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Up Close 2014 – ROZ BAKER, State Senate District 6, interviews with Jason Schwartz
Summary & Transcript Below…
Summary
The video features an in-depth interview with Senator Roz Baker, representing South and West Maui, conducted by Jason Schwartz in 2014. Senator Baker reflects on her extensive political career, spanning over two decades, including her service in the House, County Economic Development coordinator role, and multiple terms in the State Senate. The conversation covers a wide range of topics, from legislative responsibilities and community engagement to complex policy issues like GMO labeling, agriculture, healthcare, economic diversification, and housing challenges in Maui.
Baker emphasizes the collaborative nature of legislative work, highlighting teamwork within the Maui delegation and the balance between district-specific advocacy and statewide priorities. She discusses the challenges of passing legislation on contentious issues such as GMO labeling, explaining how multiple committees and legal constraints impact the legislative process. She stresses transparency and constituent engagement, citing efforts to conduct interactive hearings accessible to local communities and maintain open communication despite the demands of her role.
The senator also shares her commitment to consumer protection, particularly programs aimed at protecting elderly residents from scams. On economic matters, Baker advocates for diversification beyond tourism by supporting STEM education, local entrepreneurship, and innovative agriculture projects like industrial hemp and value-added processing at Maui College’s Food Innovation Center. She acknowledges the delicate balance of preserving agricultural jobs, supporting organic and GMO farming coexistence, and addressing public concerns over food safety.
Healthcare is another priority, with efforts to establish a sustainable business model for Maui Memorial Medical Center and enhance local medical services such as trauma and stroke care. Baker underscores the importance of public-private partnerships to maintain quality healthcare access on the island.
Throughout the interview, Baker projects a pragmatic, people-centered approach, emphasizing compromise, open dialogue, and the complexities of governance. She expresses enthusiasm for her work and a deep commitment to improving the quality of life for Maui residents through thoughtful legislation and community collaboration.
Highlights
- [02:16] Senator Baker balances statewide responsibilities with district-specific concerns, working closely with Maui’s three senators to advocate for local projects.
- [06:35] The legislature uses innovative methods like interactive hearings in local schools to engage community members in the legislative process.
- [13:52] The GMO labeling bill faced challenges due to federal preemption and committee disagreements, illustrating legislative complexities.
- [22:20] ⚠️ A potential moratorium on GMO crops could result in significant job losses and economic impact on Maui’s agriculture sector.
- [27:15] Economic diversification efforts focus on supporting local entrepreneurs, STEM education, and emerging industries like industrial hemp.
- [40:41] Senator Baker advocates for a sustainable business plan and public-private partnerships to secure Maui Memorial Medical Center’s future.
- [44:20] Baker remains passionate about serving the community, emphasizing education, healthcare, and social services as key priorities.
Key Insights
- [01:40] Balancing Local and Statewide Priorities: Senator Baker discusses the inherent challenge legislators face in representing local district interests while addressing broader statewide issues. This balancing act requires teamwork among Maui’s senators and strategic committee assignments to cover diverse areas like commerce, transportation, tourism, and judiciary. It highlights the complexity of governance where local needs must be integrated into a statewide agenda.
- [06:00] ️ Innovative Civic Engagement: By hosting interactive hearings in local schools and charter schools, the legislature reduces barriers to public participation, such as travel costs and time. This approach fosters greater community involvement and transparency, empowering constituents to directly influence legislative decisions. It serves as a model for making government more accessible and responsive.
- [13:52] ⚖️ Legislative and Legal Constraints on GMO Labeling: The GMO labeling debate underscores the multi-layered challenges lawmakers face, including federal preemption by the FDA, divergent committee views, and economic concerns. The requirement for unanimous committee agreement to advance legislation can stall bills, reflecting the procedural hurdles in lawmaking. Baker’s explanation reveals the tension between public demand for transparency and the legal limits imposed on state legislatures.
