Please LIKE, COMMENT, SHARE & SUBSCRIBE… It Really Helps My Our Channel.
Maui Neutral Zone: https://youtube.com/@dreammaui1
Summary & Transcript Below
Summary of Video Transcript: Interview: Jason Schwartz with Richard Bissen on Maui Leadership and Community Issues 10-27-2022
00:00 → 02:41 | Introduction and Background of Richard Bissen
- [00:00] The host, Jason Schwartz, welcomes viewers to the Neutral Zone and introduces Richard Bissen, a well-known local figure in Maui community and politics.
- Richard Bissen’s extensive career spans over 34 years, including 17 years as a judge and 15 years as a prosecutor.
- His deep experience with the legal system and community issues has given him a unique perspective on the challenges Maui faces.
- Jason notes the cyclical nature of political efforts in Maui, with many attempts to improve the community often falling short, likened to “Humpty Dumpty” repeatedly breaking and trying to be put back together.
- Richard acknowledges the complexity of leadership roles: as a judge, decisions are bound by law, while as mayor, one must balance legal frameworks with freedom to act on behalf of the community.
- The discussion opens with Richard’s decision to run for mayor, which he attributes to his concern for his grandsons and future generations, and a desire to use his honed skills for the community’s betterment.
02:41 → 07:04 | Motivation for Running and Leadership Philosophy
- [02:41] Richard explains that his motivation to run for mayor stems from familial ties and a deep concern about ongoing crises that affect local residents, including government shortcomings.
- He reflects on how his career, though not initially planned as a path to mayor, prepared him for the role through experience in making difficult, nuanced decisions that affect real people.
- He highlights the discretion required in judicial decisions, drawing parallels to the mayor’s need to balance multiple interests for the good of the entire community.
- Richard’s leadership philosophy emphasizes independent thinking and not simply following rules blindly, but interpreting them with humanity and flexibility.
- His guiding principle is always putting Maui first and focusing on what benefits the county as a whole.
- His community involvement spans decades, including juvenile justice advisory councils, violence against women committees, Big Brother mentorship, and participation in school PTAs.
- He stresses his long-term commitment to community service and leadership, not as a new or sudden interest, but a lifelong dedication.
07:04 → 12:20 | Vision for Maui and Approach to Leadership Team
- [07:04] Discussion shifts to morale and resource challenges within county departments, highlighting the reality of limited budgets and staff.
- Richard underscores the need for prioritization and thoughtful budgeting, focusing on controlling spending within the mayor’s office without premature decisions on appointments.
- He reveals his vision for Maui: ensuring that local youth (referred to as “Kiki and Mo Puna”) can remain in Maui if they choose, creating a safe environment especially for the aging population (kupuna), and protecting natural and cultural resources for future generations.
- Regarding leadership staff, Richard prefers an open recruitment approach after election to attract the best talent rather than pre-selecting directors or deputies, allowing for a broad pool of candidates including current county employees and external applicants.
- He acknowledges the political realities of appointments but emphasizes his commitment to merit-based hiring and retaining morale among employees.
- Richard’s extensive management experience includes directing two county departments and overseeing large public safety agencies, which he believes equips him to handle morale and operational challenges effectively.
- He emphasizes that public service is about serving the community, not financial gain, and looks to attract candidates who share that value.
12:20 → 20:52 | Addressing Homelessness and Community Challenges
- [12:20] The conversation moves to pressing social issues such as homelessness, healthcare access, and housing shortages.
- Richard acknowledges the complexity of homelessness, emphasizing that it is not a one-size-fits-all problem.
- He explains that many homeless individuals suffer from trauma, mental illness, or substance abuse, while others have experienced personal losses or hardships beyond their control.
- He stresses that homelessness is not a crime or punishment but often a consequence of difficult circumstances.
- Richard supports innovative solutions such as providing safe parking areas for homeless individuals with cars, including access to showers, laundry, counseling, and job support.
- He critiques rushed political attempts to implement homeless services without thorough planning or appropriate locations.
- Richard believes that many homeless people desire privacy and dignity, wanting to safely rest and access services without stigma or undue proximity to police or hospitals.
- For kupuna and vulnerable populations, he recognizes the strain on medical services and the limited time doctors can spend with patients.
