Up next in our FOLLOW THE MONEY series in Hawai’i politics is Maui’s District 6 Senator Roz Baker. For years she she successfully blocked all pesticide regulation legislation in her role as the Chair of the Senate Health Committee. You may have noticed her front and center, posing with the Governor at the recent bill signing of our historic pesticide legislation this year. From the looks of the photo, you would almost be led to believe that she was a supporter of the bill!
We want to give credit where it is due, and frankly Roz could’ve killed this bill too, if it wasn’t an election year. But lets be realistic- what she did was take a sound bill with pesticide disclosure and reporting and gut it into a study. (It was Sylvia Luke and the House that eventually put some teeth back into the bill.)
While waiting for the big primary report due July 12, we’ve turned to other sources such as Follow the Money .org to take a look at her big donors over time, and Roz has a LOT of BIG donors. She has proven that they have her ear over her constituents, who voted in favor of increased transparency and oversight of agri-chemical giants by passing the 2014 GMO moratorium.
On August 11, Maui voters have a chance to return the voice of South & West Maui to the people- not the corporations. But only if they vote. Challenger Terez Amato has vowed not to accept any corporate funding- but she needs numbers at the polls to make a difference.
REGISTER TO VOTE BY JULY 12:
https://olvr.hawaii.gov/
All information used to create this image can be found here:
FOLLOW THE MONEY:
https://
HAWAII CAMPAIGN SPENDING COMMISSION:
https://csc.hawaii.gov/