, at depths of 1.5-3 km (1–1.8 miles), with magnitudes under M2.5. Inflationary ground deformation of the summit continued over the past day. The Uēkahuna tiltmeter northwest of the summit recorded overall inflation of approximately 3 microradians over the past 24 hours. The Sand Hill tiltmeter southwest of the summit recorded approximately 3 microradians of inflation over the past 24 hours. The most recent summit SO2 emission rate measured was approximately 50 t/d on June 10, 2024; accordingly, total SO2 emissions from the summit and recent eruption site are likely less than 200 t/d.
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