Here’s the situation in a nutshell: The Takamine Campaign received a contribution exceeding the legal limit from a union. As soon as it was determined that this donation exceeded the legal limit, the Takamine Campaign, at the instruction of Representative Takamine, corrected the situation and refunded the money. The Campaign Spending Commission then made clear the Takamine campaign followed the law and never even remotely “faced” or was “charged” with any violation, as the headlines in the media read.

There are legitimate differences between Representative Takamine and his opponent in the race for the State Senate; Dwight is for healthcare for everyone, his opponent isn’t, Dwight strongly supports Barack Obama for President, his opponent supports John McCain. Dwight is for worker’s rights. Dwight is going to run a positive campaign and focus on the challenges of expanding opportunity, educating our children, protecting our natural resources and supporting our senior citizens in the First District.

I call on everyone to lift their sights and have a spirited debate about the substance of things that really matter to the people of Hawai‘i Island.

Aloha,

Brian Schatz

Chair Hawai'i Democratic Party