Gabbard takes spotlight again

U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard is finding herself at the center of political discussion, once again.

The Hawaii Democrat startled many pundits on Sunday, when she announced she was stepping down as vice chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, and endorsing presidential candidate Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton, who dominated Super Tuesday.

The timing does seem odd: The announcement came in the wake of Clinton’s South Carolina primary victory — not the usual juncture for an endorsement.

But maybe it’s not so surprising. Gabbard had waged a public battle with the DNC leadership over the party’s schedule of debates. And Sanders’ anti-interventionist foreign policy does seem to align with Gabbard’s, currently.

Council members skip address

It was encouraging to see Gov. David Ige in the front row at Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s fourth State of the City address Monday night — state government’s show of support for its local counterpart.

Caldwell spoke before a crowd of about 200 people at Mission Memorial Auditorium, but only three City Council members were in the audience. While participation is not mandatory, one would expect a certain level of decorum.

It was lamentable that the majority of the city’s lawmaking body was absent from the 25-minute address.