Because “Good Enough for Government Isn’t Good Enough for Hawaii”
BY BRANDON LEE — If you were building a new school campus and were trying to choose the architect and engineer companies, would you be satisfied with the company representatives simply telling you it will be beautiful and spacious and serve your needs, or would you want them to show actual past projects that prove they have the competence and experience to work on your project from beginning to end? If you’re sensible, you’d examine their track record to know just how capable they are. Ask yourself these simple questions. In the Olympics, do you want “people you like” or “people just like you” to be the members of the Olympic team, or do you want the best trained, best qualified, most talented athletes competing as America’s team? In the military, do you want people who say they can do the job and are homegrown to go to the warfront, or do you want those who are rigorously trained, extremely fit, alert, and thoroughly schooled in military tactics to go to war on your behalf?
The same is true in politics. That’s why we need John Carroll for Hawaii’s next governor. Of the four candidates in this race, only John has the real world training, actual private sector experience, proven business acumen, and vision to take on the challenges that face Hawaii in this current economic climate.
The Hannemann camp has made much ado about its “leadership” but there’s a lot that they’re not saying and voters need to keep it in mind. The federal government has been after the City & County of Honolulu to clean up its sewage system all during the Hannemann Administration. The former mayor’s response? It costs too much, we’re not doing it, and putting out inflated figures to justify continuing to let Honolulu violate clean water and wastewater treatment standards. How’s this for sound judgment? Fifty percent (544) of all municipal wastewater treatment facilities across the United States use anaerobic digestion methods because it is 99% effective in reducing bacteria to safe levels. What method did the Hannemann Administration select for the Sand Island treatment facility? A highly experimental “zapper” that sometimes works, sometimes doesn’t, and doesn’t satisfy the federal government but was a big coup of profits to the friends of Hannemann that got the contract. There’s more. The anaerobic digestion systems used across the country have the added benefits that when combined with capstone turbines, generate their own electricity, being net zero in operating costs utility-wise, producing not only a huge savings to the municipality, but for those that feed excess electricity into the energy grid, also becomes a source of revenue for the city. The Hannemann “zapper” costs the city at least $9 million a year in electricity costs, according to our local newspapers. The former mayor should have asked about that before awarding the contract. This is not the kind of fiscal judgment Hawaii needs at a critical time like this.
Of the four candidates, only John Carroll has made his career in the private sector. He was a decorated military aviator, a privileged position open only to the cream of the crop of our armed services in smarts, skill, and courage. John transferred these flying abilities to the commercial airline industry upon retirement from the military as a Hawaiian Airlines pilot, a post he held for 20(?) years. He started his own ranch on the Big Island, parlaying his business acumen into the agricultural industry and preserving the natural beauty of the island as well. He founded Hawaii Aviation Contract Services, which provides pilots to Japan Air Lines. John is an attorney, having begun his legal career as a Judge Advocate General, then continuing his very successful private practice. His entrepreneur spirit successfully created close to 200 jobs in his business endeavors.
That’s what Hawaii needs — someone who knows how to identify business opportunities and has actually worked to create jobs that render useful services to clients’ satisfaction and kept it operating, someone who actually has experience in making payroll and keeping people employed. Not one of the other three candidates can make that claim, and that is what sets John apart.
John has the vision for Hawaii. As a senator in the ’70s, he introduced several bills to promote clean energy, nearly 40 years before the current push in today’s society. Had more people shared his foresight, Hawaii might have been the leader in the nation in renewable electricity generation with this being a valuable sector in our economy. John’s love for the aina led him to introduce several bills to protect the environment, which would preserve the natural beauty of our islands. He is a surfer and avid cyclist. He still flies planes to share the fun with others. His well-rounded lifestyle gives him the ability to see issues from a variety of perspectives so that in making decisions as our governor, he can see the impact before he takes action. His diversified field of collaborators gives him the valuable reach of talent to draw from in making the partnerships that are needed to solve the problems Hawaii faces. No other candidate for governor has these qualifications.
John Carroll has the proven track record that demonstrates without any doubt that he possesses the vision and leadership capabilities our state so desperately needs at a juncture like this. I urge you to show your concern for the well-being of our state and put it in the most capable hands possible — that of John Carroll. Mahalo.