- He argues that the mayor can play a critical role in attracting healthcare workers and other essential employees by addressing the housing crisis.
- Richard proposes repurposing vacant commercial spaces into affordable housing near workplaces like hospitals and police stations to reduce traffic and improve quality of life.
- Housing, he states emphatically, is the fundamental solution to homelessness, workforce retention, and traffic congestion.
- He encourages leadership to think beyond short election cycles, focusing on generational impacts and sustainable policies that benefit future Maui residents.
20:52 → 28:12 | Long-Term Vision and Political Philosophy
- [20:52] Richard stresses the importance of visionary leadership that plans decades ahead, rather than quick fixes designed for immediate political gain.
- He admits this approach might seem idealistic but argues that current methods have failed Maui.
- His goal is to initiate policies today that will be appreciated by future generations.
- He is critical of political leaders who focus on short-term achievements or taking credit for others’ work.
- Richard’s deep roots in Maui and personal commitment to the community shape his perspective and drive.
- He contrasts his vision and experience with his opponent’s long tenure, suggesting that more progress should have been made by now.
- He highlights his leadership during the pandemic, where he kept the courts operational and pioneered reopening jury trials in Hawaii, demonstrating resilience and collaboration.
- Richard views leadership as most crucial during crises, emphasizing that the real hardships were borne by the people, not those in office.
- He offers himself as a leader who can navigate Maui through challenging times by focusing on long-term recovery and growth.
28:12 → 35:32 | Closing Thoughts and Personal Commitment
- [28:12] Jason expresses appreciation for Richard’s leadership qualities and openness to new ideas, recalling his own history with Maui community projects and cultural initiatives.
- They discuss the potential for future collaboration and ongoing dialogue beyond the election.
- Richard reiterates his deep connection to Maui, emphasizing that he is not just from Maui but “of Maui,” with generational ties and a vested interest in the island’s prosperity.
- He thanks Jason for the interview and encourages continued community engagement.
- The conversation briefly touches on music and cultural connections, hinting at potential future topics and collaborations.
- The interview concludes with mutual appreciation and a call for collective strength in Maui’s future.
Key Insights
- Leadership on Maui requires a balance of legal knowledge, community empathy, and long-term vision.
- Addressing homelessness and healthcare challenges is multifaceted, requiring dignity, privacy, and practical support such as housing and job services.
- Housing is central to solving multiple issues: homelessness, workforce retention, and traffic congestion.
- Effective leadership demands open recruitment, meritocracy, and care for employee morale.
- Long-term generational thinking must replace short-term political cycles for sustainable community success.
- Resilience and collaboration during crises are critical leadership qualities.
- Deep community roots and personal commitment enhance credibility and effectiveness in public service.
Conclusion
This interview with Richard Bissen provides an in-depth exploration of Maui’s governance challenges from the perspective of a seasoned legal and community leader running for mayor. Richard’s emphasis on humanity, long-term solutions, and practical interventions like housing and supportive services offers a hopeful and pragmatic blueprint for Maui’s future. His commitment to transparency, merit-based leadership, and community-first policies marks him as a candidate focused on genuine progress rather than short-sighted politics.
