Tamara Paltin – sits with Jason Schwartz – she’s a candidate for Mayor of Maui 2014

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Published on 09/05/2014 by Jason Schwartz

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Tamara Paltin- candidate for Mayor of Maui 2014

Summary & Timestamped Transcript Below…

[00:11 → 01:17]
Introduction and Context
Jason Schwarz interviews Tamara Paltin, a candidate running for Mayor of Maui County, Hawaii. The discussion begins with the acknowledgement of changing times and technology, emphasizing how platforms like iPhones and community media (Akaku Maui Community Television) empower citizens to engage in public discourse. Tamara frames her campaign as “leadership for the 21st century,” focusing on leveraging technology to empower, educate, and engage Maui residents more effectively than current administrations.
[01:17 → 05:36]
Motivation for Running and Experience with County Government
Tamara has worked as a County employee in public safety under four different administrations, giving her insight into the differing leadership styles and their impacts from the inside.
She is also president and executive director of a nonprofit involved in county lobbying efforts, providing an external perspective.
From this dual perspective, she identified key shortcomings in leadership and governance.
She highlights three primary responsibilities of the Mayor’s office:
1. Creating a realistic, balanced budget addressing community needs and available resources. She critiques the current administration’s budget, crediting the council, particularly budget chair Mike White, for reconciling it.
2. Appointing qualified directors and executive staff. She expresses concern about appointments influenced by campaign donations or political favors rather than merit and capability. She believes many appointed officials maintain bureaucratic inertia rather than innovation.
3. Managing the 2,000+ County employees effectively, emphasizing the importance of morale and engagement.
[05:36 → 09:37]
On Appointed Positions and Department Leadership
Most department directors serve “at the pleasure of the Mayor,” except for some heads like the Police Chief and Fire Chief, who are overseen by commissions.
Tamara stresses the importance of appointing the “hardest workers” who are genuinely knowledgeable and care about the community rather than political donors.
She opposes the idea of creating specialized “divisions” such as a separate sustainability department, arguing sustainability should be integrated into every department’s everyday operations.
She advocates for directors to collaborate on sustainability efforts rather than isolating it under one individual, which she fears leads to complacency among other departments.
[09:37 → 15:08]
Community Engagement and Homelessness Approach
Tamara believes leadership in the 21st century should be bottom-up rather than top-down, empowering communities to solve their own problems with government resources and facilitation.
She stresses the need for listening to community associations, which she has been attending, to understand local priorities and solutions rather than imposing top-down mandates.
Regarding homelessness, she acknowledges the complexity and community tensions, noting that many communities try to displace homeless individuals rather than engage with solutions.
She supports the idea of a transitional homeless camping area but stresses the importance of location and community input.
Emphasizes holistic solutions including shelter, economic training, drug rehabilitation, and mental health support tailored to individual needs.
She shares her personal observations that many homeless people she knows do not have substance abuse problems but face economic hardships and housing challenges.
[15:08 → 19:35]
Housing and Zoning Challenges
Tamara highlights the rental market problem: many property owners prefer lucrative short-term vacation rentals over affordable long-term rentals, exacerbating housing scarcity.
She notes that zoning laws make it difficult to build small-scale housing solutions like cottages or accessory dwelling units (ADUs).
Affordable housing projects currently under development often remain out of reach for many homeless or low-income residents.
She advocates for “affordable housing in perpetuity,” criticizing current models where affordable housing eventually reverts to market rates, perpetuating the cycle of scarcity.
She is exploring tiny houses and Yurt communities as practical shelter options but notes many are not legally sanctioned, highlighting the tension between legality and urgent housing needs.
[19:35 → 27:29]
County Workforce Management and Empowerment
She identifies managing county employees as a key mayoral responsibility, emphasizing the need to empower frontline workers who have intimate knowledge of community problems but are often unheard.
She describes a disconnect between administrative decisions and frontline realities, resulting in low morale and apathy.
Encouraging two-way communication and collaboration between leadership and staff is critical for improving services and community outcomes.
She shares her experience working with lifeguards and witnessing firsthand the homelessness problem in parks, noting that frontline workers often have innovative ideas that go unrecognized.
Tamara’s approach would be to create channels for these workers to contribute ideas and solutions, fostering a more responsive and effective government culture.
[27:29 → 30:43]
Planning and Development Issues
The interview moves to land use and infrastructural planning. Tamara refers to the Maui Island Plan and community plans, stressing that these long-term plans are often ignored or weakened in implementation.
She notes the importance of respecting the “intent” of these plans rather than just their wording, which has been insufficient to prevent undesirable development.
Community plan committees often include appointees by council members and the mayor, but Tamara stresses the need for genuine community representatives rather than developer interests or politically polarized individuals.
She expresses interest in serving on the West Maui Community Plan committee if not elected mayor.
[30:43 → 35:07]
Campaign Finance and Opposition
Tamara acknowledges the powerful incumbent Mayor Alan Arakawa’s advantage in funding and name recognition.
She commits to limiting campaign donations to a maximum of $1,000 per person or entity to avoid conflicts of interest and maintain independence.
She advocates for fresh ideas and a new approach rather than relying solely on experience, given some failures of the current administration.
[35:07 → 41:33]
Environmental and Legal Issues: Lahaina Injection Wells
A major concern discussed is the $100,000-per-day fines Maui County faces for violating the federal Clean Water Act due to pollution from the Lahaina injection wells.
Environmental Management plans to cut landfill hours and trash collection to avoid further penalties.
The county failed to acquire a required National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit despite evidence that effluent from injection wells contaminates nearshore waters.
Tamara criticizes the county’s failure to start the reuse process for treated wastewater, which could irrigate crops and reduce environmental harm.
She calls for accountability and timely action to prevent further financial and ecological damage.
[41:33 → 44:32]
Communication and Government Transparency
Tamara criticizes the current mayor’s policy of blocking direct communication between council members and administrative staff, requiring all communication to be funneled through the mayor or managing director.
She argues this creates inefficiency, mistrust, and delays critical information.
She advocates for better communication training rather than outright blocking communication.
Transparency and responsiveness are critical for public trust and effective governance.
[44:32 → 48:41]
Cultural Stewardship and Hawaiian Community
The conversation touches on Hawaiian cultural issues and the recent presence of the Department of Interior and Hawaiian groups asserting claims related to the Kingdom of Hawaii.
Tamara emphasizes stewardship and respect for cultural resources as essential responsibilities of local leadership.
She supports community-based economic development that protects culture without commodifying it.
She acknowledges that corruption can occur in any political system, including an independent Hawaiian Kingdom.
Her focus is on sustainable management of land and resources following traditional Hawaiian principles (ahupua’a system from mountain to sea), supporting self-sustainability and food sovereignty.
[48:41 → 51:48]
Economic Development and Private Sector Role
Tamara stresses the importance of involving the private sector in ways that benefit Maui’s residents rather than outside investors who may prioritize profit over community wellbeing.
Supporting local businesses and sustainable economic models is crucial to preventing social issues like family disconnection and substance abuse.
She calls for a long-range, big-picture view of development that plants seeds today for a thriving Maui County decades into the future.
Criticizes reliance on outdated 19th-century management models, advocating for modern, 21st-century leadership practices that emphasize collaboration and adaptability.
[51:48 → 53:58]
Campaign Philosophy and Vision
Tamara embraces her relative lack of political experience as an asset, believing fresh perspectives can disrupt ineffective status quos.
She emphasizes the shift in power from control to connection, enabled by transparency and technology.
Advocates for mass collaboration where collective intelligence surpasses any one individual’s capacity.
Contrasts her leadership style as inclusive and collaborative versus the current mayor’s more authoritarian approach.
[53:58 → 54:37]
Closing Remarks
Jason Schwarz commends Tamara for her courage, humility, and innovative ideas.
The conversation closes with a hopeful tone about refreshing leadership and energizing Maui County’s governance through new ideas and actions.