- [22:20] Economic Impact of GMO Moratorium: The potential moratorium on genetically modified crops threatens hundreds to thousands of agricultural jobs and the livelihood of Maui’s farming community. This insight reveals the high stakes involved in agricultural policy decisions, where environmental and consumer concerns must be weighed against economic sustainability and food security. The moratorium could disrupt local economies, emphasizing the need for balanced solutions.
- [27:15] Diversifying Maui’s Economy Through Innovation: Baker highlights the importance of STEM education and support for startups as crucial for diversifying the island’s economy beyond tourism. She cites examples like industrial hemp and food innovation efforts, showcasing how leveraging local resources and talent can create new industries and jobs. This approach emphasizes sustainability, resilience, and local empowerment in economic development.
- [40:41] Healthcare Challenges and Solutions: Maui Memorial Medical Center’s financial sustainability is a critical issue. Baker advocates for legislation enabling public-private partnerships to maintain and improve healthcare services locally, preserving jobs and access to vital medical care. This insight reflects broader healthcare financing challenges in rural and island communities, where cost pressures threaten service availability.
- [31:01] Necessity of Compromise and Dialogue in Governance: Baker stresses that complex issues like GMO regulation or infrastructure should not be polarized. Instead, compromise and middle-ground solutions are essential for progress. This insight highlights the importance of respectful dialogue, understanding opposing views, and collaborative problem-solving in effective policymaking, especially on divisive topics.
Overall, the interview provides a comprehensive look at the multifaceted role of a state senator in Hawaii, the practical realities of legislative processes, and the pressing social, economic, and environmental issues facing Maui County. Senator Baker’s experience and pragmatic approach offer valuable lessons in public service, community engagement, and navigating complexity in governance.
00:13
aloha I’m Jason Schwartz you know me and you very likely know Senator Roz Baker
aloha hi Roz how are you I’m good thank you for taking the time to sit with me here we are in 2014. I have a hard time saying that being that I uh just the years keep rolling by you’ve been the representative there in the west side for uh I just completed my 22nd year in the legislature I started out in the house in 1988 and served for 10 years then I went to the county was Economic Development coordinator under marapana
00:56
at the time and when I came back to the senate in 20 2 uh the that was South and West Maui so I started out on the West Side did a little stint uh it was West Side Molokai Lanai did a little set with West Side Molokai Lanai and Central Maui and then uh now South of West Valley you’re uh just waiting for the plane to go by see this is a this is a live show outside we’re here in North Kia we’re trying to find a spot that made some sense um so you’ve been a representative and you represent a district but I know
01:40
that when you’re in the State House we all have to make decisions Statewide yes um would you feel that you’ve been a strong leader in bringing things to your District or do you find your job to be more I’ll give you an example there was a thing about GMO labeling you know it goes out and people are waiting for it it goes in committee well that’s sort of not an area thing that’s an all statewide right right and yet there is things they need money for this and money for that you spend most of your
02:16
time with specific issues for your area or for General things or what do you well it’s really a balance you know there are three senators from Maui in the state senate there’s 25 and so we work together as a team on the district things on the things from my County because I have some interests that I want to take care of in Kihei Lahaina and Senator Gilkey agaron is looking out after Central Maui Kahului and Wailuku and Senator Kalani English has up country East Maui multi Lanai so we want
02:59
to make sure that whether it’s School building something from Maui Memorial something uh Valley College that we’re all advocating for those things that are going to help Maui and then you know we each have our own committee interests so my just my committee I’m the chair of Commerce and consumer protection uh Kalani has transportation and intergovernment uh International Affairs and Gill uh is vice chair of Tourism and some other committees he’s a former Judiciary chair sits on Ways and Means
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along with Kalani so together we cover a wide range of interests and we try to look out for the things that are going to be affecting our district but also take care of problems whether it’s health care or mortgage foreclosures or housing or whatever that are going to be affecting not only our district but affecting Nations do you find yourself generating legislation or kind of Fielding everybody’s submitting legislation very few things relatively hit the floor for vote I mean I I didn’t understand
04:14
this until I was watching someone who said they spent fifteen thousand dollars I don’t know how that stands and lobbying and I asked him would they do the money you know people think oh they’re paying off Senators you know but meanwhile it’s making copies of their positions sending it out to everyone and the cost of of things involved with making their position known well you know for neighbor Islanders pactful at the legend s Representatives but you also can email us you could we have a wonderful
