Hannemann uses popular slogan in ad, environmental groups demand retraction

NORTH SHORE—Defend Oahu Coalition (DOC) and the Sierra Club Hawaii Chapter are requesting gubernatorial candidate Mufi Hannemann to retract an ad using DOC’s well known slogan, “Keep the Country Country.” The nonprofit groups say that the former mayor is the antithesis of what the slogan stands for and has always been a proponent for development.

Hannemann’s full page ad in the latest issue of North Shore News (NSN) dated September 8 reads: “When it came to keeping the country ... country, Mufi was always there for us.”

DOC, a community preservation group that has most recently been working to prevent the expansion of the Turtle Bay Resort from its current size of around 500 hotel and condo units to 4000 units, established the slogan in connection with preservation of the North Shore. The slogan is printed in block lettering on a green background, and is commonly found as bumper stickers and on T-shirts. The DOC, the Sierra Club, and many North Shore residents say the former mayor’s use of the slogan is inappropriate and contradictory to Hannemann’s actions.

“Mr. Hannemann has been a consistent proponent for development along the North Shore,” said Robert D. Harris, Director of the Hawaii Chapter of the Sierra Club. “His use of the ‘Keep the Country Country’ slogan is a poor attempt to greenwash his environmental record.”

“The ‘Keep the Country Country’ movement was born in the 1970s to limit the very type of unsustainable development that Mufi has supported in much of Koolauloa and the North Shore” said Tim Vandeveer, co-chair of Defend Oahu Coalition.

Vandeveer added: “We received permission to use this slogan in order to advocate for preserving the character and feel of rural Oahu. It is a rallying cry that Hawaii residents have come to associate with open space, low rise structures, limited population growth, mountains, fields, beaches, the ocean, and a rural life style.

“That’s why we’re dismayed that a politician who has barely lifted a finger to preserve the country would have the audacity to steal this well-recognized slogan,” said Vandeveer. “The legacy of the real community leaders who started the movement cannot be co-opted in order to score political points.” 

The ad, which was paid for by the Hannemann Committee, states that Hannemann “successfully negotiated with developers to save Waimea Valley from development and provided City funds of $5.1 million.”

Preservation groups disagreed.

“Mr. Hannemann’s advertisement is misleading and incorrect,” said Harris. “Mr. Hannemann takes credit for protecting Waimea Valley, when in actuality he tried to push through a settlement that would have allowed a half dozen luxury homes. It would have also opened up the possibility of tourist camps in one of the last undeveloped valleys on Oahu. The protection of Waimea Valley happened in spite of Mr. Hannemann’s efforts to develop it.”

Although the ad doesn’t make any claims to preventing Turtle Bay expansion, Hannemann’s opponents added that he was in support of the resort expansion.

The Hannemann Committee could not be reached at the time of publication of this story.