Summary Table: Key Responsibilities of the Mayor (according to Tamara Paltin)

Responsibility	Description	Current Status / Critique
1. Balanced Budget Proposal	Create a realistic budget balancing community needs and resources	Current budget seen as inadequately prepared by mayor, reconciled by council
2. Appointment of Qualified Staff	Appoint directors and executives based on qualifications and community commitment	Concerns about appointments influenced by donations and political favors
3. Management of County Workforce	Engage and empower 2,000+ county workers, encouraging communication and morale	Current disconnect between administration and frontline workers

Summary Table: Key Issues Highlighted

Issue	Description	Proposed Approach / Position
Homelessness	Complex, multifaceted problem requiring shelter, economic assistance, and health services	Empower communities to devise local solutions; integrate holistic services
Affordable Housing	Shortage worsened by zoning restrictions and profitable vacation rentals	Support tiny houses, legalize affordable options; push for perpetual affordability
Environmental Management	Lahaina injection wells polluting nearshore waters, risking huge fines	Start wastewater reuse programs; comply with federal permits
Government Communication & Transparency	Blocked communication between council and administration causing inefficiencies	Promote open, clear communication and train staff accordingly
Cultural Stewardship	Protect Hawaiian culture and resources, promote authentic economic development	Follow traditional land stewardship; support cultural perpetuation
Economic Development	Prevent external exploitation, promote local, sustainable economy	Encourage local business, long-term planning, and 21st-century management

Key Insights and Conclusions

Leadership must evolve from traditional top-down control to connected, collaborative governance in the 21st century.
Community empowerment and bottom-up problem solving are essential for addressing complex issues like homelessness and sustainability.
Qualified, committed appointments free from undue political influence are critical to effective local government management.
Government transparency and open communication foster trust, improve morale, and enhance service delivery.
Environmental stewardship and compliance with laws are urgent priorities to prevent costly penalties and protect natural resources.
Preserving cultural heritage and incorporating native Hawaiian values into governance ensures sustainable development respectful of Maui’s identity.
Affordable housing solutions must be innovative, legal, and perpetually accessible to break the cycle of housing insecurity.
Economic development should be locally-driven to sustain community wellbeing and prevent social issues linked to economic dislocation.
Modernizing management practices away from outdated models will better align governance with contemporary challenges and technology.