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website www.capital.ly.gov that’s the legislature’s website so you can submit your testimony you can follow bills online we try to make it as easy as possible for people to interact with the legislative process because it’s important that we hear from our constituents let me give you an example um because we’re working on a new High School in Kihei Kihei it needs a name and some of my colleagues thought that it would be a wonderful way to honor congresswoman touching me very much in
05:24
support of Education very much wanting to make sure that women had equal athletic opportunities to men and she was very much involved in higher education as well as lower education when she was in the Congress so there was a bill introduced it was part of the women’s package I signed on to it I’m a big fan of Pepsi mink and we had hearings and it generated some controversy because people wanted it to be named Kihei high school well we already have a Kihei high school it’s the charter school but it was a good
06:00
opportunity to engage young people and others in the community and at the legislature our committee on education has the ability to have interactive hearings so we had the charter school set up a site in Kihei so people could testify we set up a site at Maui High School which was a lot of Kihei students go for their high school education and it was a real opportunity to hear from the community without the community having to get on a plane get a taxi or the bus to get to the Capitol so that’s
06:35
one of the things that we and the legislature try to do and we’re hoping to do more of that because we want the community to be engaged and involved now I myself ever when I call your office or call you I get response and would you say you have a pre your schedule has time for people you know in the elections you hear all kinds of things being stated you know well you know I have a couple of Senator so I get all kinds of calls not just from my district uh that want information and we try to provide
07:17
that information my staff is really good at taking messages and I call back when I can but a lot of times people leave number and by the time I get finished with hearings and all of the other things that I’m required to do for my legislative responsibilities it could be eight or nine o’clock at night and sometimes I don’t get those calls back uh I do the best I can but sometimes you know keep on thinking about you know I mean what I’m bringing it up for is I find you to be available if I had some
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issue that I wanted to bring to you and you’ve always been listening whether it’s been an election year I remember a specific incident in the peeling where there was a retaining wall needed where the water had come down and undercut the building you probably wouldn’t run out of the situation and you’re out there and involved and sometimes you can help sometimes you can’t it’s all right it’s uh you know I mean when I see an election I hear all kinds of things surface yeah
08:24
and the things that surface I try to sort of look at and say well does that seem right to me I found you very open and available I try to be you know I try to answer my own email yeah uh if there’s something that comes in that I can’t respond to I tell the caller you know I’m going to have my staff do that because they’ve got much more time and they can follow up on all the calls because a lot of times with government you’re playing phone tag and you know they’re uh you know during session I have a full
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complement of staff off session I have two but very attuned to the district and I want to respond to people and a lot of times I find sometimes the issues are not something that the state can deal with but we need to hand it off to the county or we need to involve our Congressional Delegation so that’s one of the things that we try to do is find out where the appropriate place is connected and then follow up to make sure that people get an answer I had a conversation with chemo upon it and I thought that’s
09:28
interesting it was mayor and had real hands-on experience Here and Now potential to go into the State House the you between House and Senate work together absolutely absolutely you know Connie Ella is a representative kind of Elaine representative from South Maui and representative Angus McKelvey from West Maui and you know we meet and talk story and try to help each other out we introduce companions to each other’s bills because it doesn’t matter whether it’s a house bill or a Senate bill so
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long as you can get it through the process get it up to the governor’s desk and get it signed it still becomes long so yeah we try to work together uh in another time we used to have meetings as a Maui County delegation we don’t everybody’s schedules a little crazier more hectic these days so we don’t do that but we still talk story we still email each other and our staffs work all together so that’s really important because we want to make sure that all of the issue issues that come to us whether
10:29
it comes to me or to Angus or kaniela can be addressed so there’s no wrong door when you’re talking to a member of the Maui delegation you know I have folks because they used to represent Lanai Molokai that you know say you know can you help us with this and then you know I go talk story with Senator english’s office as a as an example and find out yeah they’re working on it but maybe they didn’t have the contact information that I had for this individual so we share because we try
10:56
