Up Close 2008- Maui Hawaii State House candidate- JOHN BLUMER-BUELL with Jason Schwartz
Summary & Timestamped Transcript Below…
This video is an in-depth interview and discussion with John Blumer-Buell, a long-time community advocate, environmentalist, and political candidate running for State Senate District 6 in Maui County. The conversation covers his extensive experience in community activism, planning, and environmental stewardship, particularly in East Maui and Upcountry areas. John discusses key local issues such as land use planning, water rights, sustainable agriculture, healthcare, and political reform. He emphasizes the importance of local control, community participation, and environmental sustainability while critiquing past political decisions and advocating for more responsive governance. Throughout the dialogue, John highlights his independent political stance, the need for bipartisan cooperation, and his vision for empowering communities through local incorporation and legislative reform. The interview also touches on cultural preservation, native Hawaiian land management practices, and the value of education and community engagement for future generations. The conversation concludes with reflections on sustainability, community spirit, and the importance of active civic participation.
Highlights
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[03:24] ? Introduction of John Blumer-Buell, candidate for State Senate District 6 covering East Maui and Upcountry.
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[08:43] ? Discussion on water rights issues in East Maui, including the recent state Water Commission ruling to restore stream flows.
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[12:10] ? Critique of the stalled Malelani Hospital project and its implications on healthcare in Maui.
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[15:24] ? Controversy surrounding Hana Health’s governance and community membership abolition.
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[20:19] ? John’s pledge to serve as an independent and promote bipartisan cooperation in the legislature.
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[21:32] ?ﾸﾏ Advocacy for state constitutional amendments allowing local incorporation for greater community self-determination.
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[40:03] ? Support for native Hawaiian land management systems (AOPA and Aha Moku Council) and cultural sustainability.
Key Insights
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[03:24] ? Broad, rural district representation: John’s candidacy for State Senate District 6 covers a vast and diverse region including East Maui, Upcountry, Molokai, and Lanai. This district’s rural character presents unique challenges in balancing development with preservation, requiring nuanced policy approaches. His deep local roots and understanding of community dynamics position him as a credible voice for these areas.
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[08:43] ? Water rights and environmental justice: John highlights a landmark state Water Commission decision requiring the return of 12 million gallons of water to five East Maui stream units, partially addressing a century-long injustice of water diversion. This ruling supports stream and reef health and reflects the persistent advocacy of native Hawaiian groups. John underscores the ongoing importance of monitoring water quality, including temperature, to sustain aquatic ecosystems. The water issue is central to the future sustainability of the region’s environment and economy.
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[12:10] ? Healthcare infrastructure challenges: The interview reveals frustration over the failure to advance the privately financed Malelani Hospital in South Maui. John attributes this to legislative obstruction by incumbents, contrasting his own supportive stance. Additionally, the transformation of Hana Health from a community-elected nonprofit to a board-controlled entity with no membership underlines governance problems, threatening community trust and the originally intended healthcare mission. These healthcare issues reflect broader systemic challenges in meeting rural medical needs.
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[20:19] ? Independent, nonpartisan political vision: John positions himself as an independent candidate committed to transcending partisan divisions, which he views as detrimental to effective governance. His pledge to focus on community needs rather than party politics reflects a pragmatic approach aimed at fostering collaboration and responsiveness in the legislature. He also promises regular presence in remote communities like Molokai, emphasizing the importance of direct engagement with constituents.
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[21:32] ?ﾸﾏ Local control and incorporation: A significant policy proposal from John is advocating for a state constitutional amendment to allow communities or districts to incorporate as cities, municipalities, or even new counties. This would empower places like Molokai and East Maui to govern themselves more directly, tailoring development and services to their unique needs. He stresses a high threshold (75% approval) for such changes to ensure broad support and cautions about the fiscal realities of self-governance. This initiative reflects a broader movement toward decentralization and community empowerment.
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[30:21] ? Transitioning agriculture for sustainability: John supports transitioning from traditional sugarcane production to low-water-use biofuel crops, highlighting the need for sustainable agricultural practices that balance environmental concerns with economic viability. He criticizes historic water subsidies favoring sugar plantations and advocates for fair water pricing to reflect true costs. Encouraging research and development in alternative crops, along with tax credits, aligns with his vision for a diversified, sustainable economy.