00:11

I’m Jason Schwartz this is Tamara Paltin she’s running for mayor of Maui in Hawaii and uh you at Apple we love you and you in Maui County we love you thank you welcome to our show thank you you know we’re doing these all on iPhones all of you are reporters all of you can do shows whether candidates or life and issues we’re in a new time and a new age that’s why akaku Maui Community television Akaku Maui Community media things are really changing yeah I’m I’m glad you brought up that point you know

00:44

part of my campaign platform is leadership for the 21st century and this type of technology is really what it’s all about you know giving the power back to the masses allowing for Mass collaboration it’s practical it’s pervasive it’s possible and I feel that you know the administration nowadays are is not taking advantage of all the advances that we have in technology and utilizing it for the best good for the people the residents that live here and putting it to use to really Empower

01:17

educate and engage the people of Maui County well this is a big race this is not Council one of nine legislative this is running Maui County and some people said to me well Arakawa the guy that’s mayor now has been there a while and uh hasn’t really gotten the job done doesn’t really show he’s doing anything in a different way and some people say he’s doing a great job you all kinds of things what made you run for mayor what gave you the thought that you wanted to step in there and do

01:50

something different well the main thing is I’ve been a County employee in the public safety related field for the past four administrations and each every four year cycle you get a new Administration and being a Frontline employee in a public safety related field I really took notice of the changes that we have with each Administration not only am I a county worker I’m also the president and executive director of a nonprofit who’s done a lot of work with the county lobbying for open space at onola and so

02:24

I’ve gotten to get a feel of the county from the inside and outside working within and without the county and so I I really take notice of the different styles of administrations between Apana then arakawa Tavares Arakawa again and I always try to compare and contrast you know like what one mayor has done that’s good and then also what they have done that I don’t quite agree with and I think you know from that kind of experience it it kind of solidified my platform and what I feel is the mayor’s

03:03

top priorities as an office and I’ve kind of broken it down to the top three important things that a mayor’s responsibility includes and the first one would be creating a realistic budget proposal that um is balanced with all the needs of the community at large and all the resources and that’s something that I don’t think has been done especially in this last budget I mean I’m I’m glad with what came out for the most part but it’s due largely in part to the council um the budget chair Mike White and and

03:45

the council spending a lot of hours and reconciling the mayor’s budget proposal with their final um output so as far as I’m concerned that’s one of the first responsibilities of the office of Mayor the second one is appointing qualified directors and appointed positions executive staff cabinet members and um regardless of the administrations there’s always some people that you wonder why they got appointed and then you look at the campaigns family reports and and can put two and two together I mean I’m not

04:28

seeing that everyone of of the this administration’s directors is not qualified or not the right fit but there are some things get to be one of the council people told me they see things wrong in administrative departments and they’ve had challenge because they step over the line they are legal people not Administration and they can’t tell them what to do and yet there are things that are you know people come and go in the council and these people are tenured in in and keep this I want to say

05:03

bureaucracy regime in status quo without well that’s part of the reason that I decided to run for mayor is because you know these appointed positions there’s probably about 60 you know the directors Deputy directors administrative staff and things like that and I feel that if you pick 60 of the hardest workers most qualified people really in the know and really care about the community and not because they donated money or helped out with your campaign you would be a lot better off than what we are today and that’s

05:36

not to say that all of the mayor appointing positions are are like that but there is quite a number you know I don’t know cuz I haven’t been in this government ever but isn’t a director’s main thing to create a theme and a kind of a feeling in their Department do they run their own departments or they all sort of um part of a larger bureaucracy where they’re driven by a budget well a lot of the ma the majority not all of the directors but a lot of them are appointed and serve at the plure of the

06:12

mayor so the mayor in my opinion actually creates the theme and if these directors they might have good ideas and they might disagree with the mayor but at the end of the day if they come out publicly against the mayor the mayor can say you know what thank you for your service you know it’s it’s not working know because they’re appointed rather than they serve at the pleasure of the mayor not all of them you know like the fire chief and the um Personnel director police chief those have uh commissions

06:44

that oversee them so it’s not 100% the mayor um appoints all these people but a a great majority of the positions you know like the water director Environmental Management uh and Recreation um things like that and so you know part of part of my platform as well has been to not take big money because that’s a link that I’ve seen recurring throughout the various administrations you know who who gives $4,000 oh the managing director is $4,000 or things like that so um my commitment is to not take more than $100

07:23

per person or entity um in campaign donations for this election cycle um it’s kind of a a a new thing to do I I don’t know too many people that are doing it but I’m new to politics and I want to the people to know that I’m not being bought I’m going to make decisions that I think are fair I’m going to choose appointed positions that I think are the best qualified and the best fit and I hope that if I were elected I get a lot of qualified applicants to BU those positions and um people that truly

07:58

care about M know a lot about the U position that they’re applying for and we can move forward together in a way that is more cohesive more holistic than what is currently being done every time I hear of like a new Division I kind of cringe because you know like a a director of sustainability or a division of sustainability it takes away from The wholeistic View you know I don’t want one person to focus on sustainability I want all of us to incorporate that into our day-to-day practices you know maybe

08:33

somebody can head it up like um an environmental coordinator but I think each director should have that in the back of their mind yeah so I I kind of cringe when people say they want a a division of Aquatics or a a specific environmental coordinator a sustainability manager because I think that it’s sustainability is such an important factor living in these Island counties where where not just one person can think about it and be separate from everybody else each director should be having a a thought to sustainability