you know our whole goal is to problem solve to try to help people out and to try to do things that are going to improve the quality of life for Maui County residents and Statewide as well any issues that are your pet things I mean things that you’re advocating or would like to be sure that the voters know about you that you think is important for them to know them well you know I I think the important thing is to know that I’m a real people person and I’m working very diligently on things
11:27
that affect people whether it’s Health Care Cancer Care uh working on consumer protection issues you know we have a lot of scams going on and we passed a measure this year to expand the programming that’s done by the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs directed at our computer because they are the most vulnerable uh maybe they’re not aware as others might be of you know if it sounds really too good to be true probably is you know and they’re not as skeptical particularly with the
12:02
scams that people call and say you know I know your grandson or your granddaughter and they’re having this problem and if you just send me some money I’ll take care of it and too often you know you’re talking about family you you forget to ask the questions and so we want to make sure that our bankers and others who help kupuna out can be as honored as possible so we’ve provided some some training and some ability for them to really help the kupuna by saying well let’s delay getting this
13:16
Laguna doesn’t come to the bank and say I’m gonna I’m gonna take out five thousand dollars today and maybe there’s not much more than that in the account then they can ask some questions and really get to make sure that there’s an appropriate response I mean there’s so many areas I can talk about the one that seems to be the elephant in the room these days in my good GMO to me I I just am absolutely amazed there must have been enough interest to get 20 000 signatures to get this thing
13:52
on the ballot now I remember maybe it was last year there was a bill about labeling I don’t know how that all goes and it was hot and heavy and then suddenly I didn’t see it did it ever make its way to the light of day and get voted on or it didn’t uh the house sent a labeling Bill to the Senate it was referred to three different committees it was referred to the committee on agriculture committee on Commerce consumer protection committee on health and in the Senate all three of those
14:23
committees have to agree on an action or the bill doesn’t move and so we had a hearing uh it was I thought a pretty thorough hearing I did not chair the hearing the lead chair was uh senator nishihara who is the chair of Agriculture and uh at the conclusion of the hearing we because the Attorney General had said that it’s not the states kuleana to require labeling that that’s preempted at the federal level by the FDA and I know people don’t agree with that but you know as legislators we really are
15:01
required to rely on the Attorney General’s opinion in that area and so there were questions around that there were questions about testing there were questions about what were the impacts going to be on on food coming into the state you know we’re a very small state a million three or four uh and if we required that would it mean that United States companies wouldn’t come in and only the unregulated coming in from China and elsewhere would be coming in what would happen to the food what would
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happen to the cost of food and there were just a lot of questions raised and so the only thing that the three committees could agree upon was let’s ask Department of Agriculture let’s ask the feds let’s ask the College of top AG to do some economic analysis to look to see what some of the issues are how we might navigate this what’s happening in other states and so we put we said we can’t agree on this bill we’re going to put all of this request in a resolution and we’re going to go forward I was
16:11
asked as the second committee to announce the decision so people assume that oh I I created this oh I see they think it’s you’re the one that made it and I’ve tried to explain saying that that’s not how we work in the Senate uh there’s three committees that had jurisdiction all three of us had to agree I simply announced what the decision so how do we get something I mean I’m laughing when I say it almost but something is simple somebody else to ask a manufacturer to label to say yes
16:47
or no what’s in it well is that such an issue that needs to be legislative well because of the federal government uh put requires certain kinds of information on labeling and so if it’s going to be something that people are interested in and I know there is great interest I read labels uh it needs to be something that’s uniform so in the absence of federal action but a lot of uh um manufacturers and foodstuffs are doing is they are labeling if it’s certified organic that wouldn’t have uh
17:24
genetically modified material in it some are voluntarily doing that and I think that’s probably the way to go uh I think the pushback at the federal level is because uh they feel like there’s nothing no difference between something that’s been hybridized through genetically modification as to natural and so the nutritional uh components the the genetic makeup of the of the product are the same and so they feel like it’s been sufficient testing and I know people disagree with that I
18:01
