Campaign – turn of events

Aloha Friends,
After months of work organizing, rebuilding the basic campaign infrastructure and reaching out around the State, it has become clear to me–and to those helping manage the Hooser For Hawaii exploratory effort– that my campaign for the 2nd Congressional seat should not move forward.

We were all aware the path to victory was to be extremely challenging, but we also believed strongly that winning was possible. Given the initially limited field of candidates and the demographics and ideological base of those candidates, it seemed like the dynamics of the race were developing in our favor. A scenario where we started out as the #2 underdog, garnered the lion’s share of the liberal and green vote–and then moved forward as the alternative to the perceived front runner–seemed like a reasonable path to victory.

However the dynamics of the race have changed. We have had a professional political polling company survey over 1,000 likely voters in the 2nd Congressional district. As a result of that study, we have reached a conclusion that it is highly likely that the potential field of now 6 candidates would effectively split the votes that might otherwise oppose former Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann allowing him to walk into victory with a mere plurality of votes. He has already raised in excess of $300,000 and, given his history and alliance to major corporate interests, there is no question that his fundraising will far exceed the minimum of $1 million necessary to run a credible campaign for Congress.

While I believe that the capacity for human achievement is unlimited and that given the right circumstances and enough time we could prevail, the odds against winning this race and the price that would need to be paid, are far too great to justify moving forward.

Please know that I am not done, and I intend to remain fully active and engaged in statewide affairs. As the Director of the Office of Environmental Quality Control, my work is meaningful and I will remain in the forefront on environmental issues. Public interest advocacy is where my heart is and there are many avenues and opportunities, both short and long term, in which this drive can be focused.

I want to thank all who have offered their help, support and encouragement in my effort to move forward and grow in service to our community. This decision is a very difficult one for me personally, as my nature is to simply say imua, and to plough forward with optimism and hope regardless of the naysayers. However, I have learned over the years that sometimes it is best to swallow one’s pride, and wait until the time is right.

All the best,

Gary Hooser