Aloha Reader,

Major escalations are happening, and all in one week: Alex Pretti murdered, 2020 ballots seized in Fulton County/Georgia with DNI Director Gabbard involved, Don Lemon arrested, and a new batch of Epstein files has been released (with very, very disturbing details), but still without the witness statements (FBI form 302s) or prosecution memos. It’s all still a cover-up.

It's all awful, and it's real. It is the authoritarian playbook.

But democracy is still winning here at home, and resistance to the takeover continues to grow.

Police Chief Appointment: What Good Government Looks Like

On Thursday and Friday, the County Police Commission met to choose a new Chief. As you know, the prior Chief was ousted due to several events after the ICE raids in Kona last May. We have watched this closely, testified at every meeting since the selection process began, and observed the full meetings this week.

The two days were impressive and heartening. Eight candidates interviewed with the commission on Thursday. Each of them was highly qualified, with more than 20 years of law enforcement experience and demonstrated cultural sensitivity. In Friday's testimony, we thanked the commission for its great work and transparency and all of the candidates for coming. We said, sincerely, that we would welcome any of them to become involved in County affairs. We are blessed to live in a place that attracts such talent.

WIN: On Friday, the Commission chose interim Chief Reed Mahuna as the new permanent Chief. His stance was clear when asked whether HPD should participate in immigration enforcement:

​From Civil Beat: Mahuna told the commission that there was “no situation” in which HCPD would collaborate with ICE. But simply saying that wouldn’t be enough, he said. Under his tenure, Mahuna plans to meet with the community and stakeholders so they can speak to the department directly on its plans should further raids happen.   “ICE creates fear in the community and the police should calm that fear,” Mahuna told the commission.

WIN: All eight candidates had to answer the same question. All answered unequivocally no.

This represents a complete turnaround from July, when the former chairman and several commissioners opposed our testimony regarding immigration enforcement.

Persistence pays off. We are moving both public opinion and policy!

Public Policy Team: Please Join!

The state legislature is now in session, and we now know which bills will be considered. Across the state, we are advocating for the following issues: Migrant Rights, Good Government and Free Elections, Affordability for Working Families, Healthcare Availability, LGBTQIA+ Rights, and Gun Safety. You can find detailed explanations of all the measures we support on the Indivisible Hawaii State Network website, where you can also monitor daily updates on each issue's bills.

On Tuesday night, we launched our Public Policy Team with a ​training webinar​. State Senator Karl Rhoads and State Representative Jeanné Kapela gave a big shout-out to Indivisible and our involvement in submitting testimony. During the webinar, we reviewed the key issues and provided a hands-on demonstration of how to submit testimony using our talking points in less than 15 minutes.

TAKE ACTION: Sign onto the Public Policy Team. Together, we will make a concrete difference in the Legislature over the next four months.

Progress on Migrant Rights

California has been at the forefront of codifying Migrant Rights into state law. Steve Munkelt, a leader of Kona Indivisible, is spearheading our efforts on this important issue. As a retired criminal defense attorney, he was tasked by the League of Women Voters to work on California’s legislative bills. We are fortunate to have his expertise!

Indivisible Hawaii has been collaborating closely with partners such as the Hawaii Coalition for Immigrant Rights (HCIR), ACLU-Hawaii, and J20+. On Tuesday, we participated in their rally at the Capitol to honor Alex Pretti.

WIN: Governor Josh Green came out in favor of this legislative package.

​From Civic Beat: “Obviously, this moment in America is perilous,” Green said, “and anything that states can do to make it clear that we’re standing up against this kind of violence and that we’re protecting people, is the right thing to do.”

Green said he’d “love to have bills come to me as fast as can be” and added that seeing much of the Legislature’s leadership together at the rally gave him hope that it could happen.

Again, persistence is paying results!

State Elections Commission: They’re Still At It

The Republican half of the State Elections Commission continues its mission to discredit future elections in advance with MAGA disinformation about mail-in voting. They will meet again on Wednesday at 10 AM.

TAKE ACTION: Testify via Zoom, Wednesday, February 4, 2026 at 10 AM. Join the Zoom early to secure your place in order. The links and agenda are here.

The Fight to Control DHS/ICE Continues: Call Your Senators Again

Yesterday, the US Senate approved funding for all federal agencies. However, they only allocated funds for the Department of Homeland Security (which includes ICE, CBP, HSI, etc.) for two weeks. This short timeframe presents an opportunity to implement significant legal restrictions on their brutal practices. Indivisible National has a helpful explanation and has made it easy for us to contact our U.S. representatives.

TAKE ACTION: Call and write the Senators on Monday. Details here.

TAKE ACTION: Email Jill Tokuda. Thank her for standing firm, and nudge her to continue speaking out.

Next Pop-Up Protest

Our first pop-up protest next month is on Wednesday, with a location, date and time change from the original plan. Let's bring attention to the recent ICE murders and unlawful detentions/arrests of immigrants, reporters, and protestors.

TAKE ACTION: Join us Wednesday, February 4, 2026 from 4:00-5:30 PM

Meet in the Safeway Parking lot, near Basking Robbins and we will walk up to Queen Ka'ahumanu Highway along Henry St. with our signs. Kona Indivisible will provide some large signs but would be great if you brought signs with your personal thoughts and opinions. Since it may be hot, please remember to bring hats and water.

Contact Ellen by text at 503 784 6192 or email lnlubrano53@gmail.com if you have questions. Hope to see you there!

Planning More Pop-Up Protests

We often hear from you that you want to do more, especially when it comes to protesting—using our right to free speech and showing up organized in the streets. While you're always free to take your own sign and protest in public, we want to enhance our existing logistics for pop-up protests. Our goal is to offer them more often. What do you think?

TAKE ACTION: If you say "Yes, I am in.", click this link.

Once you do, our subscriber software will tag you, allowing us to easily send notifications with the dates and times of each pop-up. If you're planning one, just hit reply and send us the details, and we’ll help spread the word for you. With over 1,000 subscribers, imagine how easy it will be to have several pop-up teams. Let's make the most of our existing logistics and communication platforms.

From a leadership perspective, it would be fantastic to share the organizational responsibilities among more of Kona's protest-loving community. Click here join this effort 😊.

This Sunday: Postcarding and Social Get-Together

Another fantastic opportunity "to do something" is to join us this Sunday for our monthly postcarding party, which will be combined with the social event at Kahalu'u Beach Park.

• Postcarding: Sunday, February 1, 2026, from 3 pm - 5 pm at Kahalu'u Beach Park. Register.
• Social Event: Sunday, February 1, 2026, from 4 pm - 6.30 pm at Kahalu'u Beach Park. Register.

To write postcards on your own, check out the postcard page on the KIND website for directions on ordering postcard packets.

Even the most hopeful among us who chose to live on this beautiful, remote Big Island in the Pacific could not have anticipated the challenges we are facing. As we’ve said before, "Pedal to the Metal"... more trying times ahead.

We hope to see you on Sunday!

Warmest Aloha,
Sam and the leadership team

​ - The Kona Indivisible Team ​konaindivisible.org​ ​info@konaindivisible.org​

​

​