Full Transcript
00:00
[Music] thank you aloha welcome everyone to the neutral zone mauinutralzone.com I’m your host Jason Schwartz you may remember I was just doing interviews of candidates running for office including myself running but now we’re you know down to the end and I only I’m doing a couple of interviews and one of them is this gentleman that some of you know probably most of you now he’s been a movement Bissen movement.com Richard Bissen Welcome to our show Aloha Jason thank you for having me
00:48
today you know um Public Access television is interesting it’s Public Access just like uh we all have access to being in the election and voting I’m hoping more and more people realize that they have an opportunity and a responsibility all wrapped in together to see who the candidates are and that’s why I’ve been doing these shows and this gentleman Richard biss and some of you know has been a a judge here locally in the circuit court for how many years 25 right 17 years on the bench uh 15 years
01:25
at the prosecutors all together about 35 years 34 years and eight months right so you know when you talk about what’s going on on Maui if I talked about uh a cycle of people that are coming up to the line and trying to get better but fall back and fall back sort of like Humpty Dumpty you probably you’re uh involved with bringing the bottom up and you’ve really seen Humanity close up from being a judge is an interesting thing you have to abide by a law or as a mayor you have to abide by bigger law
02:04
but you have your own Freedom how does that work you know like in in the county and all running the county you’re going to have an interesting position where you make roads as well as go on ones that are created any way you’re approaching this I know it’s a big deal to that suddenly you’re a giant uh spot on the scene here you’ve been suddenly making a presence what is it that’s driving you to do this to run for mayor after such a distinguished career well that’s uh that’s an easy question
02:41
for me to answer the three reasons that I decided to put my hat in the ring were lalakia those are the names of my three grandsons I’m deeply concerned about the crisis we find ourselves in as local people trying to figure out a way to live in our homeland and um struggling to do so and some of it is external some of it is you know our own doing and so what I mean our own is our government’s doing so I think uh the reason I decided uh to put my name in is that I have a set of skills that I have developed uh and
03:24
honed over my career I didn’t know I was doing that in order to run for mayor because that was never the plan however I realized now looking back that none of these were coincidences you know as a mayor you have to make decisions that impact your community as a as a judge you make huge decisions real world life-changing decisions for people and and none of these are black and white decisions uh people think they are but in fact you serving as a juror probably understood all the nuances that happened
04:02
when you were sitting as the jury uh deciding what law you know what the law intended what it says how it’s interpreted so while there are certain circumstances that give very little discretion to a judge that’s that’s a very small percentage the majority of its instances the judge has a pretty wide discretion anywhere from putting someone on probation with no jail up to 5 or 10 or 20 years in prison so there are uh there are times where you have to use your life experience your lived experience
04:39
and uh like you said have an understanding of humanity you know you see people who have stumbled who have uh you know it’s at the probably the worst point in their lives they’ve made a mistake or um you know Accused at least of making one and and you’re there to try to you know resolve it and uh have folks move on and and do better improve well you know and I’m sure that now as mayor I’ve had a couple of people say to me oh he was great and cool he did this he did that so I love the fact that
05:15
you’re an independent thinker and don’t just go by the rule because the rule has interpretation and ways of doing things can be done uh outside of a of a box that’s really true we should always we should always use our you know everything we have available to us you know we should use all of the information we have so we can make the best decision not only for the individual standing in front of you but obviously for the entire community and I think it’s mayor our job is always to
05:52
keep Maui first Maui County Maui Nui you know what is in the best interest of the county of Maui and that’s I mean that’s been my guiding principle uh when I was involved in the Juvenile Justice State advisory Council for seven years when I sat on the violence against women’s act uh committee Statewide committee for six years when I was on the big I was a big brother before I started having my own children and then I switched to be on the board the mall United Way I sat on every uh parent-teachers Association uh for each
06:27
of my daughters from paella School league High School Kamehameha schools um so I’ve been very involved in our community and I did a series of videos on parenting on on choices that we put out in the in the late 90s or mid 90s um so I mean this isn’t a new thing I I didn’t just sort of fall out of the sky into uh Community issues I’ve been involved in community issues uh from as far back as 1987 when I started at the prosecutor’s office and like I said you know there’s there’s
07:04
been a lot of uh experience gained uh but a lot of community involvement and I’m I meant words in your mouth but only a few to lead you I know that when you go in you got to look around and see morale I don’t really know morale in the Departments you’re going to see what you got and there’s too much work for two little people and too little money to do too many things that we have to do and it’s always a matter of making choices in your debate with Mike Victorino I like when when the question came about
07:36
