BY MALIA ZIMMERMAN – Hawaii Reporter has obtained an audio copy of a “push poll” targeting Mayoral Candidate Ben Cayetano.
During a nearly 10-minute call, the pollster, who works for the Idaho-based Mountain West Research Center, is planting negative information about Cayetano, while promoting Kirk Caldwell, the city’s former managing director who is Cayetano’s opponent in the upcoming Honolulu mayor’s race.
Here is an excerpt that comes half way into the call:
“Here are a few statements – or three statements – that supporters have made about Kirk Caldwell for mayor. After I read each statement, just indicate whether this statement is convincing, somewhat, a little or not at all a convincing reason to you to support for Kirk Caldwell.
“Kirk wants our city government to provide better service to residents. He will replace aging water systems and sewer systems on time and on budget, fix pot holes, and make sure on time and more often, he will cut wasteful programs and develop more efficient ones. Is this a convincing, somewhat, a little or not at all a convincing reason to you to support for Kirk Caldwell?
“Kirk has worked with Honolulu’s emergency responders and knows what it takes to keep people safe. … As mayor, he will extend Honolulu’s policing program and make emergency services more cost effective in addition to providing faster response time. He has the support of police and fire fighters.
“Cayetano, however, whether this statement is true or not sir, Cayetano, however, pardoned more criminals than any other governor in the past quarter century, including many violent criminals. Is this a convincing, somewhat, a little or not at all a convincing reason to you to support for Kirk Caldwell?
“A woman in Waipahu and man in Hilo said Kirk has the integrity to be our mayor ….while Ben Cayetano has been involved with ‘Pay to Play.’ He was a successful businessman, worked with Sen. Daniel Inouye, and served as managing director and acting mayor of Honolulu ….
“Cayetano, on the other hand, whether this statement is true or not sir, took over $100,000 in contributions, illegal campaign contributions.
“Is this a convincing, somewhat, a little or not at all a convincing reason to you to support for Kirk Caldwell? …
Even when the person being polled said he supports Cayetano, the pollster continues to convince him to vote for Caldwell.
“I know sir that you said you are not going to support … vote for Caldwell, but just allow me to read the statements, the final statements I have for you. What do you find the most convincing as the reason to vote Kirk Caldwell for mayor?
“Kirk Caldwell has the support of public safety while Cayetano pardoned more criminals than any other governor; Kirk will make government services more efficient, while the governor has laid off public workers and cut services, Kirk has the support of Sen. Inouye, while Cayetano took illegal contributions. …
“I know, sir, you are for Ben Cayetano, but somehow I know this study we are conducting is asking what you believe, but actually sir, these are statements that are actually against him.”
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This is at least the third round of push polls levied against Cayetano this election season. The push poll is conducted on behalf of Pacific Resource Partnership, Cayetano told Hawaii Reporter in an earlier interview.
With billions of dollars at stake, Pacific Resource Partnership (PRP Hawaii) and its affiliate, the Hawaii Carpenters Union, have stepped their efforts to ensure political candidates who oppose the city’s 20-mile elevated steel rail system are not elected on November 6.
Cayetano is the primary target, because he promised to kill the pricey and controversial rail project if he is elected.
“PRP is following the same dirty tactics it used against me in the primary election,” Cayetano told Hawaii Reporter.
“‘Push polls’ require first fooling the listener into believing the poll is legitimate and once the listener is hooked, the pollster asks loaded questions designed to spread rumors and falsehoods about the opponent,” Cayetano added.
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Mountain West Research said on its web site it is a “data collection company specializing in collection of primary data for market research companies” …. through “web Surveys, Interactive Voice Response (IVR) surveys, Computer Aided Telephone Interviewing (CATI) surveys and Multi-Modal Surveys.” But the company has received negative publicity around the country for its unconventional tactics.
America’s Watch Tower reports the “Mountain West Research–a group conducting polling for the Paul Hodes campaign–was fined $20,ooo for conducting this push poll ending once and for all the false notion that Paul Hodes was simply conducting “market research” and proving that his campaign was actually engaged in an illegal push poll against Kelly Ayotte.”
Mother Jones published an article about Mountain West Research in 2010, saying Western Wats and the Mountain West Research Center have popped up regularly during competitive election seasons—frequently in conjunction with push-poll allegations.
“In 2006, democratic Senate candidate Ned Lamont’s campaign reported that supporters had gotten push-polled by Mountain West during his primary challenge against Democrat Joe Lieberman. Western Wats also surfaced in the Vermont Senate campaign that year, tied to negative calls against the Senate’s only bona fide socialist, Bernie Sanders. But Western Wats really made news in 2008, when it was identified as the firm behind calls to voters in New Hampshire suggesting that Mitt Romney had dodged the Vietnam draft by serving as a Mormon missionary in France. The campaign behind those calls was never identified, though Rudy Giuliani was the leading suspect. (Ayotte, as attorney general, was charged with investigating the allegations.)
The Mother Jones article adds: “That’s not all: some of those calls in previous years may have been made by underpaid children. In April, Western Wats settled a complaint with the US Department of Labor for serious violations of child labor laws. It agreed to pay more than $500,000 for reportedly employing more than 1,400 kids under 16 (some as young as 13) to staff its call centers. Many of the kids were paid less than minimum wage. Naturally, Western Wats dismissed the complaint as mostly full of “technical” violations, but the civil penalty was among the largest ever assessed by the Department of Labor for child labor violations.”
John White, the spokesperson for PRP Hawaii, represents some 200 contractors, many who rely on government contracts. He has refused to respond to any of Hawaii Reporter’s media inquiries about the push polls.
