Dudley and LoPresti Clash on HPR District 1 Forum

Matthew LoPresti, a candidate in the Honolulu City Council District 1 race, has made an issue of rival candidate Kioni Dudley's District 1 residency, contending that he's not eligible because he's not a resident, and seeking to get him thrown out of the race. The issue came to the forefront briefly in tonight's Hawaii Public Radio candidate forum. Eight of the 14 candidates, including Dudley and LoPresti, were there.

Dudley, who has resided in the Makakilo/Kapolei area for over 30 years, has been a tireless volunteer for a better west Oahu, putting in countless unpaid hours for the cause. He's served on his local neighborhood board for 12 years (an unpaid position), has effectively worked to preserve some of Hawaii's best agricultural land, and sought to implement viable traffic solutions for the area. Unlike many others, he walks the talk. As a result, he has good name recognition.

LoPresti, like Dudley, holds a Ph.D. This is his first run for political office. His residence challenges, along with Dudley's replies, have been covered over the last few days in Hawaii Free Press.

Tonight they came together in person, but the result was hardly a meeting of the minds. About 18 minutes into tonight's forum, the first audience question came up. It was, "How long have you been a resident of the Council District 1, what volunteer activities have you participated in for this district?"

Matthew LoPresti was the first one called upon to answer. Here is his entire reply, followed by Dudley's, also in its entirety.

Matthew LoPresti: My family and I made our home in Ewa Beach, we were shopping for a place around this time last year. We finally found a place and signed for it in January. So I'm new to the Ewa Plain, we moved out from Aiea after scrimping and saving to be able to finally afford a place. We moved in September 10, is when we moved in. So like many people in our community I represent the new growing population. And unfortunately I think that population has been underrepresented in city government. So I look forward to representing my neighbors in that way.

Kioni Dudley: You know, the different lines of different parts of government are drawn differently. And I lived in Makakilo since 1979, and I am in the same house district as much of the first district, I'm the same senate district, the same neighborhood board district, but for this race Makakilo is outside of the district. I looked for a month for somebody who has the same concerns I do about saving agriculture, getting rail right, and so forth. Looked for a month to find a candidate that I could support. I could find nobody. And so, on the filing date, before filing, I moved into the district myself. I pledge as long as I am in this race and as long as I am a council member, I pledge to make my permanent first home in this district. For activities, I've been on the neighborhood board for 12 years and I did the battle to save the farms. Thank you.

After all eight candidates had answered the question, moderator Wayne Yoshioka then asked if there were any rebuttals. Dudley was the first to rebut. His and LoPresti's rebuttal statements are also written here verbatim and in their entirety.

Dudley: You know, I've suffered a lot in the last week or so because of writings and releases to the media about my having recently moved into this area. And I was stunned that Matthew LoPresti told me, just right now, that he had lived here only 69 days [before the deadline to file to run]?! Is that right, Matthew? Sixty-nine days and yet you are the one who has been persecuting me and my family.

LoPresti: I don't mean to persecute anybody, and this is my home in Ewa Beach. I won't have anybody say otherwise. I scrimped and saved. I'm 35-years old and finally me and my wife, who's a teacher, was able to afford our first home. And when I saw that somebody who owns a multi-million-dollar house moved into my district on the last day, just like what happened in Manoa when Duke Bainum did that, I was infuriated. And so I challenged it, and you finally at least admitted, because before you weren't even admitting it, so that, oh, I have nothing else to say about the issue.

Links:

District I Candidates Try to Boot Rivals Out of Race [HPI] Nov 28, 2010

Residency Challenge filed against Kioni Dudley Council Candidacy [Hawaii Free Press] Updated Nov 28, 2010

Kioni Dudley campaign website

Matthew LoPresti [HPI]