09:11

within their own department and come together and say you know this is what I’m doing in my department for sustainability what are you doing in your department for sustainability is there things that we have in common can we learn from each other can we you know what did you do that didn’t work so well so I don’t try that in my department or maybe it could work in my department because of the problem that you ran into I don’t have that issue in my department so I think you know by appointing one

09:37

person to be say the environmental coordinator it kind of gives the impression of alleviating that concern from all the rest of the appointed people well that guy is the Environmental coordinator so I don’t need to worry about environmental stuff he got it under control when in reality all of us should be concerned about environmental factors homelessness there is a current issue it’s it’s not inside the government but it surely is an impact something’s going on here well you know um so part of what I was saying

10:09

about 21st century leadership is I don’t feel that it’s so much going to be in the future from the top down as from the bottom up and by that I mean you know I feel a lot of the government’s role is to build up and Empower communities to solve their own problems and not saying that oh it’s your problem you fix it but saying that the government has the resources you know and for us to facilitate or make it easier for uh people to take um control of their own community and and they set the rules as

10:51

to what they want to see happen if they don’t want homelessness in their area then what should they do about it what can my office is the mayor or is the County government the state whatever capacity that I’m serving the people what is it that I can do to help you achieve your overall Vision I think a lot of the problems with the past for administrations going back and forth and things like that is people come in with a set agenda and it during election time it’s all about what the people want then

11:27

once the person gets into office their true agenda comes out and it’s not necessarily what the people want it’s what they get and so I think you know I’ve been going to Community Association meetings around the island and trying to feel what each Community their priorities are and and I’m really impressed with uh the various Community associations that they care that they take the time out of their lives to show up and I think the people that know the best what the solutions are by the

12:00

people of the community I don’t think it’s the County’s place to come in and say okay homelessness is your problem this is how we’re going to fix it it’s more like homelessness is a problem here are some resources that we have and here are some challenges that we have and maybe make some suggestions But ultimately the easiest way to get it done is by asking the community what they feel would work in their particular area that’s an interesting perspective I wonder how many of the communities from

12:34

the reaction I see to homeless people and stuff most communities try to figure out how to sweep them away from their property and get them away and make sure they don’t use resources they have it’s extraordinary I think but um I don’t think that the communities here have a a way to be in touch I don’t there are so many administrative things that are related to homelessness that do not really communicate well we’re sitting here on land this is a beautiful spot in olalo I couldn’t believe it sounds like

13:12

construction we’re in olalo this is a beautiful property thank you uh the owner of this property um is someone who’s actually been um aware of homelessness and uh has made thoughts and recommend ations you know some are yeah um some of his ideas were great as well as there’s been other people that I’ve seen on social media with um ideas and that are totally out of the box and I think could work and you know this um idea of a a transitional homeless C great idea maybe location was not

13:55

right and a lot of a lot of these controversial IDE ideas they always if they’re controversial there’s something good about them and something bad about them you know so or that people don’t like about them so I think the key is you know to capitalize on what people like about it and try to um lessen what people don’t like about it or find an alternative way to do it on the part that doesn’t people don’t like about it you know so like a homeless transitional camping area if people don’t want it in their

14:28

area area let’s look all over Maui County and what would be an appropriate location and then have people from the different um greater access you know I think for the homeless uh homelessness Challenge on Maui County we need to if we get them into an area where they have shelter and their needs basic needs are met I think the next step would be to provide uh economic training or econ EIC assistance to help people pull themselves out of it if there’s a problem with drugs you need to make public access to drug

15:08

rehabilitation more plantable for these people or if there’s a a mental health issue make public access to mental health more accessible to this segment of the population yeah I ask I’m just curious do you know any people that are homeless that were your friends or family um no reason I’m asking probably not I can tell you I’ve been around homelessness from people I know and no drug problems no alcohol problems problems is economics that also that private citizens push things to the

15:44

curve and think that the government is handling them and they don’t get they don’t remember that Golden Rule there’s someone that really needs help and it’s gotten worse and the medical clinics are overworked at State you know it’s like there’s an overflow of people that don’t have drug and alcohol problems that I’m very concerned about we’ve had family um Ming with us for a short time and they’re they’re a family and they’re moving from family to family so I don’t

16:14

know if that constitutes his homeless is they’re not out on the street now I spoke with somebody in the planning department once about you know the way um zoning works and how it’s not set up really to um accommodate folks you know if you want to build a cottage on your property or if you want to rent out a room or make a separate entrance it’s it’s pretty difficult to do that and um then when people do they see the income that can be made from transing vacation rentals and things like that so I think as far

16:55

as the um rental market out there that’s a big uh obstacle to overcome is a lot of people that have space that they would rent are finding it more profitable to turn it into a $500 a night place instead of a $500 a month place um and I don’t know if um I don’t think the mayor is directly in charge of zoning but it would have to be a joint effort with the council you know anything big like that you want to change you need to work hand in hand with the council because they passed the legislation and things like

17:33

that but it could be as simple as providing them a a snapshot of what’s going on and what could be going on um a lot of the housing affordable housing that I see being developed most people that I know that don’t own a house and are homeless in that they are staying with friends or family or sleeping down the beach or living in shelter would not be able to afford it so that isn’t a solution to the homelessness problem like I said how do you define homeless even is a big issue and how to help I