what can you do to reduce the budget and you thought for a second and the thing that you can control the most is what you spend in your office do you have a a team in mind already or you how are you gonna go about this uh thing if first I imagine you’re gonna you have your priorities are probably set do you have an agenda going in or are you kind of going to come in and see what’s up no of course we have a vision you know a vision for my broad vision is that our our Kiki and our Mo Puna can
08:14
remain here on Maui if they choose to do so that’s Vision number one our vision is that we’ll have a safe County especially for our kupuna we have an aging population uh our population thankfully are living longer and so we must not only just care for Public Safety but in particular for our kupuna and then of course uh we have an obligation to provide our next Generation with the natural and cultural resources that we inherited we have a responsibility to care for that and pass it on as well or
08:51
better if we can then we found that those are the top visions that are going to drive our policies that are going to drive our our momentum you asked a few questions so I’ll try to answer the ones I recall they I do not have a team of directors or Deputy directors uh in mind and the reason for that is I uh what I do have in mind are are folks that I would like to and these are people who are not applying for County jobs to uh uh to vet people who apply and the way we want to approach this is I want to
09:28
recruit talented people uh to to come to the county to be to be leaders or to work with the county uh we want to retain perhaps some of the current people that are working in the county and I’m talking about you know directors and deputies appointed positions of course all the folks who are civil service don’t don’t have anything to worry about as their jobs are are protected uh by their Union contracts and then the third group would be people who just without any prompting want to join uh the business
10:03
administration the business team and so I see us getting applicants from all three of those pools recruit retain and those that are interested um you know the problem with naming a director in November or even uh you know soon after the election is that you preclude anyone else who might be interested from applying because they say to themselves oh you’ve already picked so while you you might think well that’s a decisive leader who can pick their team uh before uh before even being uh you know inauguration uh but on
10:39
the other hand did you really did you really try to find the best most talented people you can so my way of thinking is to attract as many people as possible you just never know you might Overlook or pass over that one person that would have made all the difference in the cap and so I know other people think otherwise because some people see political campaigns as a time to pay off the debts or to reward favors and you know I I do understand I’m not naive um you know I’ve worked in government
11:17
for many many years and I worked in the back of the house you know I’ve been a director in fact I’m the only one who’s ever been the director who’s run who’s running of the eight people that initially ran um you know I ran two different County Departments of the two different mayors and then I was number two at the ages and I granted the private public safety which at the time had about 2 400 employees in 2004 that was more than the county had at that time the colony probably has about as many now
11:47
um and so I think I understand large corporations I understand small group dynamics I understand morale issues um I don’t think you’ll find anyone who’s worked with me over the last 35 years we will say that morale was low when I was in charge in fact I think you’ll find exactly the opposite and you know I understand about caring for our employees caring for our workers um and you’re right people have to sometimes do more with less but I think everybody who applies for a job with the
12:20
county understands that this is public service this is public service if it’s about the money people can go into the private sector private business of course that’s that’s they’re free to do that but you have people that join non-profits you have people that do volunteer you have people that join you know do public uh work for the government and um you know that’s the kind of person we want to attract somebody who understands that while you do get a salary you do get benefits that you know much of what
12:53
we do is uh it’s not entirely what we do is serve the public that’s that’s what we signed up for you know I’m I’m sitting here and I’m thinking okay what kind of questions you’ve heard questions it’s now late in the race you’ve heard them from everywhere you know uh this that yeah when you have things that’ll come to you like you talked about kupunas and wanting opportunities for the future and the health and safety health is gigantic around here and some of those things are
13:24
state issues and some of them are County and what about people that don’t have a car they’re homeless and they just saw this new bill coming hey we’re gonna open a parking lot if you got a car come on in and sleep I I remember more than more than many times there are so many homeless people that I keep wondering is there any plan to help it’s almost like there’s too many people for too few Services anything I thought of as like an emergency category not in the short you know it’s like a whole different
13:59
category do you have any kind of thoughts on that I just curious because that and the medical I watch Maui Memorial pushing people that are homeless out the door and lots of different services that I see people that somehow are marginalized and I don’t know like I say as a mayor I’m I’m bringing up things they’re a little different I think because the fact that I’m speaking to someone who has a knowledge and capacity both at state and local here I just wanted to sort of get your hit on the whole thing
14:34