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[40:03] ? Cultural and environmental stewardship through native practices: John’s support for the AOPA system and Aha Moku Council reflects a respect for native Hawaiian land management traditions, which emphasize localized knowledge and sustainable resource use. Incorporating indigenous stewardship models offers a pathway to harmonize modern governance with cultural preservation, potentially enhancing ecological health and community resilience. This approach also honors the long history of sustainable living practiced by native Hawaiians before Western colonization.
Detailed Summary
The video begins with a vibrant local cultural introduction, setting the tone of community pride and Maui’s unique identity. The host introduces John Blumer-Buell, a candidate for State Senate representing District 6, a large rural area encompassing East Maui, Upcountry, Molokai, and Lanai. John’s background as a longtime community leader and environmental advocate is established, including his work with the Maui General Plan Advisory Committee, which is tasked with guiding land use and development policies over the next decades. John emphasizes the committee’s diversity and its balanced representation from agriculture, cultural experts, developers, and citizens.
John discusses the challenges of maintaining Maui’s rural character amidst ongoing development pressures. He highlights the importance of local community plans that allow for tailored land use policies reflecting the desires of smaller communities like Hana and Haiku. The legal framework permits communities to enact more restrictive land use regulations than the county or state, enabling a degree of local control.
Water rights emerge as a critical issue. John has been involved in East Maui water issues for over 30 years. Recent state Water Commission rulings mandate the restoration of stream flows to five water units, reversing decades of diversions primarily for agricultural use. John praises native Hawaiian groups and local stakeholders for their persistence. He also points out gaps in current regulations, such as the lack of water temperature standards necessary to protect marine life downstream.
Healthcare infrastructure is another significant concern. John critiques the failure of the proposed Malelani Hospital project, a $200 million privately funded facility, which was effectively blocked by incumbent legislators. He contrasts this with his own proactive stance, having supported the project and participated in public hearings. John also recounts the troubling history of Hana Health, which transitioned from a state-run hospital to a community nonprofit. Unfortunately, the nonprofit’s board abolished its community membership without consultation, undermining local governance and trust. The current development of a large health and wellness village that resembles a hotel raises concerns about mission drift and competition with private businesses.
Politically, John runs as an independent, expressing discontent with party divisions that hinder collaborative problem-solving. He pledges to focus on community-first governance, maintaining a presence in remote communities, and promoting bipartisanship. His vision includes a constitutional amendment allowing communities to incorporate as municipalities or counties, giving them greater autonomy over land use and public services. He stresses the need for informed decision-making and a high approval threshold to ensure responsible self-governance.
Agriculture and environmental sustainability are also focal topics. John advocates transitioning from water-intensive sugarcane to biofuel crops with lower water needs, supporting tax incentives for research and development in this area. He highlights the inequity of historic water subsidies that have favored large agricultural interests at the expense of small farmers and the environment. He calls for public management of watersheds, currently controlled by private entities, to better protect these critical resources.
Throughout the discussion, John expresses respect for native Hawaiian cultural practices and land management systems such as AOPA and the Aha Moku Council. These models emphasize localized knowledge and sustainable stewardship, which John believes are crucial for long-term environmental and community health. He sees them as complementary to modern governance.
The video closes with reflections on the importance of education, community involvement, and sustainability. John and the host emphasize that parents, educators, and community members must work together to pass on cultural knowledge and environmental values to future generations. The message is one of hope and collective responsibility, urging viewers to participate actively in their communities and governance.
John’s website, jbb4senate.com, is shared as a resource for further engagement, underscoring his openness to dialogue and community input. The interview embodies a deep commitment to Maui’s unique environment, culture, and people, advocating for thoughtful, inclusive, and sustainable political leadership.
This comprehensive discussion provides a rich overview of the challenges and opportunities facing Maui’s rural communities, highlighting John Blumer-Buell’s experience-driven and community-centered approach to politics and governance.
