It's time to stand up for the truth and confront misinformation. A strong community can only be built on a solid foundation of truth...not distortion. Neil Abercrombie has always been a bold, independent voice for the people, and now the voices of the people must boldly demand the truth. As Neil says about this campaign—your campaign—it is time that we stop being spectators while decisions, and laws, and news are made for us.

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Check the facts:

• Rumors and False Attacks
• Why is Neil running for Governor?
• Neil’s resignation from Congress
• Neil and “Executive Experience”
• Campaign Contributions
• Neil’s Views on Offshore Drilling and Energy Independence
• Neil and the U.S. Military
• Senator Inouye remaining neutral

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Rumors and False Attacks

There are a number of baseless rumors circulating on the Internet and in whisper campaigns meant to distort Neil’s record and smear his character. Many were started or corroborated on an attack website run by a Hannemann political appointee who works for the City and County of Honolulu. Check here often for the facts, and if you hear a rumor that needs an answer, let us know.

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Why is Neil running for Governor?

On March 9, 2009, Neil Abercrombie announced the he would not seek re-election to the U.S. Congress and would instead run for Governor of Hawaii in 2010. The decision to run for Governor is one that Neil had thought carefully about for some time. For over a year, Neil had campaigned successfully for Barack Obama and he saw an excitement spreading across the country. Given the major challenges facing Hawaii, Neil felt it was time to bring that same message of hope and change to the state and local level here in the islands. Since last March, Neil has been totally committed to becoming our next governor: reaching out to communities, listening to the concerns of the people, and encouraging people to get reengaged in their government.

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Neil’s resignation from Congress

On December 10, 2009, Neil Abercrombie announced his plans to resign after 19 years as a Congressman to devote all of his time to becoming Hawaii’s next Governor. Neil had wanted to finish his term in Congress, but given the extraordinary challenges facing the State of Hawaii, Neil decided to bring his distinguished career in the House to a close and commit himself totally to the Governor’s race.

In the spirit of Hawaii’s “resign to run” law, Neil didn’t feel it was right to give any less than 100 percent to the public office he was holding while campaigning for another office. Neil formally stepped down as a Congressman on February 28, 2010.

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Neil and “Executive Experience”

Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann and his surrogates have been disparaging Neil by saying he lacks “executive experience.” This is the exact same argument made in the 2008 Presidential campaign when Sarah Palin and others argued that she was more qualified to be President than Barack Obama because of her “executive experience.” According to Mayor Hannemann’s thinking, John A. Burns was also not qualified to be Governor of Hawaii because his prior experience, like Neil’s, was representing Hawaii in the U.S. House of Representatives.

There is nothing magical about “executive experience.” Neil has more relevant experience than any other gubernatorial candidate, most recently as chairman of the subcommittee that oversees the U.S. Army and Air Force where he was responsible for a budget of over $100 billion. As a lawmaker, Neil has accumulated knowledge and experience on every relevant public issue at every level of government--local, state, and federal.

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Campaign Contributions

Neil believes current campaign spending laws create a culture where candidates are too focused on raising money, and as a result, the average person feels frozen out of the public process. In Neil’s view, every person counts the same, no matter if the contribution is $5, $50, $5,000, or 5 hours a week volunteering for the campaign.

Neil has always kept political fundraising activities strictly separated from his duties as a public official. He follows all campaign laws and encourages people to participate in the political process in whatever way they can.

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Neil’s Views on Offshore Drilling and Energy Independence

On June 4, 2010, Neil unveiled a detailed, aggressive, solution-oriented platform for a clean energy future for Hawaii. He is the only candidate to have put forward such a plan and he received widespread support when he unveiled it at the Hawaii Clean Energy Day.

While in Congress, Neil led a bipartisan group of Representatives to formulate an energy plan that would accelerate our national movement toward independence from foreign oil and alternative energy research and deployment. The plan utilized our domestic fuel resources to generate billions of dollars for clean energy projects. Neil worked closely with the Democratic leadership to ensure that large parts of the bipartisan plan were included in another bill, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives.

Mayor Mufi Hannemann’s campaign is attempting to tie Neil to the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico—a disaster attributable to the dismantling of regulation that took place during the Bush Administration. The attack against Neil first appeared on May 1, 2010 in an anonymous blog run by a high-level employee of the City and County of Honolulu.

Whether you agree with Neil on every issue or not, you always know where he stands and that he is always thinking of the public interest even when the solutions aren’t easy.

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Neil and the U.S. Military

Neil Abercrombie has always stood up to powerful special interests to make sure that the rights and dignity of average people are respected and protected. As a Congressman, Neil continued this lifelong fight, standing up for America’s men and women in uniform and ensuring they had the training and equipment they needed to carry out their mission overseas, and that back home, their families have a good quality of life.


In 2009, in recognition for a distinguished record of support for the men and women of the United States armed forces, active duty, National Guard and reserve alike, Neil was given the highest honor by the National Guard Association of the United States -- the Harry S. Truman Award.

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Senator Inouye remaining neutral

Senator Daniel Inouye has said on several occasions that he will not endorse nor provide support for a candidate in the primary election for the governor’s race. In June, Hawaii’s senior senator visited the Abercrombie for Governor’s headquarters for a tour and to meet Neil and campaign volunteers.

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