18:12

think that it’s nice to hear that as a new mayor you’re open and listening I’m sure our present mayor is much listening but other thing too you know with zoning I I’ve um been looking into like tiny houses uh yks um and things like that where you know it’s just a a shelter that people can call their own and possibly if you have a big open space and you can build so many tiny houses it would be you wouldn’t be surprised I know 10 or more places that have that right now here right Maui it’s just

18:54

they’re not legal legal yeah so Ian if we’re in a crisis you got to look at those things you know is it better to have them like just camping out in our public parks or is it better to you know create a situation where people can um use that as a getting a leg up and another thing too is you know affordable housing uh I would like to see affordable housing in perpetuity you know I think right now there’s a 10 or 25 year statute before people can sell it at market value and I don’t see how that helps the

19:35

homelessness are affordable holing prices it it gives somebody an affordable house for 10 to 25 years and then it turns into a market value house so we’re continually having to build more affordable housing because what was once affordable housing after 10 or 20 years is no longer affordable housing um you know one thing that brings me to my point of of um when I had the three main responsibilities of May and it kind of circles around in a in a roundabout way but um the third responsibility of the

20:09

mayor that I feel is managing the 2000 plus County workers and um like I stated before the top- down hierarchy is not effective and what I would have loved to see one time would be a having a director come in and going to the front lines and asking what are the long-term problems that haven’t been solved Administration to administration because a lot of the county workers that have been working 10 or 20 years know what the problems are and might even have uh ideas or Solutions in mind but nobody

20:50

ever asks the front lines that’s a great idea and maybe they’re afraid some of that huh yeah so I mean in my view people that work the front lines that are out and about in the community face to face to the homeless and things like that might have great ideas and great suggestions and and they have a more intimate knowledge of the challenges faced by homelessness and um so empowering the county workers to have a say in the county that they live and work in is really the third the third most responsible

21:31

or that’s another great one yeah that one really empowers all the people in the county to put their heart into it it’s really great I mean I I um teach the junior lifeguard program and this last uh summer I had the opportunity to go to all the different districts um usually I work in the west side and add an opportunity to go to Northshore and work with those kids over there go to Southshore go to to the west side and um not regularly working at the NorthShore the Southshore I was I I got to see

22:06

first time of close and personal the situation with homelessness in the Parks and I spoke to one of the lifeguards at Taha and he had great ideas about homelessness you know like um Taha has a lot of people camping out in their parks and he um he didn’t know too much about the rules and things like that but he had an idea about the old Maui college dorms and maybe like making that into a shelter for people where they could access resources and be it transitional or whatever and then they can also do

22:40

community work for in exchange for them living at that resource and I mean being a lifeguard presently I’m not I don’t have the resources to look into that as a possibility but just the fact that County workers and people out there are thinking along those lines to me is is uh very hopeful if I should be be elected that’s the type of brainstorming that I would I would really encourage you know because I’m not as familiar with kaha and the possible solutions as the people that live and work there

23:17

every day um I don’t know if it’s a surprise or not but the lifeguards know a lot about the regular home and some people have compassion some people don’t um or they don’t know what they can do or things like that but I think you know if you’re talking about homelessness it’s really a a ground level thing it’s not something that someone high up as a director or in an office can address because they’re not on the ground and they don’t they’re not so familiar with the needs and the

23:57

challenges so it’s it’s really something that needs to be addressed holistically needs to be addressed from people on the ground offering Solutions up to people with the knowhow or the means to implement them and have the will to get it done once you take your office I hope that you will get all these people to talk to each other and set up a central system oh yeah because I see people fall through the cracks from Ab C and E choices and the other people that don’t know I I like you said the people that

24:34

have great ideas that are handson there in these places that’s where the answers really are right here where all the people are working from the ground up and that the administration you don’t feel has been as responsive to that and and really using the maybe I’m putting words in your mouth that’s what I’m he they’re not using the their the people in their uh employ as well as they could and get and Empower them to to use their heart and be able to put uh more out get more

25:07

output because they know things they need better yeah you know I see a lot um being a county worker I see a lot of Disconnect in decisions being made and decisions that need to be made um and you know a lot of time you see something happening and you wonder like why they do that it doesn’t make any sense and maybe they have a perfectly good reason for it or maybe they don’t but without the communication back and forth as a two-way streak I mean if people don’t understand why choices are being made

25:43

then they’re not they’re not involved they’re not engaged and if they’re not involved and engaged it it sets you in a tone of apathy low morale and in in the process of running the county you don’t want low morale you want you want uh County workers that are um that want to do more for the people and and not because I’m their boss or because I’m telling them to but because most County workers are not transient you know they live here they want to retire for the county it’s not a highp paying job like

26:17

an Executive Hotel salary and you’re doing it as a public servant because you’re invested in this community that we live in and so you know if you’re going to live here for the rest of your life you’re going to raise your kids here you’re going to retire for the county and continue on and um speak as a retired County worker it’s in everybody’s best interest to have a thriving community that we live and work and if you know if you have 2,000 plus workers on the same page that they want

26:49

Maui County to be the best place to live and work for the residents here I think we can do it you know if if if they they trust their leader and if they buy into what the leader is doing then there’s no boundaries you know and and the thing about it is that it’s not a fouryear thing you know Mayors or directors that set up their Department the way that they want in opposition to the way the front lines want it they have the power to do that they can set it up any way they want regardless of how the front lines feel