Transcript
Aloha welcome to another up close and personal here in 2008 we’re sitting right in front of
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something that if you haven’t seen it it’s at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center down near the Alexa Higashi room we have a great view but we have a great you behind this this is a piece that was done by Ben Kikuyama and Bill Lttle it’s made of mild steel was done in 1994 and it’s called friendship and uh we like being in front of it you know that Maui Arts and Cultural Center is a great place to do this you probably are looking and saying I know this guy why don’t you tell me who this is some of
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you know John Blumer-Buell now I wanted to be careful with your name because sometimes I get a little confused but John is uh from Hana and he has the great distinction of running in the State Senate District number six number six the name is is the number is important as is the name John Bloomer Bu you’re running for state senate from what areas you have a remote area there well it’s all of East Maui and up country and lenai mikai and love so it’s a pretty good siiz district and it’s uh
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rural I guess absolutely and I guess it’s what everyone comes to Maui for how we doing in the keeping it rural Department well like all of Maui County we’ve had a lot of development and issues development issues in um you know our whole District over the last 30 plus years and uh we’re doing our best to resolve them uh I’m working on all those issues as a member of the Maui General plan advisory committee right now there’s 24 other members and I think we’re doing a good job in uh taking a
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long-term look at the future planning needs for me County she just wanted to come and be part of our show so I would say that uh you’ve been doing this now 3 years right there are 25 of you Brave and dedicated Warriors is it 25 in you yeah 25 and it’s a a very diverse group of people and they have a very diverse group very diverse experience in life so it’s a I think it’s a very good committee uh it’s balanced and I’ve gotten to meet and know a little better A lot of uh great
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people in our community do you find that uh some or many of them are active serving politicians or citizens and at large uh I think it’s most you know lots of the people have previously served on the community plans uh and we’re part of those and even going back to the previous General plan we have people that are in agriculture people that are in uh development contractors uh retired professors Architects uh cultural resource folks and uh it’s great group of people well um how long you have a
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little bit I was um a little bit of time gladus bis was talking about how it’s coming up soon do you have deadlines coming up soon we just I believe we’re going to get an extension through the end of February and then from there it will go to the uh M Planning Commission they’ll come up with their recommendations and then it’ll go to the uh planning committee which ltis fies currently chairs and from there it will go to the full Council H is it very different I mean I how many years it’s been good 20 years
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easy well the the last General plan was around 1990 and so we you know we’re updating that and looking forward to the future uh after the general plan is complete we’ll start doing the individual Community plans again and I look forward to that and really uh letting the community say what they want specifically for their communities really uh this will be the best chance to have real local control of uh planning and land use issues and I think at this day and age is real very important for places like you know Haiku
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or Hana or molakai or lenai or any of the districts to really have their very specific uh wishes included in those commit plans and according to the state law the county can be more restrictive but not less restrictive than the state laws and as communities we can be more restrictive but not less restrictive than the counties so uh in some areas like mikai and I think East Malu we want some very um tightly controlled land use laws and uh local control is what we need well a good thing I um when I think
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about your area you have up country up country has some development things going on do you deal with the water issue from up where you’re on this General plan I imagine you do water is one of the you know Central con concerns for the the entire plan in future of Maui I’ve been involved in water issues in East Maui for uh more than 30 years and as you probably know a couple weeks ago the state uh Water Commission ordered that uh I believe it’s 12 million gallons be put back into uh five um water units
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they call them and that’s a good start and the people in Kai white Lui and the native o legal Corporation really deserve a lot of credit for their persistence uh they have they have uh they’ve put a stop St to more than a 100 Years of uh I would call it Injustice and we’ve Fant we were taking a step in the right direction getting water back that’s great just in five of the units there’s a total of 27 streams that will need to be dealt with they have a formula by which they understand let’s say some of them are
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diverted in four or five different places along the elevations of the stream the commission understands the need to have a continuous flow from Mala to McKai for the stream life and to help with the estuaries and reefs so that that will be the that’s a central part of the formula I think one thing they need to look at in the future as this evolves and there’s more water going into the streams is what is the temperature when it goes into the oceans the the temperature of the water in the
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low ease is the key to uh to healthy churo and disease-free churo so they haven’t made that a part of the requirement at this point some of you guys know what we’re talking about and I don’t even know if all these guys know what lohy is you know this is what I see right here here’s a man who’s been looking and studying this stuff for a long time and helping locally and really been a fabric of the of the community and I’m really glad you’ve helped keep Hana in that area uh beautiful and
