Gabbard and Case on PBS
October 29th, 2004
We hope you all had an opportunity to watch both Mike Gabbard and Ed Case on PBS last night. It was very revealing. The differences in approach to their service, their character, their personality, their position on issues, and just what kind of people they are was made very clear.
During the show, Ed Case was asked the simple question: "What was your single biggest accomplishment in (the last) two years?" Click here to read Ed Case's complicated 'non-answer'.
In contrast, Mike Gabbard has previously been asked a similar question: "What accomplishment are you most proud of on the City Council?" Click here to read Mike's response.
Ed Case's Response:
Biggest accomplishment? I came in in a very difficult time, obviously, for Hawaii. It is vital that Hawaii have a good team in the U.S. Congress. We are a small state. We have four members of Congress. Contrast that to other states that have 50 plus members of Congress. The team that goes to Hawaii from a small state like Hawaii has got to be kicking on all cylinders at all times. This team that was in place in Congress for many many years, representative Mink and Abercrombie, Senators Inouye and Akaka, was a team and they operated as a team. Nobody anticipated that Mrs. Mink was gong to pass away even though we now obviously know that we are in a time of transition in the U.S. Congress in terms of representing Hawaii. And it was important for me to go up there as a member of that team. Not that I had to agree with my three members of Congress. I don't agree with them on all issues. There are a number of issues where we don't agree. Neil and I don't vote the same. I don't vote the same as Senators Inouye and Akaka, but when it comes to things that are affecting Hawaii, we do in fact, try to work together. It is in fact, important that I come in and be up to speed immediately on what's necessary.
You know, I took an office that was vacated on a sudden basis that represented 650,000 people in our state and I think I'm most proud of the fact that we were able, given my experience and you know, just the sum total of my life experiences including ten plus years: three years before I got to Congress of working in Congress and eight years in the legislature, twenty years in the private sector. I just kind of got up and going fast and I feel good about that. And the other members of the team brought me in as a member of the team and I think I've functioned. So we are coordinated. It's a coordinated effort. Again, it doesn't mean that we vote the same, but it does mean that we work together for Hawaii.
Mike Gabbard's Response:
There's many things on the Council, small and large, that I'm proud of, but the accomplishment which most satisfies me is stopping the landfill from being put over the Pearl Harbor aquifer.
Shortly after I was elected to the Council, I discovered developers were poised to put a landfill-a garbage dump-over the Pearl Harbor aquifer. It was almost a done deal. It blew my mind that we were going to be gambling with the purity of the drinking and bathing water for 70% of Oahu's residents from Waianae to Hawai'i Kai.
I thought, "Wait a minute, 10 or 20 years from now, our grandchildren might not have water! The effect would be devastating on our people and our economy. Two-thirds of Oahu could become uninhabitable. Hundreds of thousands of people would need to move to the mainland or neighbor islands, creating chaos." I was determined to stop it and I'm very happy that we succeeded.
If I didn't accomplish anything else in my life, just knowing that I helped protect our children and their children's source of fresh water for generations to come is satisfying all by itself.
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