27:29

but the front lines guys know 4 years is all I got to listen to this guy or 8 years and then he’s gone and I got someone else coming in and telling me how to go what are they doing over here you think it sounds like they’re chewing up wood like they’re building I guess they’re building here this is we are here in Ola the the nature of our island is changing I remember when this was hard to get to and now it’s been um State I guess for a while olao is changing any things you see with

28:02

Highway I’ve heard all kinds of things about twostory Highway elevated Highway no cost to build a highway have you gotten into some of this stuff the general plan the Maui Island plan uh the countywide policy plan the community’s plan is the model that I would be following it’s not for me necessarily to direct how Maui goes and that’s why the people of Maui years back in in their wisdom created this General plan process the problem with it is the last one for West Maui at least 1990 wasn’t

28:51

followed in its uh what you call it wasn’t yeah in its intent because the wording wasn’t strong enough and it’s near impossible to put in all the details that you want in order for the intent of the plan to be followed and so I think it’s really important that you have an Administration that realizes what the intent of the plan is and follows the intent as well as the wording and you feel that’s going on now you feel I mean you ran for mayor for change or what was your reason that you

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ran well I I think the general plan has been looked at as just a document that sits on the Shelf you know and it hasn’t um the Capital Improvements and that portion of it hasn’t been taken seriously enough there’s been a lot of gutting done at the administrative level as well as the council level of the will of the people which I feel is really sad you know the um only Community plans that have really been work worked on thus far I believe are mikai and laai and uh from what I’ve heard West

30:04

Maui is next and the way they create the community plan committee I think that each council member gets to appoint one member from the community and then the mayor gets about four FS or something like that and so um that’s another reason seeing that in the future I would like to pick you know real representatives of the community people that everybody knows of and knows of the work that they do and their reputation because a lot of times you’ll see a developers representative put on a community or

30:43

um really polarized members put on the community and maybe if I if I run from here and I don’t get in then people at least know that I’m representative of and I would love to be on the West Community not well you know I want to say you you’re David and Goliath you’re playing David you’re trying to take out a giant here who is he’s AE in money he is known three count three islands I love When akaku Calls calave the fourth island but not many voters there but um you know so he has a big

31:31

Advantage so probably in my opinion you’re voicing a strong uh recommendation by running for mayor would that be I mean obviously you’re very ill- funded right meaning you didn’t go for the big money yeah so you can’t afford a $50,000 Grand w a night right of right so well I mean also I would really like to talk about some of the issues that we fa County we’re facing $100,000 a day fines because of the federal Clean Water Act violation at the Lina injection Wells and you know the Environmental

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Management came out with a Viewpoint maybe within the last week that they’re going to shut down the uh landfills and they’re going to an hour earlier and they’re going to shut down um trash collection on holiday starting August 1st because they don’t want to be subject to these fines and there’s no word coming down about the biggest fine that we’re facing up to hundreds of millions of dollars for violating the federal Clean Water Act when all they needed to do was back when they were

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working with the community groups apply for this National pollution discharge elimination system permit npds permit they maintained they didn’t have to they didn’t have to they did their own study by dropping dye into the lahina injection Wells and the study proved that effluent was coming out in the near shore water so they kind of disproved their own theory for the people that you know what that means that means that these injection Wells have been polluting the waters we take you know you know it so well you’re

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speak it fluently but uh basically what it says is over the last I don’t want to say 20 years as long as we know you know we’ve been uh we’ve been drinking the Kool-Aid people well you know you live and learn maybe back in those days they didn’t think it was a a problem you know and the difference with Lina injection Wells versus say injection Wells on aaii island is their shallow injection Wells there the ones in kilo I believe go down hundreds of feet and these are like 30 ft injection well so that’s a a major

33:50

factor but you know it’s a it’s a bigger issue than that if you look at the wholeistic water is an important resource that we are not abundant in and this water can be used instead of injected and polluting you know if you treat it possibly uh use it to water crops or things like that um I know Steve perai the former supervisor of L had he shared with me some of his plans to get to reuse and it’s diff to be 100% reuse 100% of the time but if you’re not even starting the process I don’t know what to say that’s

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why you’re facing a $100 million of fines and it’s not just Arawa it’s all of us the people of Maui County our tax dollars is going to go to the US Treasury and not only that but the problem still needs to be fixed so not only get that part that’s the big part yeah it’s got to be fixed not only $500,000 already wasted on Mainland attorney fighting this case hundreds of millions going to the US Treasury plus we still need to fix the problem which would have been much better if we

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started 6 years ago started fixing the problem and um I’ve watched video of arwa stating that it’s neic chis not to utilize that resource but then when he gets in office he doesn’t utilize that resource so I I don’t know if that makes him ludicrous or what but it’s it’s not Alan I think she’s we’re being I’m being a little bit nasty here today it’s not really nasty I just see a few things that’s a real good question I mean why aren’t we dealing with this if you are

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the mayor which you know with the if Davie here can knock off Goliath I’m sure she’d hire you as an assistant to help her right you probably hire him but um care with or Alan arala if you become mayor would you still hire him as your assistant he seems to work well with these people I’d have to um look at all the applicants and so remember that you can apply your role as mayor that’s a really big one you are steering this ship um you feel up for that job I do um based on the three three main points of