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natural the best you can what has driven you to want to run for political office I mean clearly you’ve been in touch with these issues and you are now that’s great what’s got you thinking you want to run for state senate um well I first ran for office two years ago as a candidate for mayor and there were nine candidates we had four incumbent politicians who were running including for former mayor Kim aana then mayor Alan arala sharmaine tarz and former Council chair danne tar Dane Connie now I
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um enjoy that race and I I I had a lot of ideas that I thought were not being discussed and I participated in that I think really raised the level of discussion and I did win the East Maui District in the primary which was uh real nice because people know what I’ve been doing out there and that’s a real strong Testament that’s great so with the at this point I would not be running for office again if uh I did not have real differences of opinion with the incumbent so I have very different
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opinions on a number of very important issues and I’m giving the voters a choice and I’m hopefully making the discussion more meaningful with all these issues and presenting options to the voters would you mind let’s kind of identify them because I’m sure that’ll help make it clear and hopefully uh a choice that uh people can make is it uh an actual difference in opinion in how it’s being done or what’s to be done or give us an example can you I’ll give you one several examples one is I would say
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as a good example is the proposed malelani hospital in South Maui and I was a longtime supporter of that proposal uh I was had talked with Dr Quan about that that was going to be a $200 million Hospital financed with private investment and the the team of Maui Senators which include my opponent really obstructed the certificate of need project uh certificate of need process and U basically it was killed off by our legislative people over here now that’s a strong word obstructive do you feel that he could have done
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something more meaningful or well the you know I was at the there was two days of hearings at Balwin high school regarding the certificate of need I was at the first day of hearings I couldn’t come out for the second one but Ros Baker was really in the lead on this insisting that um you know we needed more information and that led to the Maui uh healthc care task force and uh they came up with a number of initiatives which in the last legislature didn’t get either a fair hearing or financing so that’s just one
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example of you know different difference of opinion right now in the construction industry is you know is hurting we could have already broken ground on a you know 200 million uh privately financed hospital that would have benefited everyone now another important issue is right in Hana and that’s the what’s going on at Hana Health which is the former state-owned and operated Hana Medical Center uh I helped with the uh transition from the state to the community starting in 1993 working with
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Barbara Pearson from the State Department of Health and Kathleen Street our public health nurse Ina and the Community Association helped facilitate a number of meetings great process the community came up with a great plan and that was signed by Harry hasagawa and 1995 submitted to Dr mik of the State Department of Health the legislature in 1996 used that document which was called huikahi to transfer the old Hana Medical Center to the community uh to a nonprofit membership organization called Hana Community Health Center and that
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was a 501c3 we had 300 members and without any uh discussion with the membership in early 1998 the board of directors abolished extinguished all the 300 community members without even a hearing extinguish what they the membership they basically voted as a board to extinguish uh the membership and so that what they so suddenly there was no medical coverage no there’s no no membership meaning that the the key there is that the membership elect elected the board of directors oh so they just basically got rid of the
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people that elected them and suddenly we’re now a a different a ious group right and the the very people that the community had trusted as a board of directors didn’t trust the community it’s what it boiled down to so there’s a zoning issue up with this organization right now in front of the uh land use committee Mike Molina’s committee and one of the basic things that we need to resolve I think is to reinstate the community membership and have a community elected board of directors
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then we will start to move in the direction that the Community intended the the the vision of the community included H oono Ohan makamai Hal Hulu Mamo who’s working on the kapuna housing right now and it was really going to be a community uh Center who we know kapono would have shared things like x-ray machines in the pharmacy with the general clinic so the community had a wonderful and great vision and I’m hoping that we can come back together and Implement that unfortunately uh the state is and the
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everybody’s out of money right now so we don’t know what will happen in theut so once again you obviously brought that up because was there a difference in your opinion than your sitting representative or what yeah in in 1995 uh CL English called me as the chair of the Hana Community Association to help facilitate a meeting with state senator a a chumbley and colani was the chief of staff for Avery chumbley at that time so we were working closely together at that time and you know we the Community Association facilitated
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the meeting I chaired the meeting there was probably 250 300 people at the meeting all the elected representatives so at that point we were in agreement and then since it was privatized Clon has really not stood up for the community and the community commun plan which the community generated so at this point Ron completely different size he could have uh used his position to uh strongly encourage the existing board at Han Health to reinstate the membership bring the community back in and and most
