Aloha Reader,

Welcome back from the holidays! A lot is happening this week, and we want to be sure you're informed and ready.

January Member Meeting and Potluck Tomorrow

For several months, we’ve been holding separate potluck get-togethers and virtual member meetings. This month, we'll combine the two events.

• 3:00 pm Postcarding and Sign-making party - Bring art supplies to make your poster for MLK Day. Postcard packets will be available for you to complete there or to take home to do later.
• 4:00 pm Member meeting - We’ll discuss what to expect in January and how to prepare for the upcoming legislative session.
• 4:45 pm Potluck Supper - We will enjoy a meal together while watching the sunset.

TAKE ACTION: Join us Sunday, January 4, 2026, from 3 PM to 6:30 at Kahaluʻu Beach Park

Postcarding

WIN: Democrat Renee Hardman resoundingly won the Iowa special election on Tuesday, preventing a Republican supermajority in the Iowa Senate. Your postcards helped make that happen. Our next event will be right before the Kahaluʻu Beach Potluck. Franny will be hosting this month and she has news boosting postcards going to voters in Michigan.

TAKE ACTION: Join us on Sunday, January 4, 2026, at 3 pm at Kahaluʻu Beach Park.

Pop-Up Protest on January 6

There is no greater loyalty test in the MAGA world than denialism about the 2020 presidential election and the attempted coup on January 6, 2021. This year marks the 5th anniversary.

Kona Indivisible will provide five large signs and a few smaller ones, so feel free to bring your own. You might want to bring a hat and water. If you’re interested in volunteering, contact Ellen at lnlubrano53@gmail.com or text 503 784 6192.

We'll meet in the Safeway parking lot near Basking Robbins, then walk as a group up Queen Kaʻahumanu Highway to Henry Street.

TAKE ACTION: Join our next Pop-Up Event on Tuesday, January 6, 2026, 4 – 5:30 pm. Volunteer Arrival Time: 3:45 pm.

Our Next Rally: Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Our next protest will be on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, on Monday, January 19, 2026, from 4 pm - 5 pm, in the usual spot on Queen Kaʻahumanu Highway, south of Henry Street.

We take inspiration from Dr. King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail, a key document in nonviolent direct action:

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial "outside agitator" idea. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds.

These words are as applicable to us today as they were when Dr. King penciled them in the margins of a newspaper, responding to moderate clergymen calling for restraint in 1963 Alabama.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR: Plan on joining us Monday, January 19, 2026.

TAKE ACTION: We’ll be creating posters together at the potluck on Sunday, January 4, 2026. Join us.

2026 Hawai'i State Legislative Session

The legislature convenes on January 21, 2026. Bills must be submitted a week later, by January 28. Working with our partners, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Hawai'i Coalition for Immigrant Rights (HCIR), the League of Women Voters (LWV), and others, we are planning to advocate forcefully for bills in key policy areas, notably the need for a No Secret Police Act and related provisions.

Pacific Law Institute Virtual Seminar with leaders of the State Legislature

That’s why we’re excited to attend the Pacific Law Institute's Virtual Seminar on the 2026 Legislative Session.

The agenda covers:

• House and Senate Leadership and Committee Chairs
• Senate & House Policy Focus
• House Finance – Update
• Economic Concerns – Budget and Fiscal Issues
• Impact of Federal Policies
• Health Care Issues

The panel consists of key legislative leaders with the moderator Bob Toyofuku, Pacific Law Institute President:

• Senator Karl Rhoads, Chair, Senate Judiciary Committee
• Senator Brandon Elefante, Member, Senate Ways and Means Committee
• Representative Linda Ichiyama, Vice Speaker of the House
• Representative Chris Todd, Chair, House Finance Committee

MARK YOUR CALENDAR: Friday, January 9, 2026 from 9:00 am – 10:30 am

TAKE ACTION: Click here for the Zoom Webinar Registration​

County Council Update

WIN: On December 17th, the County Commission voted unanimously in favor of Resolution 399-25, urging the State of Hawai'i to protect its citizens against unconstitutional acts committed by federal immigration agencies.

It advises the State legislators to move forward with the provisions of a No Secret Police Law. Additionally, it gives our local Hawai'i County representatives a clear public voice about the urgency of protecting our civil rights. Once we know the details of the bills submitted in the legislative session, we will advise on advocacy.

New Police Chief Selection

WIN: At the December 19, 2025, meeting, the Police Commission laid out an open process for the selection of our next Police Chief. West Hawai'i Today covered the meeting: HPD chief applicants narrowed down to 11

MARK YOUR CALENDAR: Interviews are scheduled for January 29th and 30th at the West Hawai'i Civic Center Council Chamber (Building A). They are open to the public. We do not yet have a Zoom link, although it was requested.

Free and Fair Elections in 2026

State Elections Commission

The state elections commission meets on January 7, 2026, at 10 am. We are pleased to have a new commissioner from the Big Island, Barbara Dalton, who served as chair of the Hawai'i County Committee of the Democratic Party from 2021 to 2023.

The committee agenda this month is hard to follow, perhaps intentionally. There are several items related to complaints filed by Commissioner Cushnie about Elections Commission Chair Michael Curtis, claiming that he violated state Sunshine Laws related to issues that Mr. Cushnie wanted discussed by the Commission. Commissioner Cushnie is pushing the big lie about Hawaii's voting system being corrupted, despite audits of the system showing that it is valid. Chair Curtis is trying to keep the Election Commission meetings from being hijacked by the conspiracy theorists.

TAKE ACTION: On January 7, 2026, at 10 am, show up at the Commission meeting by Zoom (link in the agenda) and testify on the need to retain mail-in voting.

DOJ Wants to Steal Our Voter Data

You may have read about the nationwide effort by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to steal voting data from the States. The DOJʻs motive appears to be a nascent plan to meddle in the 2026 elections. It is an unconstitutional overreach, as the states administer elections, not the federal government. Hawai'i Elections Chief Scott Nago said NO to the DOJ and has been quickly and forcefully backed up by State Attorney General Anne Lopez.

TAKE ACTION: Call or email Elections Chief Nago today to say MAHALO for protecting the privacy of all Hawai'i voters. Send the same message to Hawai'i State Attorney General Lopez.

Preparing for the CD1 Primary

The Indivisible Hawai'i State Network now has a Primary Election Information Center. If you missed the Talk Story interviews with the two challengers Della Au Belatti (current State Representative) and Jarrett Keohokalole (current State Senator) for that seat, you can find the recordings there.

TAKE ACTION: Bookmark the Primary Elections Info Center, as this page will be updated frequently with news about the Democratic Primary.

Mahalo Nui Loa

Finally, we hope you had a chance to read the last newsletter, highlighting your accomplishments in 2025. They are substantial. As frightening as the MAGA attempt to overthrow democracy has been, the grassroots response has been uplifting. Now let's turn the volume up to 11 as we push our State legislature and prepare for the 2026 primaries!

Looking forward to seeing you at Kahaluʻu Beach Park on Sunday!

With Aloha,
Sam
Lead

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

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