As you probably know, there are currently three announced and/or presumptive candidates for state chair of the Hawaii Republican Party (HRP): Fritz Rohlfing, Shirlene Ostrov and Andria Tupola.
Their candidacies for state chair come at a time when there is so much at stake for the Hawaii GOP. Our preferred opposition party to the long-ruling Democrats has been declining steadily in the islands for two decades. Obviously, just like you, the officers and members of the Hawaii Republican Assembly (HIRA) appreciate the significance of the ongoing 2017 leadership contest in which these three individuals are central figures.
The delivery of extremely disappointing results by past party leaders are a clear sign that we need to change how we select party officers.
Far too often, the campaigns for party officer posts are completely removed and unrelated to the actual issues which vex our long-suffering party.
For this reason, the key questions about a variety of pertinent issues concerning the future of our party are left unanswered because candidates and their supporters are merely playing a numbers game; running single-issue campaigns which hope to collect enough delegates from their peer groups rather than transparently presenting a comprehensive vision for the Hawaii GOP . . . a vision for which they can be held accountable throughout and at the completion of their 2-year term in office.
THE BIG LESSON
:
Winning candidates for State Chair have not necessarily delivered winning results for our troubled party.
HIRA believes that you deserve to know all the answers to the most basic and pressing questions about how each of these candidates would approach the job of state chair, what kinds of policies they would pursue, and what kind of people they would surround themselves with.
That's why, after reviewing a slew of reader mail from across the state, HIRA has developed a 19-question survey. Our questionnaire (below) asks all of the most compelling questions for which anybody who wants to lead the Hawaii GOP should already have clear answers.
Earlier today, HIRA sent this very questionnaire to Mr. Rohlfing, Ms. Ostrov and Ms. Tupola requesting their responses by 5pm, this Friday, April 7th.
It is HIRA's intent to help all Republicans in Hawaii by making the views of these three candidates known on a variety of important topics of great interest of card-carrying Republicans statewide.
The responses received from these candidates will then be published by HIRA's digital media team so that island Republicans from Hilo to Hanalei can make informed decisions.
Moreover, based on these results (plus extensive research conducted by HIRA), you can expect preliminary recommendations for consideration by all Republicans in deciding which candidate should lead our party between May 2017 and May 2019.
Thanks in advance to all three candidates for participating in HIRA's survey of candidates for state chair of the Hawaii Republican Party. And thank you to HIRA members and readers across the state for your kokua in developing this questionnaire.
Finally, due to the importance of this party election, HIRA is seriously contemplating a second survey which focuses on specific public policy issues. Until then, we look forward to reviewing their thoughtful responses to this first survey.
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