More endorsements
By B.J. Reyes
Oops! Dropped the ball on these endorsements in the City Council District 3 special election. Both were announced on March 16 (the same day the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Superferry came out).
J. Ikaika Anderson picked up two big union endorsements last week — from the 21,000-member International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 142, and the 40,000-member Hawaii Government Employees Association (HGEA), the state’s largest public worker union.
Anderson is among the 11 candidates in the special election to succeed Barbara Marshall, his former boss, who died Feb. 22 of colon cancer. Anderson had been an aide to Marshall at City Hall since her election in 2002.
“The Oahu PAC committee felt that Ikaika Anderson is the best person to continue Barbara Marshall’s vision and goals,” HGEA Oahu Political Action Chairperson Diane Nakashima said in a notice to HGEA members.
ILWU Oahu Division Director Dave Mori, in a news release, said: “We are well aware of Ikaika’s strong commitment to the people in his community as a fourth generation Windward resident. Ikaika has shown great leadership—and we believe he’s the best candidate for the job.”
Anderson, who also is supported by Cliff Ziems, Marshall’s widower, has picked up endorsement from close to two dozen local union organizations, according to his Web site.
Earlier this week, John Henry Felix picked up the endorsements of the United Public Workers (UPW) Oahu Division Political Action Committee, the UPW Private Sector Division Political Action Committee and the UPW Retirees. He also has been endorsed by the Hawaii Carpenters Union.
District 3 includes portions of Kaneohe, Kailua and Waimanalo on Windward Oahu.
The voter registration deadline for district residents already has passed and ballots for the mail-in special election are being sent out April 1. Mailed ballots must be received by the City Clerk no later than 6 p.m. on April 23. Absentee walk-in voting at City Hall is set for April 6-21.
