IMPORTANT STATEMENT FROM THE CHAIR

Dear Members & Faithful Volunteers,

I want to express my sincere appreciation for your unwavering commitment to our Party and its mission to elect Republicans to office. We can achieve our goals only with your dedication and hard work, so I felt it important to share this information.

An unfortunate event occurred in Maui this past Saturday. Certain leaders of the current Maui County Committee actively worked against an official State Party initiative by showing up, harassing, and berating other members who were there to attend a Precinct Meeting(s). The most despicable part occurred afterward with the brutal and unrestrained series of verbal attacks broadcasted on social media and via email against a local church Pastor for hosting the event, perpetrated by the same group.

The meeting was to be initiated by a committee made up of twelve Republican members in Maui County that I had appointed to ensure that Party members from Maui who were not allowed to participate in or may not have received proper notice of a previously held Precinct Election Meeting, an opportunity to participate in organizing and representing their precincts as delegates at the upcoming State Convention. 

Contrary to the misinformation spread about the State Party's role in Maui County, the Hawai'i Republican Party (HRP) has the authority as the only official Republican Party and Committee in the State of Hawai'i recognized by the Republican National Committee to operate within any County of the State. Therefore, the Counties are not autonomous entities from the Party but committees under the HRP. Thus, counties should welcome the State Party to help build and organize their counties. 

At the very core of our Party are our precincts, our boots on the ground. They are the front lines of the Party and possess the greatest of responsibilities in our organizational structure in determining the direction of our Party and who our leaders should be to help fulfill our mission to elect Republicans. 

Only with support from our precincts can we win more seats in 2024. And County and State Conventions are so important–the most important events the Party is obliged to its members to hold so that members can come together to organize.

For these reasons, I, as your duly elected State Chair with the responsibility of supervising all state activities and counties, made the unpopular but necessary decision to support our members in Maui who were disenfranchised, to conduct this meeting and to defend the sanctity of our precincts and their right to assemble. 

But unfortunately, the meeting had to be abruptly canceled because of the disruption, which denied some 50+ members who were there to participate in the meeting, the opportunity to exercise their fundamental rights as members of the HRP. 

This behavior defies all that we stand for when our members are prevented from exercising their freedoms that we cherish so much as Republicans, to associate and gather in peace for a common goal–without fear of retaliation and defamation.

While healthy discourse is encouraged, bullying, and harassment by our members, especially when displayed in public, is unacceptable. The HRP must not condone this behavior, and we must work together to ensure that it does not continue.

Despite this setback, l am encouraged that our faithful members will remain steadfast and more committed than ever to our mission and the values that make our Party great. We are a Party of respect, integrity, and civility, and we will continue to uphold those values as we move forward.

Thank you for your understanding and continued support.

E Hana Kākou,

Diamond Garcia
Chairman
Hawai'i Republican Party