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the job you know you got to two and three yeah come up with a real budget proposal and that’s not me working on my own that leads us to our second one which is appointing qualified but educated people that are good fit so you know I’d love to bring back Calbert young should abber cromi not advance past the primary you know he was a great budet um guy from all I I really respect him you know so that’s part part of it is I know I’m not experienced and I think that is better than thinking you are

37:03

experienced because if you take another um kind of controversial issue the old white L post office demolition with all that experience that the mayor has with all the experience of his executive staff they didn’t follow the protocols their procedures and that’s why we’re at the point where we’re investigating the situation right now you know the county Charter clearly states anytime that demolish County property there needs to be a resolution and I think that’s the point where the people can weigh in on

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what you want to demolish through the the resolution process you know he said he was communicating with the council and he thought everyone was on board with the Demolition of the post office but you know communicating is one thing and following the proper procedures and protocols is another and that wasn’t done there was never a budget amendment to change from RE abilitation to demolition there was never a resolution to demolish calling property and and that’s something that I would expect

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from somebody with as much experience as he and his staff have and if we’re not utilizing that experience to not make these types of pro uh mistakes then what is the good of the experience you know and I’m not saying that people are not allowed to make mistakes but it’s living in learning from the mistakes and ensuring to the people that they trust that it’s not going to happen again so you know we’re still waiting for the results of the County Auditors investigation into that but you know

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should a mistake be made in misuse of County funds or not spending it for what it was budgeted for I would like the person that makes the mistake to say these are the exact steps that I’ve been taking to ensure that this never happens again you know money is allotted for various things it has to be used for what it’s allotted for and this is the process that we’re going to go through from now on to ensure that this type of thing never happens again that steps don’t get skipped that process gets followed and I

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don’t feel that that’s happened you know there was a a middle of mistake and there was no um you kind of didn’t want an investigation into it to happen he uh at that point he issued a block on communication that was his first time he issued a block on communication just recently there was another block on communication between the administrative staff and the council what does that mean I’m going to uh put this off for a second because of where we’re like we’re going to switch out of the side so you

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asked about the block on uh the communication block I thought that was a really important those are big words um from what I understand uh last month the middle of June a memo was issued and and there was to be no direct communication um from the council Council services and like that with the mayor’s staff the directors he wants all communication to be funneled through the mayor’s office to be either approved by himself uh the mayor or the managing director and in this day and age where

40:23

we have you know change happening so fast and communication happening so fast and social media being so pervasive it’s just not realistic you know we have council members that are learning about things that the administration is doing from the general public and that to me makes the county look like they don’t know what’s going on if they need to learn what’s going on from the public instead of everyone’s in the county building but there’s no communication going on and I said this in another

40:56

interview that fear of miscommunication is not a reason to stop communication altogether and that was the reason that he gave for the memo is that there was a fear of miscommunication people getting incorrect information or not the whole story and the way I see it you know if you have that fear then you need to train your your cabinet or your executive staff how to communicate clearly not block them from communicating it doesn’t make sense that only the mayor and the managing director are capable of communicating clearly you

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know these directors are making over $100,000 salaries you think simple communication with the council and their staff should be well within their perv of things that they’re able to do I’m very concerned about what we said originally that things are sort of put on the back shelf M well you know in empowering the community if that’s what they want and there’s already plan and groundwork being laid that’s wonderful you know if if the community says hey we had an idea for a parking lot in Wu

42:07

whatever happened to that go back if the plans are still there well you know what I’m talking there was Kimo aana then Alan arakawa then Charmaine then Alan arakawa this was way back Kimo aana time so look we’ve gone a long ways so I’m uh hoping that something fresh is going to happen whether we stay with the same regime or if you don’t Prevail in this next election I hope that you are appointed for West Maui Community Plan yeah yeah I’d love to be that and I’d like to know that people like

42:46

you are going to have the courage to stand up and do this and um I took a 20year route and really never stayed in politics but I hope that whatever happens you stay with finger on the fire here because I think it’s very very important I have young kids you know and and I want them to grow up and be able to make away in Hy and so that’s my motivation right now before I had kids I was always fighting for the environment for future Generations before I even had my own kids and now that it’s a reality

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with my own kids I’m really concerned about the future that they’re going to grow up in Mai will they have opportunity to have a job that doesn’t only support them but helps or allows them to enhance Maui County or wherever they choose to live and and I think you know part of that is training our youth to be the leaders of Maui County because people will always want to come here they’ll want to live here they’ll want to Vacation here but I think we need to instill our youth that grow up here that

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they need to be the leaders of Maui County because of their intimate knowledge of the history of Maui and just you know the the conditions the weather and and the culture whether or not they’re Hawaiian it’s something that’s unique about Maui County and I I really want all all our kids that grow up here to realize how special it is and to speak out for Maui County because they will be the Future Leaders and and it’s nothing against folks that move to Mali County that they can’t be the leaders as well

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but it you really need to be grounded in in Mai County Island style Island appropriate yeah and I mean a lot of times people come in with great ideas that not are not Island appropriate you know and so we need our kids not to just you know tell them in a mean way or in a a way that’s condescending that is not appropriate but give them the the tools so that they can explain why it’s not appropriate for Maui in a way that doesn’t exclude anybody and and just you know try to lay it out for them you know