well of course you understand this is a very highly charged subject for people and and like anything else we do whether we’re talking about tourism water homeless housing yeah everyone is impacted individually dependent upon the situation if a homeless individual lives right outside your door you’re more impacted by someone who lives miles and miles away from somebody uh in that situation and so your reaction is going to be different and uh and the resolution you seek is might it might also be different
15:07
the first thing we have to understand when we talk about the unsheltered um Community is that one size does not fit all the first thing we have to understand is that most people who are unsheltered are dealing with some sort of trauma some people are dealing with and I think I think we see the visible but there are the invisible population I think we see someone who might have a mental illness for example very obvious to most people the person is suffering from a mental illness and we will find people
15:47
who appear to be under the influence of substance abuse a substance and so there’ll be immediately categorized as you know a drug user someone mental health and of course you’re going to have people with both dual diagnosis patients people that have uh that suffer from both of those but then you have people and the trauma I’m talking about is maybe there was a death in their family maybe there was a divorce a loss of a job something that happened to them not something that they did but something
16:23
that happened to them and to that category um you know they may not know what services are available they may not feel comfortable going to a family or friends and they just try to gut it out and deal with it these aren’t people who wanted to be without a home or wanted to be in that situation I think there’s a very small percentage of people who choose this lifestyle a very small percent but I have to believe I have to believe Jason that we have had unsheltered people since the beginning of time
16:59
I don’t know that this is something that our goal should be to eliminate it completely or if we are trying to manage to the best of our ability so having said that and with the lens of someone who started the Maui mental health court in 2013 the Maui drug court in the year 2000. I have I think an informed uh background I understand many situations why someone is in is where they are but it is not a crime to be homeless it is not a punishment to be homeless it is uh it is more in most instances it’s
17:46
something that happens to someone but I think what we can do is deal with those folks that do have cars that I’m glad the county adopted the uh the idea that we had been talking about since as far back as January that one of the ideas we had was to talk with the Department of Transportation airports division try to convert some of those uh those Rent-A-Car a lot that you know they had moved to the to the garage the rental car garage and they had some open spaces there now what is the rental car space
18:21
it’s mostly parking spaces there’s a small administration building there’s a fence I thought if we could have working uh homeless people that are working have job that have jobs and cars but don’t have homes if we can give them a safe place to stay at night they can drive into these fenced off areas we can provide security and that administration building we would make sure there are showers and washers dryers a place to plug in electronic devices bring in counselors yes change their work hours
18:52
have them work the evenings and have them of course try to get people into housing find out what is what is lacking what is it that they’re needing uh for some people it’s the first months in the last month’s rent um you know we don’t have as much housing as we think we do obviously for people in transition uh maybe somebody needs a dental appointment maybe somebody needs a driver’s license renewal you know what act what what kind of uh maybe they have a court case to resolve paying a ticket so what I’m
19:21
saying is we could provide services to these to this population now the county tried to rush that idea through before the election and tried to get it at the Cameron Center for October 1st it it’s still not I think it’s October 27th and I don’t think that that’s happened yet because they’re they’re shorts they’re they’re all sort of little things that again it was rushed it was not uh planned out as the idea we had but again I wasn’t trying to get this in as an
19:53
election uh you know as an election uh a little check off it was something that somebody asked me the question and I gave them what I thought was a long-term um answer not something that we do something that we do under my Administration well obviously the current Administration was trying to see if they could get a hold of that and obviously they agreed it was a good idea but in a different location I don’t know how good of a location that is when you think about the Cameron Center being an
20:20
operating functioning uh set of offices where people work early people work late um some people thought it was a good idea of being next to the a police station I don’t know how many people that are challenged with housing who want to be next to a police station if they’re if their car is not current if there’s an outstanding bench warrant if there’s other issues um and not everybody uh wants to be next to the the hospital I was told at that location uh somehow the proximity to both of those made it a better choice I
20:52
actually think most of these folks want to be in a more private area they want to be left alone they want to drive in they want to have a good night’s rest and then drive to work and then have a place to go to in the evening that’s really mostly what people want right you know I mean when I’m sitting here with you I my mind goes to like I’m talking like a 75 year old lady who’s crippled and can’t walk they don’t have room at the shelter for her the medical is malamae keola where you
21:24