was going to say so so all that disagreement still nothing you can do about that’s not your I don’t have the power I believe throw away all this from stupid that goes around good time in office and you know uh I don’t know I never know when I see an election and I see good people that are working hard being told that they’re not doing something so I’m always curious It’s like easy to point but now when you’re sitting in that seat and you have to deliver an answer that’s responsive and
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you’re stuck with the way the system works well and I know that people think well you know there’s we ought to have this home rule and we ought to do this but you know in our system of government there are areas that are reserved to the counties or to the local level of government there’s areas that are reserved for the state there’s areas that are reserved to the federal government and I think as policy makers we need to do the best we can to make sure that all three levels are aligned and that we’re working
19:09
together and that if there’s information needed we try to get that information um but it’s it’s not black and white there are many Shades of Gray and there’s lots of complexities and a lot of these issues and I think the more transparent and more open we can be the more information that’s out there but you know if people have determined that uh GMO is bad it’s going to be very difficult to change their mind and I’m not trying to change anybody’s mind I’m just trying to
19:43
say that you know there are limits to what the legislature can do what the county can do and I think if we all kind of work together to try to make sure that people understand the process and that they’re open to looking at you know how can we get more information out how can we solve a problem then I think people come to get coming together with good faith and honestly can actually come up with something that would I think help local agriculture continue to use technology to survive and thrive as well as give
20:23
people the information that if they don’t want to partake of that particular product that may have a level of GMO in it you know is it one molecule that makes it GMO is it it’s hard for me one percent two percent I don’t know all to me GMO I I mentioned the one guy and he was angry and he said how can those people that talk about GMOs say that anyone that has diabetes their life happens because diabetes and the Cure and Insulin came from a genetically modified and that’s what happened so
21:00
yeah it’s a complicated subject in the words you know people use them for a broad brush instead of specific uh well I mean biotech uh have brought us cures to cancer people say well you know you’re a cancer survivor you ought to be anti-gmo but there’s no link honestly between anything that somebody’s ingested as a GMO product and cancer there just is not that type and some might say yes you’ve heard that one we’re not we haven’t lived long enough but I’m always wondering when that happens
21:36
I mean I guess it’s may or may not be reform for it but if I were I’m a person here and I’m thinking we now have an initiative if it gets passed is there any reason that jobs would have to be stopped oh yes oh yes because there would be a moratorium so no on any on anybody that uh this is genetically modified crops gross crops that way and until there could be a complete Eis and so you’re going to be putting people out of business and for a period of time because an Eis is not a short process
22:20
and it would mean that probably those jobs wouldn’t come back so there would be an economic impact to Maui County and to the farmers and to a lot of people who work on those farms and depend on those jobs for livelihood so how do we accomplish what everyone needs here that’s what we’re basically at you know if this initiative were to fail then it means that the growing would still happen but there’s no labeling so the people that want to know the initiative has nothing to do with
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it stops the growing it stops the growing so so that’s why it has to that’s what I’m saying so you’re saying the jobs would go away they couldn’t replace the jobs with other jobs no I don’t I mean you’re you’re talking about hundreds maybe even thousands of jobs and a significant segment of our economy is in agriculture and I you know we the Hawaii state constitution really puts a special place for agriculture and we’re all about trying to do sustainable agriculture have our food security and
23:37
really make sure that the Farms here and farmers can survive and I believe that genetically modified crops as well as organic crops or non-genetically modified crops can coexist and each has an important role to play but if we’re talking about feeding the world it’s just very difficult to think that only organic which some people want only can do that when I’m hearing this I’m thinking how to a solving a way to solve a problem might be you know allow them to still grow it but if it stops the neighboring I mean you
24:18
know I mean it’s a very complicated issue because if it stops the neighboring guy from being able to grow seed because his seed suddenly is uh sterile because of something’s been created from the neighboring field so a lot of people say I want my organic I don’t want your seed coming over here you know there’s I did some research there’s been no uh Organic certification that’s ever been pulled from somebody because of any contamination from any place else so I know that people are concerned about
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drift uh the evidence that I’ve seen indicates that that’s not not true but you know I think if we can be as open and transparent as possible and people are open to maybe a different point of view or some additional uh look at it you know it would be possible but you know that’s really not in my mind the big issue what’s the issue the issue is uh you know how are we going to continue to diversify our economy how are we going to continue to have really good paying jobs and jobs that if our
