The Hawaii State Teachers Association announced Monday it will endorse U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard’s challenger Sherry Campagna in the 2018 Democratic primary.
The HSTA, which is the fourth largest union in Hawaii, has scheduled a press conference for Tuesday with Campagna to officially make the announcement.
According to a union email sent to teachers, the HSTA decided to endorse Campagna for Hawaii’s 2nd Congressional District seat over Gabbard in part because the challenger has vowed to fight for more money for public education.
“She believes that a reliable funding stream for public education must be a top priority, and Hawaii should tax out-of-state residents who own investment properties here,” the HSTA email states. “She also believes in lowering class sizes and increasing teacher pay.”
The state teachers union Monday endorsed the long-shot candidacy of Sherry Campagna over incumbent U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard for Hawaii’s 2nd Congressional District.
Chad Blair/Civil Beat
But the HSTA email also levied harsh criticism at Gabbard for her trip to Syria to meet with its ruler, President Bashar al-Assad, and her failure to condemn Al-Assad for his “genocidal chemical attack on his own people.” The union cited her stance on Syria as an example of how Gabbard has “has not defended human and civil rights during her time in Congress.”
According to the email:
“She was one of just three representatives, and the only Democrat who refused to condemn Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad’s genocidal chemical attack on his own people. After the attack, Gabbard traveled to Syria to meet with the genocidal dictator al-Assad without permission from the White House or Congress. Her trip was funded by a group with ties to al-Assad supporters and she only covered the expenses herself after the news media reported who paid for her trip.
“Then, after al-Assad bombed his people again, Gabbard continued to refuse to admit the attack had occurred. At the same time, she voted to practically ban Syrian refugees from coming into the United States after the Paris terrorist attacks, even though Syrian refugees were not involved in the attacks.”
Gabbard eventually reimbursed the funds for the trip, saying the whole scenario had become a “distraction from the important issue at hand.”
In their endorsement of her challenger, the HSTA criticized U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard for her stance on on Syria.
Anthony Quintano/Civil Beat
In contrast, the HSTA said Campagna is a “strong advocate for equality,” although the union didn’t provide any specific details beyond her association with the 2017 Women’s March or her position with the Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women.
Gabbard has been a somewhat controversial figure in the Democratic party. She quit her post as the Democratic National Committee vice chair so she could endorse Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders for president in 2016 over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and has been a critic of the party’s leadership.
But she remains one of Hawaii’s most popular politicians and has a significant national profile. So far in the 2018 election cycle, FEC data shows Gabbard has raised more than $1 million.
Campagna, on the other hand, is a relative unknown. Her campaign website describes her as part-Hawaiian, and an environmental scientist and small business owner from Kaneohe.
She doesn’t have a lot of name recognition or money in the bank. But the endorsement from the HSTA, which has 13,700 members, likely lends her long-shot campaign new energy.
Gabbard’s campaign spokeswoman Erika Tsuji did not immediately respond to Civil Beat’s request for comment Monday.
Listen to Civil Beat’s Pod Squad interview with Sherry Campagna on why she is challenging incumbent Rep. Tulsi Gabbard.
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