BY MARISSA CAPELOUTO – 2012’s Primary Election is here and voting has already begun. While many of you will choose to vote at your neighborhood polling place on August 11th, an increasing number of voters are using absentee ballots or early voting to express their political preferences.
However you decide to vote, the most important thing is that you do cast your ballot. In many ways, 2012 is shaping up to be one of the most important elections of a lifetime. Professional politicians in Hawaii have run out of excuses for the mounting debt, the excessive taxation, and the really poor results we receive from our government. This year, ‘change’ is more than a mere slogan – it’s a dire necessity.
Here in State House District #42, our communities of Makakilo and Kapolei have rightly grown tired of politicians who like to take credit for merely spending other people’s hard-earned money yet refuse to take responsibility for the mess that our State is in. As you may have guessed, I’m referring to the career politician and attorney Sharon Har who has been misrepresenting us in the State Legislature for too long.
Take one look at the shape our economy is in and it’s entirely proper to assign the blame on policymakers at our State Capitol who got us into this mess with misplaced priorities that consistently punish the private-sector job creators while consistently rewarding poor performance by government. In fact, given Rep. Har’s position on the House Finance Committee, there’s no place else to look for the cutting of teacher’s pay, the slashing of the school bus program, and the looming multi-billion dollar crisis with State pensions and benefits which will cripple our economy and strangle education even more.
My own definition of public service is to fix tough problems, not to kick the can down the road while hoping that the chickens never come home to roost. Unfortunately, my opponent seems to believe that we can ignore the ever-worsening statistics which measure the unmistakable lowering of our standard of living and of our quality of life in Hawaii; as if nobody has noticed that unemployment is still rising, foreclosures are still happening at record numbers, and that public education, infrastructure, and our environment keep being shortchanged by sweetheart deals for those with political connections.
As someone who offers ‘citizen representation’ for the Second City and West Oahu rather than the self-dealing and special interest pay-for-play that we’ve gotten used to, I’ve spelled out what I believe are the most important issues of the 2012 election on my website, www.Marissa2012.com, and exactly what I would do if elected. But I can’t help our State Legislature move in a better direction unless I’m elected.
For starters, please kokua by getting to know the candidates in this year’s election and by giving your support to the right people. Your vote is your power. I am confident that your conscience will guide you to select the right people to steer our government and our state through the current economic crisis and fiscal challenges; caring and disciplined leaders who are eager to take responsibility rather than desperate to take credit.
As for my candidacy, if there’s one thing I would like you to remember when you cast your ballot, it’s this: I really want to save you and your family money, while Sharon Har wants to cost you money. That’s the simple difference. That’s the honest truth.
So, this Primary Election, please get our and vote! With your active involvement in the process, taxpayers will be the winners when all the ballots are counted.
Mahalo,
MARISSA CAPELOUTO
Candidate, State House of Representatives (Kapolei/Makakilo)