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importantly improve Primary Health Care and Medical Services now it’s a 26 to 52 million health and wellness Village that looks like a Hotel and Spa and it’s going to be uh going into competition with the hotel hunam alley and that’s just just not right that’s the largest employer in our community and we shouldn’t be taking uh taxpayer money and funding a nonprofit organization to go into competition with um with a privately financed Hotel wellow those are pretty significant things so
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the fact that you won the Primary for mayor you feel it was somehow tied to your differences of opinion and you want to carry that to yet another level or what’s your intention well I’ve you know the reason I’m run is I do have a difference of opinions and I would like to do more for the community I think the legislature is a good place to do that uh I’m qualified to to be there and uh you know I’m I’m just hoping to do more than I’ve been able to do by working within the
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community I mean people out there know that I’ve been involved and you know was a founding member of the East Maui cherot Festival houi La Lima Ohana which is our dialysis support group The kipahulu Wana Mama Lea and a number of organizations I’ve been involved with uh the Hana Community Association parly kanak oie and I were the community representatives in a contest Ted casine over kuiva well in the early ’90s that issue is coming back around again and so you know people know what I’ve been uh
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doing out there and it’s um basically it’s it’s uh to be of of service it’s uh I’m clearly not a politician so uh yeah you have a a great base of knowledge and I imagine applying that knowledge in that role could educate a lot of people and and uh your very your very presence and experience offers something uh greatly needed I think in our legislature well I think it’s important to say that I I am running as an independent candidate and I I really do not like the uh divisions that we have
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amongst the parties other words Republicans Independents Democrats Libertarians and so forth so uh one of the things that I would pledge to do in the legislature is forget about party lines things are too serious not to just sit down as people as community members and work things out it is possible and uh that’s what I’d like to do the other thing that I think is real important is that uh on the campaign Trail um I hear that people would like to see more of their elected representatives
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particularly on mikai uh and other places so you know I’m I’m making a pledge uh to the people of mikai to be on their Island at least once a month if I’m elected they have a a quickly evolving situation regarding the future of their Island and they they will need all the help they can get to make it work for the community now one issue I’d like to mention is I’m very much for local control of communities I support a state constitutional amendment to allow communities or districts to incorporate
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as cities or municipalities or new counties so this is a an issue I would like to see pass to an area like molai or east Maui or west big island and East Big Island would have the opportunity as residents to decide should they incorporate and become their own in that incorporation the the monies that are collected would be uh differently dled out for services that would happen what would that be doing the the the main thing is if that’s there as a tool for the communities then I’ve recommended
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that the threshold for the community to say yes to a proposal like that should be at least 75% needs to be a very high threshold and it has to be done with a large information base in other words with molai if they decide to become their own County they they will understand that they will need to generate their own revenues as a county they won’t be getting County revenues from uh the rest of the district they will continue to be able to get state and federal money so in any sort of a planning scenario whether it be East
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Malu or molai people really need to be aware of our potential U Revenue base how many people we’ve got to employ uh well the highway would probably come into the uh to the district as a uh as part of the uh transition from uh the county to a new County we’d have the ability to have a toll road and an information booth to generate revenues this is another thing that uh you know there should we need to have a state um amendment to the Constitution to make initiative in referendum more available
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to the voters there’s so many good ideas and they’re being suppressed let me say it again they’re beinged press because of the very high thresholds uh in terms of number of Voters that you need to get to sign a petition to get it on the ballot uh I worked for um at least 15 years with the committee for more Equitable taxation Bill Taris founded that bills from Kel and uh we’ve done some we’ve done some great things but we tried to get a tax reform measure on the ballot uh two
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years ago could not succeed successfully get the the required number of signatures now the threshold was uh was really prohibitively high so my feeling is that if you can get you know we could talk about it and probably agree maybe 3,000 maybe 4,000 signatures then the voter should be able to decide on an an initiative measure and uh I think it’s very important because our you know the the County Council and the legislative branch and even the are just not working as quickly and creatively as the communities are so
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this is a chance for the communities to actually uh in effect legislate things that would be good for the community and they’d be able to vote on them we wouldn’t have to wait year out I’m sitting here I’m thinking well you need your own show cuz you have you you have a you know a base of information that can be helpful in office and out of office so you’ve been doing this for 35 years what were you doing or are you doing concurrently I imagine if you’re not a a paid administrator you um obviously have been
