This evening Waimea Community Association will hold a candidate forum with the candidates for County Council District 1 (part of Waimea down the Hamakua Coast into North Hilo). The forum will be live, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic will not be “in person” but online at 5 p.m. today and at facebook.com/WaimeaCommunityAssociation. It will then be posted online for later viewing.
The election is Saturday, August 8, 2020, but this year, all voting is by mail so if registered, you will receive a ballot in the mail and must mail it at least 3 (preferably 5) days prior to election day to ensure it is in the County Election office by Saturday, August 8. There will be drop boxes around the island. There will also be two voter service centers (Aupuni Center in Hilo, West Hawaii Civic Center) for those who need more assistance and must use a voting machine, or those who wish to register and vote on the same day. All the voting details are online at elections.hawaii.gov
The County Council races (as well as the County Mayor and the County Prosecuting Attorney races are nonpartisan races. That means that the candidates are not representing any party, and most importantly, can be elected outright in the August 8 election if any candidate gets more than 50% of the vote. Although the August 8 race is officially “The Primary,” in the nonpartisan races there may be a winning candidate who would then not even be listed on the General Election ballot on November 3. That is why it is so important that people register and vote in the August election.
This evening at 5 p.m, County Council District 1 (Waimea, Hamakua coast, North Hilo):
Elroy C. Juan
Heather L. Kimball
Jaerick Medeiros-Garcia
Jaclyn L. Moore
Bethany Joy Morrison
Monique Cobb Adams Perreira
Dominic Yagong
Note, there is no incumbent in County Council District 1–incumbent Valerie Poindexter has term-limited out and cannot run again.
The forum will be posted online at waimeatown.org within the next day, along with the forums for Mayor, County Prosecutor, and County Council District 9 (Waimea, Kohala).