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The governor’s race is turning into a dizzying math contest as we "flASHback" on the week’s news that amused and confused:
» Mufi Hannemann has a 10-point economic plan, Neil Abercrombie unveiled a 63-page vision for Hawaii and James "Duke" Aiona released a jobs program based on meeting with 120 small businesses in 100 days. Are we picking a governor or lottery numbers?
» Abercrombie derided a Hannemann campaign mailer that urged voters to "compare and decide." This is shaping up as more of a scratch-and-sniff kind of election.
» The state Democratic Party says several candidates running under its banner for the Legislature haven’t abided by the party’s rules. I thought the only Democratic Party rule was to have plenty of them to choose from.
» U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye is hosting a rally for Democratic candidates tomorrow that he hopes will inject a little fun into the 2010 election. The event will feature a saimin eating contest, a bon dance-off and a game of pin the tail on Ed Case.
» State Rep. John Mizuno says he’ll introduce a resolution in the next Legislature banning use of the "N-word" in Hawaii. He’s getting tired of being called a "nincompoop."
» The Hawaii State Bar Association will again use its much-maligned secret proceedings to rate Gov. Linda Lingle’s latest nominee for chief justice, Mark Recktenwald. The lawyers learned in college that justice is blind, but they like to close the doors and windows just to be sure.
» Lingle is hoping to slip in a fifth trip to China before she leaves office. It seems fitting to wrap up the Lingle administration with a final leave of absence.
» The state ended fiscal 2010 $36.8 million in the hole, violating for the second year in a row a constitutional ban on running a deficit. Lingle always promised her GOP friends she’d make Hawaii a red state.
» City Councilman Rod Tam refused to participate in a forum with other mayoral candidates when organizers wouldn’t give him the questions in advance. He’s the same way at restaurants; he won’t eat there unless he can fill out the receipt beforehand.
» Accusations of "half-truths" flew as Kauai Council Chairman Kaipo Asing and others on the seven-member body battled over bill introductions. Only with politicians do seven half-truths never add up to one whole truth.
And the quote of the week … from University of Hawaii-West Oahu Chancellor Gene Awakuni on finally getting campus construction under way: "It’s been a lot of people getting excited and their hopes get dashed and then getting excited and their hopes get dashed." That sounds like a description of the Hawaii election cycle.