Hawaii Reporter also attempted to speak with the account executive from the Mountain West Research Company representing Pacific Resource Partnership, but the person who just calls himself “Jesse” would not disclose information about his client or tactics.
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Pacific Resources Partnership is also sponsoring a barrage of radio and television advertisements against Cayetano and targeting him in email campaigns that accuse the long time Democrat of “cozying up to lots of Republicans.”
The mayor’s race is a non-partisan one, and voters from all political parties and political ideologies have rallied around Cayetano because they oppose the rail project and also want him to fix Oahu’s dilapidated infrastructure including sewers, roads and water systems.
“PRP has already spent more than $1.5 million in radio and TV ads smearing me,” Cayetano said. “I have confidence that the peoples sense of fairness and common sense will help them see through PRP’s dirty tactics.”
Cayetano said he will file a libel and slander lawsuit today against the organizations and individuals he said are trying to undermine his campaign for Honolulu mayor.
Cayetano has retained one of Hawaii’s most well known First Amendment attorneys, Jim Bickerton of Bickerton Lee Dang & Sullivan.
The lawsuit will be filed against Pacific Resource Partnership, its Executive Director John White, its Board members, the Carpenters’ Union, which directs Pacific Resource Partnership’s actions, and Pacific Resource Partners’ advertising agency, as well as defendants who have so far kept their identities secret.
PRP has gone too far regarding attacking Ben via negative Ads and other means of communication media. I guess someone like White who is in love with the billion dollar contracts that will be available it Caldwell wins, will do anything to chip Ben's character.
Ben's chances of successfully "suing" his opponents is the same as his chances of undermining the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution's protection of political free speech…absolutely zero.
Its a matter of opinion.
The Supreme Court has ruled on this over and over. You can't sue people to silence them in political campaign. This should make national news because of its shear absurdity. "if you oppose my political ambitions I will sue you!!!" This is Daily Show stuff.
Free speech is always subject to the limits of the law of defamation.
Keith, Ben is not trying to undermine the First Amendment, as you claim. What he is doing is not absurd, as you claim. And he's not suing everybody who has opposed his political ambitions, as you claim. He is suing the organizations who have repeatedly told lies about him. I would do the same thing. Do you work for PRP? You seem to be acting just like them.
Not pono to spread lies, allegations, accusations about people, yet this has been the John White I have known as he is used to operating, on a first-hand basis going back a decade! The man has not changed his ways. Have to forgive someone that has not decided to learn the lesson of years ago, when he was given that chance to learn. Why he do these very same things again and again, to good people too? Why you do that John White? You are not one sick person that has no excuse! You cannot claim any type of social oppression or mental incompetence! You have possibly affected many people that are thusly affected, by the use of these push polls. Hopefully the voter will be appropriately repulsed by these tactics, and reasonably backfire. Everyone needs a job John. Perhaps after parting ways with the YMCA you could have chosen another venue with differing ethics?
Even more reason why I'm confident that I made the right choice in casting my vote for Ben. It is absurd to see how much money is being spent on slanderous ads against him.
Caldwell has been running scared from day one, as are the Unions who have supposedly contracted these slanderous ads from PRP. I know there are people who will believe all this kaka because they prefer to believe the worst about ANYONE, but those of us who have a few braincells working know better. Just think back to the race between Bainum and Hannaman… prime example of how a good man had the lead was brought down at the last moment with lies about his wife. Anyone should be able to go to court and sue the arse out of someone who slanders them with lies and half truths! Like the guest above, our votes have already been cast… FOR BEN!
To rail or not to rail…all I know is that I feel sorry for the people in Ewa stuck in traffic everyday…it will only get worse. I find it ironic that our former governor who was backed by these organizations in his rise to power has turned against them in his bid to grab power again.
I find this comment most interesting…so what you are saying is, these are the illegal contributors turning on a former ally?
Ewa traffic is WAY BETTER Now that the road wad widened. Caldwell wrote an article in the Staradvertiser saying he rode the bus and took him a long time to get to town. BS. If I drive, it wont take me more than an hour.
Actually, it means that as a senior member of the Democratic Party, our former governor had an ability to give strong input to the direction of the rail measure and did not elect to do so. It means that the entities running the negative ads had backed him with commercials and fund raisers. It means that the contractors and other entities such as engineering firms had made some contributions which were not allowed such as giving though employees and spouses in duplicate. And it means that the same contributors are giving in correct measures in case he should be elected so that they will be held in a positive regard.
Just follow the money. There is a lot of it being spent on this race.
I was polled last night by these people, who sounded almost legitimate until they got to the portion of the interview where they laid out their scurrilous assertions about Ben Cayetano. I tried to be courteous to the interviewer — for her it's just a way to earn a living, I'm sure — but I did my best to explain to her what the definition of a "push poll" is and why it is wrong to be involved in one. In any case I doubt these efforts are very effective for PRP. The interviewer spoke English poorly and had I not already known the issues I could not have understood what she was asking. Further, she mispronounced every Hawaiian word — citing Kapolei as "Cap-oh-lye" and Ala Moana as "Allah-mone-oh." She couldn't say the names Cayetano nor Hirono and had a difficult time throughout. You'd think if PRP was spending that kind of money to defame the former governor they'd at least hire a company with trained help.
Illegal Contributions??? In the debate, Ben Cayetano made a great comment towards Peter Carlisle when this was brought up. If it was true that Ben took illegal contributions, Peter Carlisle was the prosecutor at that time…then why didn't Peter Carlisle prosecute him at that time??? DOH!
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