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05-16-2010 - The GOP Convention

On Saturday the Republican Party of Hawaii held its state convention.  Governor Lingle and Lt. Governor Aiona used the occasion to criticize Neil Abercrombie’s plan to revamp education, paint him as part of the “political machine,” and claim that he will raise your taxes.  Our campaign issued a statement in response, small parts of which were reported by the news media such as on KITV and in the Honolulu Advertiser.

We wanted to make sure you get the full statement, unfiltered and in context, so you can interpret for yourself where our campaign stands.  This is the statement:

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                           May 15, 2010
 
NEIL ABERCROMBIE CAMPAIGN STATEMENT
 
The  following statement was released by Abercrombie For Governor Press Secretary Laurie Au in response to comments made at the local GOP convention.


“For over a year, Neil Abercrombie has been talking with the people of Hawaii about what they want from their Governor.  The message is clear.  We want a change from the gridlock and politicking that is leaving people cynical and disillusioned.  People are tired of hearing what can’t be done, we want to know what we can do.
 
“As he has demonstrated throughout his career, Neil is a leader who can work with the budget we have and make it reflect our values—one of which is to put Hawaii’s children first.  No taxes should be raised unless people are confident in how existing taxes are spent.  There is much to repair in order to restore this trust, and this is the underlying reason why Neil is running for Governor.”

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Those who want a change from the current leadership are coalescing around Neil’s campaign and around the prospects of moving our state in a positive direction.  It’s not a personal attack on our current leadership; it’s just a fact that things aren’t working as well as they should be in Hawaii.  Neil is offering a completely different approach from the politics that has us tied in knots at the state and local levels.  That’s why Neil is running for Governor.

05-14-2010 - Neil Abercrombie on Furlough Fridays

You may have read an article in today’s Advertiser about Furlough Fridays and whether they will come to an end in the next Governor’s administration.  Neil wanted to make sure you all get his full statement in response to the reporter’s questions.  Click here to read the Advertiser article.

Neil’s full statement is as follows:
    “Furlough Fridays would have never happened if I were Governor. If I had been Governor, I would have gotten all parties together and met continuously until we reached a solution to ensure that we put the interests of Hawaii’s children first. Instructional days are central to that mission.

    “All parties involved in the Furlough Friday situation except the Governor have agreed to this solution. As Governor, I would implement it.

    “We need to look beyond Furlough Fridays. Restoring instructional days will get us back to where we started. As Governor, I will take personal responsibility to restore public confidence in the school system. If we expect accountability from the schools, we have to give principals, teachers and staff the authority to meet that responsibility. My education plan does exactly that.”

Neil’s plans for education and early childhood can be found here:

Education -  http://neilabercrombie.com/index.php/education/
Early Childhood -  http://neilabercrombie.com/index.php/early_childhood

05-08-2010 - Neil Abercrombie Introduces Early Childhood Policy Plan

Neil Abercrombie today unveiled his early childhood policy that would provide an unprecedented level of support by the state for Hawaii’s very young children.

Today’s announcement of Abercrombie’s plan for Hawaii’s young children, ages 0 to 5, comes two weeks after he introduced his plan to reorganize the state’s public education system.

“We need to put Hawaii’s children first,” Abercrombie said. “Supporting our young children is one of the best investments we can make. We need to focus our resources in the early years of a child’s life before entering school because science tells us we can make so much of a difference during this time.”

Abercrombie’s policy for early childhood includes:

  • Creating a Department of Early Childhood to develop a comprehensive statewide policy to make a significant investment in early childhood. Right now, programs, services, and resources for early childhood are scattered among several state departments. An Abercrombie Administration will include a Cabinet-level director to oversee this new department.


  • Expanding the state’s Healthy Start program and other programs to create universal care for young children. Abercrombie will fully reinstate the budget cuts made to the Healthy Start program, which identities and supports Hawaii’s most at-risk children and mothers.


  • Establishing public-private partnerships to ensure that every young child in Hawaii has access to high-quality preschool. The Department of Early Childhood will work with schools, nonprofits, foundations, community organizations and employers to ensure that all children, including those from low-income families, can have access to high-quality childcare and preschool services.


  • Employing family-friendly employment practices in state government, such as flexible work schedules, telecommuting, job-sharing programs, on-site services for children, to encourage private employers to do the same.


  • Developing early childhood workforce to build career paths so early childhood workers can stay in the field.

Abercrombie was a state legislator when Hawaii began its Healthy Start program and helped secure funds for the initial pilot program in Ewa Beach. The program won national acclaim but now is facing significant budget cuts that would result in loss of services for thousands of families and layoffs.

“We will restore and support programs like Healthy Start,” Abercrombie said. “Every child born in Hawaii deserves a chance for educational success, economic prosperity, good health and a fulfilling life.”

Abercrombie has made education the focus of his gubernatorial campaign. Like his plan for Hawaii’s public school system, he acknowledges that it will take significant time to implement these changes if he were elected as Governor.

“I am completely committed to seeing these initiatives through and doing everything we can to provide the best support for our children,” Abercrombie said. “We already know investing in early childhood pays off, not just in educational gains, but also economically. Young children need positive interactions in order to develop properly, and it is much more difficult and expensive to remediate problems later in life than to support parents early in their child’s life.”

Abercrombie’s full early childhood policy and his education platform can be found at www.neilabercrombie.com.

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