25:28
students go away to learn a trade or get an education that they have an opportunity to come back that we can continue to uh incent and to develop entrepreneurs that we can look at ways to help the homeless to get more people into affordable housing get more people in rental housing you know one of the things that legislature did this year was to put additional money into the rental Housing Trust Fund which helps developers develop multi-family rental housing by working with DHS I’m sorry with the Department of Hawaiian
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Homeland we can also help get more Hawaiians on the land and into their own homes so it’s the housing issues it’s the homeless issues it’s Social Service issues to me those are the issues that we really need to be tackling and some of the other issues are very complicated and complex but they and may be far reaching down the road but they need to be tackled at a different level we need to be looking out for things that are really going to affect immediately the economy of Hawaii kind of Mao County so it can continue to
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grow and we can continue to help improve and raise the quality of life for everybody you know making this place the kind of in or replace or add jobs so that when people lose their jobs because they a legislation could happen that says hey these we’re not going to have any more GMO crops suddenly and jobs are gone I’d like to have some kind of yeah but you’re not going to be able to replace the quantity of jobs that are being talked about like that our economy is not going to be able to absorb that
27:15
but you know we we need to do um all of these kinds of things that help our AG industry help our local farmers survive you know the visitors want to come complicated thing in this it is you know like we all think we can have our cake and eat it too and I know that the people that are anti-gmal or passionate their passions are hard and I think they’re very sincere sincere and are doing it only because they feel it’s for the public good you know and you know in many places the world Monsanto they have the big you
27:52
know evil mustache for who they are that’s a whole separate subject you know I think it is you know we all have to somehow figure out where our priorities are and you know if it’s a tough one if we suddenly lose a thousand jumps and we have to replace them but then the other group says we have but we’re not going to eat something that’s going to make our health worse it’s a complicated life I almost feel it’s better that it’s going out to public vote but the public has to be
28:26
understanding what it all means yes the public needs to understand the ramifications of every vote that is taken is put on the ballot whether it’s a candidate or an initiative and understand what it means for them and their families as well as for the economy and for their neighbors who may be Farmers uh it’s you know it’s a it’s a threat I believe to style as well as as our farming industry I grew up in rice and cotton country I know how difficult farming is my parents were Educators they were not Farmers but I
29:05
had lots of friends whose folks were farmers and you know if you have rain at the wrong time or you don’t have rain you know it can affect the rice crop it can affect the cotton crop and it affects whether you’re Farm is going to survive and it’s not an easy business and here we are on Maui I think trying to get young people to go into farming to continue to farm so that we have you know Wonderful strawberries and bananas and tomatoes and cabbage and onions and all of those wonderful things
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I mean we just invested in the uhmi colleges um food Innovation Center so that we can create a place where farmers can bring say the strawberries that are not grade A but still nutritional still could be turned into purees for Whole Foods or Jamba Juice or they could be turned into jams and jellies but as small farmers they don’t have the ability to do the packing lines the sterile lines the canning lines all of those kinds of things but a center a certified Center at uhmi College could do that so we
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could help uh maybe dry some of the pineapple that can’t be used as fresh or we could do preserves or other kinds of things it’s a real opportunity to do value added for our farming industry but the initiative threatens those folks as well as just putting a damper on on the AG sector in Maui and I think it’s it’s problematic so you know I want to look at what are the positive things that we can do you know these kind of things need to be discussed because I’m sure everyone wants to make a good decision
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here oh I’m sure they do and so it’s it’s almost like there can’t be a right answer at the end of this it’s classificated and you know like most problems these days the solution is not in one side or the other side but there’s a middle and people have to come together to find that that middle you know compromise is not a four-letter word it really is what helps us move forward you bring the best ideas from both sides you fashion something that’s going to get and move