the doctors maybe get 10 or 15 minutes and they have so many people there the Quality Medical Care is limited by just the sheer volume of need um is there anything that a mayor can do to help the the state I know I don’t know whose responsibility I guess it’s the humanity pieces you know it’s like if you see someone that needs help take it upon yourself to give a little help and to help Services would have less help needed because we all kind of get involved in our Humanity I don’t know
22:00
how to deal with the the fact that there are so many people that I’m seeing daily that just can’t find services and again a mayor can’t do everything everyone thinks oh the mayor’s responsible you know I know but um I’m just curious how to deal with that issue because I’m well you answered you asked that in a couple different ways Jason so you know for people to rely on their conscience and Humanity to help fellows that doesn’t require any mayor that doesn’t require a pastor that doesn’t require a
22:31
doctor that requires conscience and the ability to to be able to do that some people are tied up and caught up in their lives and are helping other people and can’t help that person in front of but here’s what American do because the mayor can do something we can do you remember when there used to be teachers Cottages like say on Lanai for the DOE there was a time where teachers who worked were provided with uh I’m guessing it was a reduced rate or a rental rate for housing and that’s one
23:05
of the ways we attracted teachers on Lanai I can recall growing up um you know there was a police Cottage there for the commander there uh in Hana there was a Commander’s a place for Hana a police officers to could have been similar to how we provide housing for firefighters because they’re on duty 24 7. so there’s a place that they stay in case when an emergency is called they’re right on the spot um I know recently there was some housing provided for uh uh uh the fire department the fire department’s uh
23:41
employees out in manai on the East End of Molokai there was a property that was acquired again the way the mayor can help is by trying to attract good doctors and nurses by providing housing we need housing for our our Kama Aina we need housing for our middle class we need housing for the people that help to our community to function so if we want doctors I mean when you’re talking about oh they only they only can get 15 minutes at malama ikeola I’m it’s great that they can get 15 minutes
24:21
I mean that is a good thing um because that means there’s a doctor and there’s a nurse and what we what we need to prevent from happening is The Exodus of doctors and nurses we need to attract them and of course everything comes back to housing everything comes back to cost of living and I think for us as a county we can look ahead by Looking Back at what was once done now you know I’m in favor of repurposing existing uh vacant commercial space for example uh Sports Authority lows Safeway Uh
25:02
Sears uh the old Kahului shopping center um the old Department of Motor Vehicles and the Maui Mall There Are Places that already have at least two key elements yeah they have water and they have sewer but what we’ve got to consider what if we built housing let’s just say it’s Sears for example we built Apartments there and we made it attractive for the nurses who work right up the road at Monte Memorial Hospital for the doctors who worked right up the road for the police officers who worked
25:41
at that station um you know we if we can build our housing closer to where our workers need to go uh that can also help us with eliminating traffic for example West Maui housing for West Maui workers to keep people having to drive from up country or the east side of Maui all the way to Kaanapali in Lahaina to work so housing is one of the answers to the questions you’re posing housing is the answer to homelessness that’s the definition you got a house housing is the answer to homelessness
26:21
and people who are unsheltered housing is one of the answers to attracting good uh quality employees housing is one of the issues to eliminating traffic um by building it where people work so your although your question asks how do we give services to a kupuno 75 years old that he’s a doctor it’s interesting but the answer goes back to housing it goes and the mayor can help in policies by looking looking for Solutions not saying uh cannot not waiting for somebody to bring a solution to your doorstep and say here’s what you
27:03
do I mean it’s going out and seeking it and you know I’m certain people in the past have tried to finances to things but I think one of the traps we fall into is people who um in the past run for elective office is they think in two and four-year Cycles Jason because what do you have to say or do for your next two year or four-year office and that’s unfortunate because it doesn’t reward people to think the way I’m thinking which is two generations and four generations ahead because that doesn’t make good political
27:39
sense sometimes because you don’t have your checklist of things to say well I did all these things and even if you didn’t do it taking credit for something that somebody else started before you is what people feel is the key to getting elected or re-elected but my way of thinking and again why I’m not a politician is what can we do today that somebody 20 40 60 years from now will thank us what did we want somebody to do 20 years ago that would have prevented us from being in our situation
28:12
that we’re in now so we need to think in those terms um I know that might sound naive or too pie in the sky but we we’ve not tried that and the way we’ve been doing things is not working it’s not working essentially when I hear you speaking you know I first of all I’m so thankful to hear that you have leadership qualities you’re just not just waiting for someone to bring you an answer you’re out there aggressively looking and coming up with ideas and trying and reaching you know you only
28:48