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involved heavily involved for a long time what do you do what are your passions and what do you do for a livelihood unless you’re just independently wealthy which oh I’m not tell us how I’m certainly not independently wealthy but uh I was hired to come to Hana around 35 years ago by uh John Elliott and he was a former ambassador to American Samoa and we just met in California I was uh have been into plants at that time berms and tanas at that time and John was is a he’s deceased at this point but was a one of
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the most incredible uh amateur bists probably in the whole world and so he was kind enough to offer uh me a job about four monthes later we came over and John uh arranged for a house and a Land Rover and so forth and you know I we agreed to work for uh I agreed to work for a few months and uh Hana turned out to be the perfect place for a guy that loves ging yeah so since then U my wife came over with me we had uh we we came to a named mua which is between Han and kipahulu so we’ve been in the the
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same house for the entire time we’ve been here we’ve had we had uh two children born at home in that house that uh were raised in MOA and attended and graduated from H school they’re both adults at this point and um so you know we’ve been I I worked in the uh gardening and Landscaping and and property management for for decades and uh planted lots of Orchard for people and and really worked in that field I’ve been U gardening organically for nearly 40 years so that’s my uh background and
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uh at this point because my wife is uh uh works at Hana school has given me some time to uh spend more time you know working on community issues so I want to sayal to my wife Crystal for her good work at Hana school and them up yeah and it’s you know she’s a a great teacher and uh wonderful there’s there’s many great teachers of H at H school but this uh the fact that she continues to uh work with the kids which she loves to do uh you know is making it possible for me to run at this point so how uh what
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other issues come to mind that you’d like to share are important that you want to communicate with people now this District is up country that means maw as far as mawell even yes so mawal Pukalani and coming on down the pulaa all the way over there Lula too and then all the way across and then down to East Maui and the whole backside of cowo and everything wow that’s a big big an important District it’s you I don’t think of it as the big Revenue producer but maybe I guess it is fairly
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significant but it sure is the reason that people come here you know it’s the beautiful Lush side how’s the water going on there are they having a shortage up country water any thoughts on reservoirs and I Hadar he was a kid with me he was jealous of M cuz they had a big Reservoir you have any thoughts about water up country uh absolutely we need um when we have our rainy Seasons here we need to fill be filling up uh tens of Mill hundreds of millions of gallons of reservo we have rain coming here and
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that that is that is compatible with the state water use the state water code uh which there is a public trust is an important part of that so um people wonder have asked me where are we going to get the revenue to build all these reservoirs with tight Economic Times and the answer is simple um waine and sugar and Emi have been getting water from for uh less than market value less than uh agricultural market value now listen to this they have paid less than a penny per thousand gallons for the water that they have I
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think illegally diverted from East Maui the market rate for agricultural water is uh is probably between a dollar and a150 at this point so uh the sugar industry has been getting uh not only Federal subsidies but has been getting water subsidies at the cost of farmers in East Malu so they need to pay their fair share I’m a big supporter of of the sugar cane folks making a transition into low water use plants for biofuels that is certainly on the horizon I Tropa have you looked at that I’m aware of the
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plant but I I haven’t looked at the specifics of that and H think it’s something like 1,800 lers of fuel in a hectar I was just reading I’m sure it translates into our denominations but there are some amazing things to be able to grow our fuel absolutely and the the the the people growing the cane right now I’m a big supporter of massive tax credits for the research and development of these new crops so you know we’re not you know we have to make a transition away from Agro business into more sensible crops
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for the long term and there’s a lot of people and a lot very good people that want to help with that and we understand the need to balance the demands by you know for the employees at uh hcns and the people of East Mali and that’s things are just totally out of balance at this point and so we need to establish that balance and you know we can do a lot of that through the legislature and the part of that is you know is to uh communicate with people better than it’s being done when I go to
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the when I went to the water here in Haiku a couple weeks ago it’s it’s really uh it’s it’s sad to see all the sugar cane workers sitting there in the red t-shirts and kind of you know groups pitted against each other it’s not really right I mean we love the people that work that work in the sugar can fields and we’re we’re not out to uh eliminate their jobs we want to find we want to evolve to the logical place where they’ll have full employment and full benefits and we just have to be
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more sensible about this we’re we’re really going to run into a brick wall with the way we’re managing our water and our watersheds now the last thing I’m also a big advocate of the county of Maui and OHA other interested parties taking complete control of the East Maui Weds the West Maui watersheds uh they should not be uh controlled by uh private entities they are by law a public resource and we need to start managing them that way and it’ll be better for everybody yeah well you know
