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CAMPAIGN BUZZ
For Immediate Release
July 12, 2016
Congressional candidate Shay Chan Hodges joins Sen. Bernie Sanders in Endorsing Hillary Clinton for President
MAKAWAO, HI — Maui resident Shay Chan Hodges, who is running for Congress as a Democrat to represent Hawaii’s 2nd Congressional District, had the following to say in endorsing Hillary Clinton for President of the United States of America:
“I voted for Bernie Sanders in the primary and this morning I am proud to join with Sen. Sanders in endorsing Hillary Clinton for President. It has been a remarkable Democratic primary season with issues critical to our future raised by both Senator Sanders and Secretary Clinton. I have been inspired to see the passion and energy in both candidates and their supporters for the issues that progressive Democrats hold dear such as tuition-free public colleges and universities for the middle class, a ‘public option’ in health insurance exchanges and a $15-per-hour federal minimum wage. It has also been wonderful to see so many young people so excited to vote for the first time, including my own two sons and their friends."
July 7, 2016
From Maui Time: Know your 2016 Maui County election candidate: Shay Chan Hodges
MAUITIME: What is your top priority if elected?
SHAY CHAN HODGES: My top priority is to stand up for working families. Republicans will likely retain control of the U.S. House in this election, and Paul Ryan is expected to continue as Speaker. He will therefore control the legislative agenda. Thus, to have any hope of advancing an economy in Hawaii that supports working families, Democrats will need to take control of the narrative. We must insist that federal policies are designed in response to the stories of real families in their day-to-day struggles–not in reaction to ideological abstractions pushed by lobbyists that mask a hidden (often corporate) agenda.
June 27, 2016
From the Daily Beast: Rep. Tulsi Gabbard Dodges Debating Opponent
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, the congresswoman who resigned from a top Democratic Party post after protesting a lack of debates between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, is now refusing to debate her own Democratic opponent.
Arguing for more debates between Sanders and Hillary last October, Gabbard told MSNBC, “We’ve gotta have more opportunities for people to present their vision for our country, their plans, and to be held accountable for the positions that they’re taking.” After months of dissent over the Democratic debate schedule, Gabbard stepped down from her position as a Democratic National Committee vice chairwoman to endorse Sanders.
June 7, 2016
From Maui Time: Maui Democratic Party activist Shay Chan Hodges says she’s running against U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard
Author and local Democratic Party activist Shay Chan Hodges has decided to run against U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard this year, Chan Hodges told us on June 6, one day before the state’s deadline for candidate filing. Though Gabbard–who is also a Major in the Hawaii Army National Guard and an Iraq War veteran–is one of the more high-profile Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives, Chan Hodges believes that she simply isn’t progressive enough to represent Maui.
TRENDING STORY (1.6K FB Shares on Huffington Post)
June 16, 2016
The 11 Gun Bills Tulsi Gabbard Won’t Support — While ‘Standing With’ Senate Dems (In A Selfie)
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard took a selfie while watching the Senate Democrats filibuster on Wednesday. The filibuster was an effort by Senator Chris Murphy and other Democrats to make Republicans act on gun violence, specifically to vote on a bill to block those on the FBI’s terrorist watch list from obtaining guns.
Back in the House, a bill that would achieve an equivalent objective (H.R. 1076) was introduced on February 25, 2015 by Republican Congressman Peter King to prohibit “the sale or distribution of firearms or explosives to any individual whom the Attorney General has determined to be engaged in terrorist activities.” H.R. 1076 has been co-sponsored by 107 Democrats (9 signed on following the Orlando shooting). Tulsi Gabbard is not among the co-sponsors.
In fact, Rep. Gabbard has declined to co-sponsor any common sense gun control legislation, including H.R.4269— the Assault Weapons Ban of 2015 — which is co-sponsored by 125 of Gabbard’s fellow Democrats.
Update: As of July 19, 2016, 149 Democrats have signed HR 4269, including Hawaii's Rep. Mark Takai and ten other veterans. Please sign the petition asking Rep. Gabbard to join them.
Shay Chan Hodges with husband Ian Chan Hodges. Ian was born and raised in Hawaii, and together they've been raising their two boys on Maui for twenty years.
July 11, 2016
From Civil Beat: Candidate Q&A: 2nd Congressional District — Shay Chan Hodges
4. Voters complain their elected officials don’t listen to them. What would you do to improve communication?
Campaigning and meeting new people daily, I’ve learned that most Hawaii residents want politicians to know their lives, loves and challenges. Fortunately, seemingly endless media choices and social media provide quick and effective communication — especially for an island district so far from Washington, D.C.
That said, our district includes people of all ages with varying access to modern communications. I am therefore committed to following the tradition of CD2 representatives who talked story regularly throughout our state, in person and through technology.
A challenge inherent to modern communication is that misinformation can travel as fast as accurate information, and our congressional representatives working far from Hawaii can talk the talk without walking the walk.
One way the media can support improved communication is to empower citizens with well-vetted information on the activities of elected officials based on community priorities. For example, reporting on bills politicians co-sponsor and bills they avoid would make them accountable and give voters a solid base of information from which to talk to their representatives. This kind of reporting is becoming more common among local and national media, and I believe it makes an enormous difference when it comes to supporting an informed electorate.
June 29, 2016
From NBC News AsianAmerica: Longtime 'Fighter' Shay Chan Hodges Takes on Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard
The first campaign Shay Chan Hodges worked on was her father's, when she was no more than 6 years old. He was the first Chinese man to run for Supervisor in San Francisco, California, where Chan Hodges spent most of her childhood and teenage years.
"I don't remember it, but apparently I pushed brochures under people's doors," Chan Hodges told NBC News, laughing.
June 1, 2016
From Huffington Post: Who Does Tulsi Gabbard Represent?
As a resident of Maui who is active in my community, I am very invested in how the people of Kauai, Maui, Molokai, Lanai, the Big Island, and rural/suburban Oahu are represented. Per the Cook Partisan Index, we are the more “Democratic” of Hawaii’s two Congressional districts (never having elected a Republican), and also the most progressive, sending representatives such as Patsy Mink, Daniel Akaka, and Mazie Hirono to our nation’s capitol over the last forty-five years.
It could also be argued that my county - Maui - is not only the most progressive in the state, but also the nation. In 2008, when Dennis Kucinich ran for President, his best showing in any Democratic contest was in the Hawaii caucus, and the only county in the country that he won was Maui County.
So I was not surprised when Bernie Sanders won our state presidential preference poll this March with a 70% majority, taking 62% of the votes in the first District, and 75% in the second. And it’s appropriate that our Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard supports Bernie Sanders.
Support for Sanders, however, does not mean that Congresswoman Gabbard represents us. When comparing her voting record with our strongly democratic district, Progressive Punch gave Gabbard an F, while it gave straight A’s to Hawaii Senators Mazie Hirono and Brian Schatz (Bernie Sanders received an A as well).
June 6, 2016
From Huffington Post: Four Responses to a Tulsi Gabbard Supporter
Of course, in a diverse community, we will have different views about what information is of consequence, and we will come to different conclusions about the significance of that information. That’s a good thing and I am glad that my article is serving as a catalyst for informed discussions.