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the the marble the the issue the problem solution down the road and I really hope that that’s what you know we can have this dialogue and you know as we go from the primary to the general and people start to talk about the initiative I hope there’s going to be that dialogue and that willingness to you know walk in the other person’s shoes to have that understanding and see if maybe this doesn’t polarize us like the airport issue right you know this this shouldn’t be you know maybe the best issue is that
32:14
the issue go down and some other approach come up I mean that’s always possible uh because I’ve heard people say well I really kind of like that but I’m concerned about this so I guess I’m going to have to vote for it but maybe you know the council can help people see another path maybe other folks can help craft another path so that so that it’s a win right at the council in fact about about this issue it’s just complicated it is it’s very I can speak to the council people over there don’t want to
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make any decision they want the public to make a decision instead of like you’re what you just delivered here is very valuable because it’s going out and people can process and fear do you get your position from things you read you know here we are in another subject the you have an opponent that says I don’t take corporate money and then I never thought of you as someone who someone gives you money for your campaign everyone always thinks I’m sure you know that there’s somehow an
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influence that it’s going to make you vote they provide information just like anyone else absolutely you know you get get information from all kinds of sources you get them from organizations that you know about organizations you don’t know about different people in the community you know uh is a good source of information there’s all kinds of information out there it’s a matter of sort of drilling down to what’s the information is it peer reviewed is it coming from organizations
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that reputable or is it only coming from one side you know I I try to get a balance of information and I nobody ever has given me money with a quid pro quo in mind nobody ever says to me Ross I’m going to give you this check but I expect you to vote XYZ I don’t do that never have and I think I’m known for being one of the more substantive senators in the legislature who really tries to find solutions to problem and really does her homework so that’s you know that’s my reputation
34:37
and I get um very testy shall we say when people try to impugn my Integrity because of the lens that they’re looking through you know thankfully we are not the Congress and we don’t have some of these super Pacs around but you know most of the people that give to my campaign are people that appreciate that I’m a hard-working honest legislator who has a lot of Integrity who knows that I’m Fair they can give me information I’ll look at the information I’ll look at both sides and then try to make the best
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decision that I can I understand well I’ve always like I say I I can always call just in the sharing we’ve done here open and honest conversation and then people have to make their decisions but uh it’s good to hear I hope that people appreciate the fact that you are exactly what you just said and willing to hear all sides of everything yeah um we have a crazy time in our world yeah and I am wondering how we can how do you hopefully can diversify our economy away from tourism can we get more self-sustainable can we
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is there a way to incentivize more jobs that can help diversify this economy well I think by really continuing our education process with stem programs in middle school and higher that science technology engineering and math that we are giving young people the tools for the 21st century jobs that are coming available and if we can help startups on in my County other places you know just with a small business Innovation Grant you know that really helps sometimes it’s just a small amount of money that would help
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fledgling business get off the ground find Capital in other areas and really create new jobs that Innovation economy bolstering that sometimes it’s tax credits sometimes it’s just a small Grant but that to me is how we’re going to continue to diversify we need to take advantage of the technology that we have you know one of the measures we passed and it’s a little bit down the road but I think it’s the kind of thing that gives us opportunity Hawaii used to grow a lot of industrial
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hemp you cannot smoke hemp industrial hemp and get a high if you smoke it you’re going to get very sick because it’s not high in THC which is what marijuana has there are related but not the same unfortunately the feds still have Industrial Hemp on their banned substances we passed a measure that would allow us to do a pilot project to see how we might be able to grow it on some fallow land and make it Thrive because what you can do with hemp is not only grow or not only manufacture a rope which Hawaii
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used to be famous for but you can use it to create building materials that are impervious to rot to termite to water and they’re lightweight they could be manufactured here and we wouldn’t have to import so many things so you know to me that’s an example of how we can take a product and use it look what Pacific biodiesel is doing on the Big Arm they’re taking macadamia nut husks and turning it into biodiesel I mean we have so many opportunities here but we need to take some small test plots do the
