Question: When I am on a trip, I make sure to put a hold on my mail and newspaper deliveries. I also have signs requesting no soliciting. When I return I have campaign brochures hanging from my fence, which notify everyone that no one is at home! My no-soliciting signs are very specific and say no exceptions. How do I prevent this from happening? I do call the candidates who leave brochures, but that is always after the fact.
Answer: We called the state Office of Elections and two of Hawaii’s main political parties looking for ideas but couldn’t find a simple solution that would cover all campaigns. As election season heats up (the primaries are Aug. 11), perhaps your question alone will remind candidates to abide no-soliciting signs — ignoring them doesn’t seem likely to win them votes!
While your concern is about security — you try to ensure that your home doesn’t appear unattended and resent candidates who undermine that effort — others might object for different reasons.
Nedielyn Bueno, a spokeswoman for the state Office of Elections, didn’t know of any standard method to deter this behavior. “I’m not aware of any resources where voters can ‘opt out’ of receiving candidate brochures on their property. Voters who contact our office regarding concerns about campaign signs on their property (are advised) to contact the candidate’s office or the political party of the candidate as we don’t regulate campaign signs,” she said.
Federal rules restrict placement of unstamped material in mailboxes. So political candidates and other door-to-door solicitors hang flyers and brochures on doorknobs or gateposts instead.
Party officials also said it comes down to contacting individual campaigns, which as you mentioned doesn’t help after the fact. One suggested adding a sign that says “no campaign material,” as some candidates might not think of themselves as solicitors (even though they are soliciting your vote). Also, it might help to contact political parties and ask them to issue general reminders to their party’s candidates to abide no-soliciting signs.
Five political parties qualified for Hawaii elections in 2018, according to the Office of Elections. Here are their names and a local contact number, if available:
>> Constitution Party of Hawaii, constitutionparty.com
>> Democratic Party of Hawaii, hawaiidemocrats.org, 596-2980
>> Green Party of Hawaii, greenpartyofhawaii.org
>> Hawaii Republican Party, gophawaii.net, 593-8180
>> Libertarian Party of Hawaii, libertarianpartyof hawaii.org, 537-3078
Q: With the lines and stuff, I figured I shouldn’t wait until the last minute to renew my license. But then I wondered whether that would cost me time on the license, if that makes sense.
A: No, renewing your driver’s license six months ahead of its expiration date — the earliest possible — won’t shorten its term. New licenses and renewals expire on the eighth birthday you have following the issue date, not eight years from the renewal date, according to the city. The eight-year duration is for drivers ages 25 through 71.
Mahalo
A belated mahalo: We were enjoying lunch at Neiman Marcus’ Espresso Bar a few months ago. We had lost our mothers to illnesses in November, and this was the first opportunity we had to sit together and share warm memories of our moms and how much we missed them. When we were ready to leave and asked for the check, we were told a gentleman who was a frequent customer had paid for our lunch. The server told us that he had asked to remain anonymous and had already left the restaurant. To this kind gentleman, we’d like to say thank you. We appreciate your generosity. — K.M. and S.K.
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
