Riding the wave, changing the current
The news of new advertisements promoting Derek Kawakami came through a text, “Heard a radio ad for Kawakami on the radio by the carpenters. They starting early. Was a good, positive ad.” Kawakami had announced only a couple of weeks before that he was filing to run for the office of Lt. Governor, challenging incumbent Sylvia Luke. Curious about the timing, it didn’t take long to see the visual version ...
Hero worship has a half-life – What the César Chávez collapse reveals about public reputation
While this blogger was attending a conference in Washington, D.C. during the week of March 15, 2026, a blockbuster event unfolded on the other side of the country—California. It would only be after returning to Hawaii that the revelations against Farmworker Union leader César Chávez came to light, with immediate effects from it. During that week, within 72 hours, accusations against the former United Farm Workers Union head came to ...
The goodwill test for Sylvia Luke
Right in the middle of what can now clearly be called Phase Two of the Sylvia Luke story, the Lieutenant Governor took to Instagram on February 23rd to address the campaign donation controversy directly. On the surface, the video is her attempt to explain what happened and clarify how her campaign handled the donations in question. But politically, the move is also something quite familiar in Hawaiʻi politics — when ...
Phase two: When the noise fades but the questions remain
After the initial burst of attention, the Sylvia Luke story now feels a bit like a room where the oxygen has been pulled back to calm a fire. Media coverage has slowed, and expressions of support from key figures are beginning to surface. What was once loud and fast-moving is now notably quieter. One could be forgiven for thinking, “Well, that didn’t take long to quiet down.” However, in Hawai‘i ...
Phase one: How the Sylvia Luke story is already reshaping Hawaiʻi politics
The story of campaign donations to Hawaiʻi Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke is in the “phase 1” –the allegation phase. But even at this early stage, several observations and questions stand out — not necessarily about guilt or innocence, but about what this moment is already doing to Hawaiʻi’s political landscape. Here are some of those observations. First Observation – Hindsight by the Legislature? Hawaiʻi State Capitol, home to the Legislature, ...