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business plan figure out how it’s going to work and then that would be a way that we could you know like they’re doing with coffee on the west side is you get small Foreigner Farmers to take certain plots and they can grow these and then in a co-op and then you have enough for somebody to manufacture using that as a raw material I mean I really think we need to encourage and really expand our local businesses in that way there’s a lot of Ingenuity in Hawaii there’s a lot of talent here we just need to help them
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cut through some of the red tape and the paperwork that we are famous for creating and see if we can’t help these young businesses start we’ve got some you know whoever thought that food trucks would be a thriving restaurant business we’ve got some great ones here on Maui we’ve got some good ones in Honolulu and so I think by working with helping smaller activities grow then they can employ people they can add locations they can grow and we’re creating a local entrepreneur and business community of
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local workers good jobs I know I can go on and keep asking questions any subject that you would like to let our audience know any things that are otherwise well I’m you know I’m very interested in making sure that my Memorial Medical Center comes up with a sustainable business plan and I think that’s going to require some legislation at the state level to enable that to happen but you know it’s a they provide excellent Services it has just grown and improved over the years but the state is
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not in a position to continue to subsidize our health care costs because the costs are going out through reimbursements from Medicaid Medicare private insurance is going down and yet we need to have these Services these quality services that we have we need them to continue on Maui so I’m hoping that we can come up with a way to create that public-private partnership that brings more private resources into the facilities it keeps our unionized Workforce it keeps the jobs here it creates more jobs but that’s something
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that I’m hoping that people will be paying attention to and working with us to make sure that we create that a sustainable business plan for our hospital here because it affects it affects all of us you know none of us want to just have to go off uh to Honolulu for everything we need to have the good quality services here and to me our heart program our Stroke Program are superior and we just uh one of the things I did a number of years ago was pushed through with the help of many of my colleagues an increase in the
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cigarette tax and we put two cents of it to uh the uh cancer center and we put some in our Emergency Services fund and our trauma system and in our community health centers and those monies are have been coming back to Maui the helicopter the Special Response Unit and Malaya and for South and West Nile to back up the ambulance units one of the ambulance units we got uh all paid for by that special fund that we created and um my Memoir has just been designated as a certified as a Trauma Center so we’re
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getting a new uh CAT scan that is state of the art it’s really going to make a diagnosis and treatment so much better and that’s being paid for out of the trauma fund so it’s the things that we do in Honolulu that have statewide impact that also come back to Maui and you know I’m just so proud of the docs and the techs and the nurses and the administration over there for having the foresight to do a heart program here once they could prove that there was enough demand we were sending too many
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people off it needed to be done here to start to do a regional program with Hilo and Kona you know we’ve had uh pad to bad helipad to hella bad transfers and bringing people here for our stroke and for our heart program it’s just amazing and we can continue to grow that but we’ve got to have a healthy system and that probably means some kind of public-private partnership to do that so I’m I’m excited I’m energized and I I can’t wait to get back to the legislature to see if we can’t get these
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things in place that are really going to make a difference for mine that’s the most important other point you’re not in any way tired of your job you go into it each time it’s fresh it’s still vital and important to you it’s exciting and you know I enjoy working with people in the community to figure out you know how can we tackle this problem how can we uh you know make sure that money for the Cameron Center or Big Brothers Big Sisters or the YMCA is coming back to Maui to put services in place that we
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need yeah that the thing that I get excited about is you know how can we help our school how can we help our teachers how can we help our nurses because these are our friends our neighbors this is our community and we want it to be the very best we can be thank you for taking the time thanks Jason I appreciate I know it can go on and on such a gentleman Roz Baker State Senate District Six Six South and West Maui don’t forget to vote uh on August the 9th or you can early vote on July the 28th but coming up soon
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thank you for joining us hope this was helpful in giving you insight into another very important candidate Roz Baker aloha