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I’m um like I said I think you need your own show cuz just in each issue that we’re talking about you have such a depth of of experience that you obviously want to use have you’ve been putting your testimony out do you feel that you can have more um effect as a serving um I want to say say a serving politician but I wonder you know I sometimes wonder where I can have the greatest impact cuz you have obviously tremendous experience and that’s great serving us on the general plan and yes
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having a vote towards some kind of group and putting legislation is giving you a different feeling have you run before I know you ran for mayor I’ve seen your name and I’ve seen you active for so long well that’s that’s the only other time that I’ve run but um you know I I think it’s important to I mean I’m I’m offering myself to serve in the legislature as a resource to try to bring people together and believe me I know uh a lot of people that are are just absolutely sick with the political
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system whether it’s locally or nationally or internationally it’s a terrible situation uh I’m someone that has chosen to actively participate in the system and uh you know we get we we lose issues over and over and over and yet we’re making a difference in the long run a lot of the ideas uh that I was talking about 25 30 years ago now coming into more public understanding I mean I a lot of people understood sustainable living and the population problems and the lack of U unlimited
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natural resources you know decades ago and uh it’s you know it’s nothing new but it’s it’s now getting into uh more people are getting educated and Lord knows we need all the help we can get to come together and not have this planet destroy itself I mean it’s that critical and last thing for the people that I see that have that have dropped away from the political system a lot of them are making a big difference somebody that’s dedicated to an idea of growing a fruit Orchard or to some idea that they’re
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just devoted to music or anything like that that they’re just they’re very single-minded in their approach to something um I understand why people would want to do that and why they just want to focus on one thing that’s very constructive but uh at the same time please take about a half an hour every two years to get inform as much as you can and vote you know you don’t have to be there all the time but get informed and vote and and uh I think that many people if they have an open Forum like
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um a place that they can share their ideas like this I mean how many people get a chance to sit and spend time in this kind of environment like we have you may well already know when I came here you know I got here in ‘ 88 you’re already here a while but yeah I was on that same Runway trying to take off on the environmental thing that’s how the Maui Arts and Music Association got created and that’s been our mission statement self- sustainability modeling promoting art music and culture it’s
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like I find out you know I was talking to a young guy in aahu who was telling me now the Hawaiians are looking to do the same thing it’s like we all are are so aware it’s time to put it into our system where people can feel like they’re they can be involved all the time and we can affect positive change like I’m hoping to do it through my nonprofit with the Mali Arts and Music Association some people choose a political R so many important things I firstly want to thank you for all the
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time and energy and all that you’ve put in because I don’t know if you’re going to get enough you know praise but you know praise is what you need because you’ve been holding a banner a long time and I’m happy to come along afterward and you know like I said I always think I’m an original thought some of people that are in there now in politics but you’ve been doing it a long time you’ve really been holding down Fort that youve saved a good area over here now I think
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that uh I’m just really glad to see that you’re out you know I really um very happy to see you I think maybe you’re giving me too much credit but I you know I think I think we’re you know people that try to do good things with their lives and that includes you I know all your music experience and so forth um you know that that’s you know we don’t do it for credit or whatever we want the world to be better and we have to actively participate if we want to make things better I just know that when I we
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have a show like this people may not have ever had an opportunity to sit and share with you and I just want you to know it’s much appreciated okay Mah can I say of course you can I forgot to mention I have a website and that’s a good place if you’re really interested in reading more of my thoughts and so so forth and that is www jbb for senate.com jbb the number four yes senate.com right and we have uh you know a nice website and I have posted uh a lot of information enough information
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for people to uh see what a lot of my ideas are and you know people uh are welcome to call me directly or email me and I’ve gotten some very interesting calls from uh voters during this uh campaign so it’s uh people are welcome to call me and uh you don’t have to agree with me to discuss an idea you know well you know I think the more we discuss the more we find we agree it’s just we talk in different terms I don’t really I always thought when I was running as a green I just felt I wanted to be like
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you are independent take all the good ideas and we work them all together and not be divisive and separating and come together as a community and U I’m really thinking that’s the direction we’re coming it’s funny now it’s necessity that’s pushing us you know where uh cooperation could have been long ago we could have been self- sustainable all along the way we still can but it’s unbelievable absolutely and remember I mean it’s really very instructive to remember where we’re
