We help the people of Kailua-Kona take political actions that promote inclusion, tolerance, and fairness.
The candidates who'll talk to you (and the one who won't)
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It's primary election season. Ballots arrive July 21st, and the elections office needs to receive them by August 8th. Sunday's statewide newsletter covered how to prepare for disinformation and dirty tricks. Today, we share something more hopeful: the candidates are coming to us - and we're thrilled to have a stretch of back-to-back events to prove it. Here's everything on the calendar this week and beyond. First, a quick reminder - this is the newsletter for our Kona Chapter. We (your same KIND team) now also publish the statewide newsletter, which you received on Sunday. Back publications are here. In this issue
Walk with Della in the July 4th ParadeIHSN endorsed Della Au Belatti for Lieutenant Governor. Of the three Lieutenant Governor candidates, two declined to engage with our endorsement criteria, which include rejecting dark money and Super PAC support. That tells you something about who's running to serve and who's running on someone else's dime. Now she's bringing her campaign to us: Della will join the Kailua-Kona Independence Day parade, and we're hoping 50 Indivisibles will register to show up and walk with her. We've learned a lot about how campaigns actually work this year. One thing that's become obvious: Kauaʻi Mayor Derek Kawakami, also a Lieutenant Governor candidate, is working from an old playbook - straight out of Ronald Reagan's 1984 campaign. Plenty of photo ops and pretty ads, but no debates, press conferences, or anything that requires answering questions on the record. Kawakami didn't join our virtual Talk Story on June 10th. Then he declined the July 12th Meet the Candidates (more info below). By now, the tactic is clear: avoid any room where voters or reporters might ask a question he hasn't already scripted an answer to. This silence tracks with his response when ICE agents detained 44 Venezuelan and Colombian workers in a pre-dawn raid on Kauaʻi. Their offense? Having Kristi Noem (illegally) revoke their Temporary Protected Status and not leaving the country fast enough afterward. Kawakami is showing up for the Waimea rodeo on July 4th and may walk in the Kona parade too - both good photo ops. But there are no public events where voters or journalists could actually question him, and he continues to refuse debates. Beth Fukumoto has made the case for debates in Civil Beat, and in the Star-Advertiser, David Shapiro summed up Kawakami's (and Ed Case's) strategy in one headline: I’ll call your debate gambit —and raise you 2 attack ads. TAKE ACTION: Join Della Au Belatti on July 4th to show that Kona Indivisible votes for Della - she's the only Lieutenant Governor candidate fighting against dark money. Walk, dance, roll, ride, strum, or march with her. Gather at 5:30 for a 6:00 pm start; fireworks begin at 8:00 pm. Register here. Meet the Candidates, July 12thKona Indivisible and the Hawai'i County Democratic Party are joining forces to bring democracy to your doorstep by letting you meet and talk directly to elected officials and candidates for office. Confirmed so far: Della Au Belatti, plus Representatives Kapela, Kahaloa, Lowen, and Tarnas, House candidate Matt Kanealiʻi-Kleinfelder, and County Council District 7 candidates Manu Powers and Eddie Ombac. More candidates are accepting our invite every day - check back for updates. We'll also have live music from Larry Dupio. MARK YOUR CALENDAR: Sunday, July 12, 2026, 1:00-4:00 pm, Makaeo Pavilion at Old Airport, Kailua-Kona. Register on Eventbrite. Postcarding & Beach Social EventIf you feel like you can’t do anything to impact Congress, you’re wrong! You can help us replace one of the least reliable Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives, Ed Case. Join us to write postcards to voters in Congressional District 1 (CD1). We’re working to get the vote out for the Democratic Primary (August 8) because the Democratic candidate is likely to win in the General Election (November 3). We're targeting newly registered voters - many of them first-timers, others recent transplants - who may not be familiar with Ed Case’s voting record or with our endorsed candidate Jarrett Keohokalole. Every postcard makes a difference. TAKE ACTION: We're meeting every Thursday at Gypsea Gelato in Kealakekua, 1:30-3:00 pm. Hope to see you there! Register. If you can’t make it on Thursdays, join us on the first Sunday of each month at Kahalu’u Beach Park at 3:00 pm for postcarding and stay for the potluck at 4:00 pm. As always, we'll provide postcards, voter lists, scripts, and instructions. You bring the stamps, your writing muscle, and your favorite pens. Donations of postcard stamps or money toward postage are always welcome (thank you Stamp Angels!) And please support Gypsea Gelato if you can - they’ve been very accommodating of our events. Future Events
Mahalo for all you do, PS: We restocked T-shirts and added new merch for the July 4th parade - all with the updated KIND logo. Check it out here. |
Kona Indivisible
We help the people of Kailua-Kona take political actions that promote inclusion, tolerance, and fairness.
Aloha Reader, Mahalo nui to all who showed up for the Rise-Up Rally to Guarantee Our Freedoms on Sunday! A great way to cap the Rise Up and Sing Out concert - and impressive turnout for a pop-up on short notice. These 100-person rallies have a great vibe - a perfect size to meet and talk with new friends. Guarantee Our Freedoms Pop-Up 😊 Two Newsletters. Everything You Need to Know. KIND was a pioneer among Indivisible chapters in Hawai'i - one of the first to build a local website and launch...
Aloha Reader, A little over a year ago, Kona Indivisible launched a website and newsletter with a simple goal: keep our community informed and ready to act. What we didn't expect was everyone else saying, "We want that, too!" — and by everyone, we mean chapter leaders and the statewide network leadership across all four islands. So we got to work. KIND set out to build something bigger: a communications overhaul that gives every Indivisible chapter in Hawai'i a home, a voice, and a shared...
Aloha Reader, From statehouse news to street-level action, there's a lot happening in Kona this week — and we want you in the middle of all of it. State News On Thursday, the Lieutenant Governor (LG) race became much more interesting. State House Representative Della Au Belatti announced that she withdrew from the CD1 Congressional Primary and entered the statewide Democratic Primary for Lieutenant Governor. We are working with our friends in the Indivisible Hawai'i Statewide Network to give...