45:08

whether it’s a safety factor or whatever the reason but be able to work with people and and come to a win-win Solution that’s the bottom line recently I just know I I really thought it was important to mention mentioned culture in Hawaiian the department of interior came over here for the federal government and all these many look on as Splinter Hawaiian groups all came together in a magnificent way to express they are the Hawaiian people and this is their Kingdom and you know I’m not going to bring the show to that but

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uh any feeling about that that’s some possible transition or is there anything that we can can do to better serve our Hawaiian Community here in Maui County well on next show you know it comes down to authentic Community Based Economic Development you know we need to protect our cultural resources and share them with people in a way that’s not um cheesy or for the money you know we need to do it in a way that perpetuates the culture and that the people are proud you know and I think you know a

46:27

lot of that starts with uh the Olo the language of Hawaii you know and and the various protocols um as far as the Hawaiian Nation you know in a court of international law I think that’s where it needs to be addressed at this time um and I and I support but it’s not to say that you know an independent Kingdom of Hawaii will not be corrupt you know corruption is is something that you need to fight in every political Arena and I think you know I I’m very thankful that there are people out there fighting for the

47:17

Hawaiian Kingdom um my kulana or my my privilege and my responsibility is to look at at current resources and and look at them from the Viewpoint of stewardship over self-interest you know regardless if this is America or the state of Hawaii or the Kingdom of Hawaii we have a responsibility to the Future generations to take care of this AA or these islands in a way that future Generations can experience them and and know their culture whether they’re Hawaiian or not and and know the significance behind the

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plants and the ocean and what’s Mala to maai and and um to really respect and try to perpetuate the way that our ancestors manage land you know the auka is the land division from the mountain to the sea in which all resources all the resources of that land division provided for the people they could find everything they needed within that mount Kuma likes and that will lead us into issues of self- sustainability food sovereignty and whatnot and um it’s a big issue well you know you’re

48:41

running for mayor and there’s so many issues um the one thing that I’m appreciative of is your humility meaning um again I like Alan very nice guy but there’s this feeling like we know best that I’m very very concerned about I’m concerned and um I’m very concerned and wanting to see change accelerate that I think can only happen by involving the private sector in different ways than the government here is doing and to me the important thing about the private sector is it’s the

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private sector that’s based on M you know you can’t have too much of outside influence directing how things will go over here because they’re not invested in it more than money they don’t have the personal State you know if if they have a development that they’re investing in and causes all this dirt Brown water runoff they’re not swimming in the water to care about it they might care about the fines that they get about it but they don’t care about the waterf you know so I think you know we we

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really need to invest in local community based Economic Development we need to find Opportunities to support local business when it’s a outof county Enterprise that comes in the money goes out of and they provide lowlevel jobs which people like you said need to work two to three of them and then they don’t get to see their family and then the family L this connection with the culture because parents are always working and there goes the drug and the alcohol and the problems yeah so you need to really look

50:36

at things from a big picture Long Range View and then from there maybe that’s your end in mind and you step back and say what kind of things do I need today what what seeds do I plant today so that 20 years from now the result that I want to see occurs and it it’s difficult because it’s not the usual it’s not what things are things people are used to doing or the way that we’ve been taught all these years we’re still running off of 19th century management practices but we’re living in the 211 century and

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that’s the disconnect you know we need to change the way that we look at management if we want to continue on in the 21st century and that’s a powerful way to end this is there uh something other than that I mean that’s a very powerful thing we really need to modernize our way of thinking yeah change the mindset basically because it’s it’s not working you can see with all the problems that are flourishing what the 19th century management model is not appropriate for the 21st

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century can it be shifted or would you have to I think it can be shifted we just need to um you know start doing things differently and if that means electing a person without any political experience I’m I’m okay with that thank you guys for joining us um anything in your platform that you specifically want to share I know that what I’ve seen my shows are not anything you know I’m not claiming any political anything but I’m just someone out here and I feel people have really wanted to know who’s going to be

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in the office and are they approachable and available and have common sense you know we we vote on who waves good and gives us good chicken and rice and there’s probably more to it but I must tell you it’s it’s uh we are underserved to to have things like this where someone else can ask questions and ask hard questions but I’m here just to kind of sure who you are you know well I think you know to sum it up power in the 21st century is going to be less about control and more about

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being connected with the type of um transparency and social media going on today you need to be connected instead of being in control and we’ve seen the current May’s leadership style and I would call it more one of country and that is not my leadership style so I’m of the feeling that no one person is smarter than all of us put together and in this day and age we have the technology that allows for Mass collaboration but it’s not being used and so that’s what I would like to

53:58

enable for the F Mass collaboration where all of us put together is smarter than one person thank you for taking the time to be here I know we’ve probably spoken a good long while hopefully someone sits around and watches all of this that’s the thing content is King you know you got to see uh a really terrific lady with great ideas who wants to be our mayor and uh I for one am thrilled that you have the courage and confidence to come out with new ideas and no matter who is sitting in the seat the most

54:37

important thing is refreshing those ideas and actions yeah so that’s terrific thank you thank you so very much for being here with me aloha aloha

Maui County well on next show you know it comes down to authentic Community Based Economic Development you know we need to protect our cultural resources and share them with people in a way that’s not um cheesy or for the money you know we need to do it in a way that perpetuates the culture and that the people are proud you know and I think you know a