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living on these islands of the middle of an ocean uh the native Hawaiian were self-sufficient here so there’s there’s really a lot to uh think about with what what they did they lived very simply and and uh provided for their needs and had a flourishing uh culture they had uh you know it’s it’s a it’s worth thinking about there were people that lived on these islands for a long long long time very sustainably and now people want to get back to that idea and that’s why one
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of the reasons that I’m a advocate of the aopa system which is basically the uh native Hawaiian Land Management System and U I’m also a big supporter of the AHA moku Council idea and that’s basically an extension of the old koniki system where you know aopa is basically a division of land and in the old you know in previous times you had people that lived within those land divisions that had extraordinary knowledge about those areas right they were the people that made the decisions regarding Land
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Management in those areas and that was a very sensible way to do things so it’s interesting in places like Hana in East Maui we have lots of the lineal descendants are still are still there one of the groups that I work with Nam Mama umoa six 2/3 of the board is made up of lineal descendants of of the original grantees of of MOA so that’s uh and I’m sure this is true uh on molai and other places but you know we don’t need to reinvent the wheel we need to pay more attention to the knowledge that’s already there and
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is available to us and we have I think we have to really understand that um you know that uh living simply is a is a good thing yeah you know it’s uh funny um I am uh so comfortable in talking with you I feel like I’m kind of looking in the mirror you got a little more hair than me now it’s you know we’re looking ahead of us we doing this at the malats and Cultural Center and as we’re coming to a close on the show here come all these kids and I look at our future and I um I know there’s great
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hope if we all Embrace that concept sometimes it’s the old and the new that come together you know the simple can be very effective and uh I I would like to say one thing seen all these kids pouring out of the Castle Theater and that’s uh um my wife and I talk about education a lot I mean just about every day because there’s so many issues and the thing that that always comes up over and over is how important it is for the parents your kids and to get involved in their lives from infancy and read to them and interact
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with them and teach them what you know uh there is so much knowledge in Hana for example and the cultural knowledge does get passed on but uh people need to really work with their kids and read to them and spend time with them uh this is the only way we’re going to have a better future don’t expect the the uh the teachers at the schools to do all the work they’re your kids and uh it’s all of our future so we’ll right you know it’s interesting you know we have Mama Mai Arts and Music Association but
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we also have Papa people align and positive action participatory action people you know that’s what we are going to do by doing this together we have all the answers I mean that’s our greatest resource there are so many kids here I didn’t know they could STI that many people in this building all short people well a few taller ones can I can I share something with your viewers I just remember I had this I brought this over we’re having a tonight a forum with the native Hawaiian Chamber
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of Commerce this this evening and everyone will be there and I brought over a banana from our garden pick it up a little bit so can see there it is look at that this is a single banana this is a native variety called the hu MOA which is uh means chicken egg and these are very short and extremely fat this is kind of a small one some of them will be as big as your fist and they produce a pretty good uh cooking or they we we like to use them for cooking but there’s some people that enjoy them as just to
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let them get right and rip and eat them that way we like to uh if you just steam them it’s it’s a PO ULU kind of banana so if you just steam it it’s going to be very sweet just with steaming it the natural sugars are in there you can uh wait till it gets very right take the peel off slice it up uh fry it in butter uh and the first time I had it K Kepler who’s a a great uh Bist prepared it with garlic and butter so that was a whole different way to do it this is I just thought people would enjoy this is an
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unusual B another one of our another one of our um resources that needs to be spread out you know and discovered so there’s look at all those shirts I think we should move the camera around to see this Army sure stay here a second we’ll be right back hang on look at that all these kids [Applause] wow well you know [Applause] it’s um it’s great that you’re running you know a winner and a loser I think the only people that are losers are the ones that don’t participate you know
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this kind of dialogue no matter who wins and loses it’s how thoughtful are we going to make all of us and how active we are I I recognize that uh you’re running to win and I wish you the best you know you are the deciding factor in who sits in the seat but I think that the fact that dialogue is all the time and these elections are good benchmarks to kind of guide us as we’re moving through life but um you know it’s Isn’t it nice to know that someone besides running to get you to pull a lever is there and caring
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and active really been a pleasure speaking with you I hope we can do this again well hello Jason I really appreciate it and it’s a fun being with you and mollow for all your the good things that you’ve done over the years thank you really and a lot more and I want to see more of you getting involved so remember again you probably see the name going across a bunch of times John Blumer-Buell State Senate District number six wow and if you see it on the ballot then you know if you want to vote for
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John Blumer-Buell you can vote for him if you don’t see him on the ballot you can still like him come up to him and uh you know we all are a part of a great Community here thank you very very much for joining us a pleasure and thank you for joining us see you again