know me a little bit probably now but 25 30 years ago I was sitting with pundy now he’s a statue at the cultural center but it is no accident that their mauiarts.org I’m mauiartsandmusic.org I have a plan but things changed my leaders local that you know I came here in 88 I was still a newbie in 92 and 93. I maybe was on a planning board at Maui Electric planning R20 your energy future but I need a local partner and friends and then pundy who heard my idea I had booked the cultural centers original New Year’s
29:28
opening I was going to do something so we started bonding then he had a stroke but these ideas I hear there’s something in you that says hey this guy’s going to listen to ideas and take things and be open and aware to do things in them and be bringing like you say the mayor can do something the mayor can lead you know if you really get a lot done when you don’t worry about who takes the credit and you have the experience to and the you have your own base you’re not looking for any spoils in this game
30:06
you’re here to to add to this community and been watching it for a long time and been in it for a long time Knee Deep and now you want to get up to your neck you’re going in and um everything at six three it’s a good thing I’m six three you know we’re gonna run out of time in a handful of minutes what are the most important things that you’d like to leave with our viewers and voters I hope we can do this after the election because I think an open dialogue is a really helpful thing as your whole
30:43
administrator you have a momentum that is uh what do they say palatable you can feel it in the air I imagine we never know what the election is going to do but there’s a when you’re uh people running against you now have started to form and circle with you let me give you this yeah well you know I thank you for saying you know Jason I’m not just from Maui I’m of Maui I mean my you know this is a place that you know I got my schooling my Customs my traditions my way of life and so you
31:20
know I I very intimately you know connected through this land for generations and you know I just want to see it Prosper I have had so much success I have been so fortunate and blessed but my Foundation is this is this very place and I would love for other people to have that same success you know I don’t think this is a situation where you know again in my situation though my opponent’s been in you know in control for 14 years and and still talking about you know starting something or getting something
31:51
um you know I think by now we would have expected uh a lot more for us and you know I understand how hard the pandemic hit I was the leader at the at the courthouse while that was happening we had to make big decisions um we didn’t shut down we stayed open the whole time we’re the first County to reopen jury trials in the entire state of Hawaii and that’s because we were determined to do it and we collaborated we brought other groups together that don’t normally come together and able to
32:17
open uh the first jury trial in the state of Hawaii so you know I bring a different view of that we can do it um you know the pandemic hit everyone hard and I hear leaders talking about how hard it was to leave during that time well anybody can lead when things are easy anybody can steer the boat in calm Waters but what people are looking for is who can spirit and park that boat in rough Waters and that’s what I bring I mean we you know we can’t complain that there were storms and there’s fires and
32:48
there’s pandemics and you know who could have led well every everybody had to deal with that but you know who had it the hardest the citizens the people who lost lives lost loved ones who lost homes who lost businesses who lost jobs um who moved away those are the real people who lost during the pandemic not the leaders who were still getting paid whether you’ve made a good decision or a bad decision um so you know I I’m hearing it over and over and over well you know it’s so hard
33:20
it’s so hard well I think that it was hardest on our people and you know now we need to look you know in the future look forward and think generationally what can we do to improve our folks uh there a lot and I’ve just been so blessed to have been raised here and to you know be be from here in this place and and I’d like to see everybody talk about giving back you know you go to the mainland you get your college degree uh you come back you you get your law degree and you come back and I from the day I graduated to
33:53
law school after seven years away I’ve been uh I’ve been back here in Hawaii the whole time uh on Maui so I’m here to stay I’m here to uh offer my my services and whatever I’ve gained over my career to help our County and thank you for having me on today it’d be my pleasure you know I can hear your attention is being called need to take them out um you Rick Bissen thank you Richard we I guess I should call you Richard Bessie Rick is good anyone anyone is good A lot of people call me Rick yeah we haven’t
34:28
had a chance to talk about music and illegal you know I like to think of this as the opening of a new door that will have a lot of conversation and maybe take some action together which would be very exciting yeah speaking of Music you’ll see on our website uh an endorsement from Stephen Tyler himself uh you’ll get to see that on there but I know if Willie was here uh the kahali is then real close with me growing up and over the years and you know we played a lot of music with Willie when he was running the brunch a
35:01
few other friends musician friends who are gone now but when you just mentioned music it triggered a whole nother side of things but yeah thank you thank you thank you for today Jason you’re welcome thank you all out there for listening and watching and being involved in in Maui’s things all these years like we all have our different roles and together we are really uh Stronger thank you Rick for being here it’s really been a pleasure and look forward to having you here again and seeing you off camera besides
35:32
all right enjoy aloha [Music]
