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UP CLOSE & PERSONAL 2010- Jason Schwartz with ZEKE KALUA, candidate for West Maui residency seat on Maui County Council.
Summary & Transcript Below…
[00:09 → 02:32] Opening Message: The Call to Unlock Hope and Make a Change
The transcript begins with a poetic and inspirational message emphasizing the urgency of making a change by unlocking the hope that resides within everyone. It highlights collective responsibility to act, suggesting that healing and positive transformation are possible if people come together and stand for one another. The repeated theme is that “nothing changes unless we unlock the hope,” reinforcing the idea that hope is the catalyst for a better life and irreversible progress.
- [02:32 → 03:29] Introduction of Zeke Kahlua: Candidate for West Maui County Council
Zeke Kahlua is introduced as a candidate for the West Maui County Council. The segment clarifies that while Zeke represents West Maui, council members are elected at-large for the entire Maui County, which includes the islands of Maui, Molokai, and Lanai. Voters from all these regions can vote for him, and all council members serve as advocates for the whole county. The interview host welcomes Zeke and opens the conversation about his motivations for running. - [03:29 → 05:41] Zeke Kahlua’s Community Involvement and West Maui Taxpayers Association
Zeke shares his decade-long involvement with the West Maui community, particularly through the West Maui Taxpayers Association, which he joined after returning to Maui in 2000. The organization, originally founded in 1974 as the Honokawai Napili Kapalua Taxpayers Union, was renamed to better represent the entire West Maui community. Its mission centers on improving quality of life by advocating for adequate infrastructure and reinvestment of tax dollars within West Maui. Zeke expresses a desire to move beyond nonprofit work into a leadership role that can enact more substantial change. - [05:41 → 08:05] Key Issues: Economic Revitalization and Transient Vacation Rentals (TVRs)
Zeke identifies economic revitalization as a critical issue, emphasizing the need to build on past successful initiatives while addressing current challenges. He discusses the contentious issue of Transient Vacation Rentals (TVRs), noting that their impact varies by community. He acknowledges concerns about TVRs but points out that property owners already pay taxes and that visitors renting TVRs contribute economically by spending on local goods and services. He suggests that TVRs are a small but important part of a broader strategy to stimulate the economy. - [08:05 → 09:32] Agriculture and Microenterprise as Economic Opportunities
Zeke highlights agriculture as another area with potential for economic benefit, advocating for incentives that encourage profitable agricultural businesses. He also strongly supports microenterprise development, citing his advocacy for the Maui Economic Opportunity (MEO) program, which helps local entrepreneurs start businesses and thereby stimulates the economy. He notes that many people provide services without licenses, indicating a vibrant informal economy that could benefit from support and regulation. - [09:32 → 10:31] Personal Background and Motivations for Returning to Maui
Zeke recounts his personal journey: graduating high school in 1994, moving to Washington State for work, and returning to Maui after his father’s passing in 1997. The experience of reconnecting with family and reflecting on his life inspired him to return permanently in 2000. Upon returning, he immediately engaged with the West Maui Taxpayers Association, drawn in by their practical goals such as improving beach access, sidewalks, and playground facilities—efforts aimed at enhancing community quality of life. - [10:31 → 11:30] Zeke’s Experience and Public Service Roles
He describes his professional experience including eight years as executive director of the West Maui Taxpayers Association, two years as executive assistant to the mayor, and four years as vice chair of the Governor’s Council of Advisors. Through these roles, he gained insights into state, county, and federal governance, equipping him with knowledge and a network to better serve the community. 
The conversation shifts to social issues, particularly drug use and its link to youth lacking positive opportunities. Zeke explains that youth who lack jobs or constructive activities often fall into depression or seek belonging in negative influences such as gangs or drugs. He recognizes that parents working multiple jobs may have limited time for supervision, inadvertently contributing to these challenges. He underlines the importance of community support and positive engagement to counteract these negative trends.- [13:36 → 15:52] Role of Music in Community and Youth Engagement
Zeke emphasizes music as a powerful tool for inspiration and engagement across generations. He shares his personal involvement as a DJ and percussionist and notes the lack of funding and support for school music programs such as the band at Lahaina Luna High School. He advocates for incorporating music into community events and even suggests creative ideas like adding music or sound effects to council meetings to enhance atmosphere. He views music as essential “air” that supports mental well-being and social cohesion. - [15:52 → 20:11] Promoting Music and Arts for Economic and Cultural Revitalization
The discussion broadens to the economic and cultural benefits of music and arts. Zeke supports more music and art festivals to attract visitors and locals alike, with a portion of proceeds directed toward job creation and environmental initiatives. He stresses the importance of revitalizing Hawaiiana culture through arts, lamenting the decline in opportunities for local musicians and artists. He highlights a successful example on Molokai where a youth center was renovated to include a soundproof studio, providing young artists a place to record and develop their talents. He also points out the challenge local artists face in marketing their work beyond Hawaii, using the band Kolo as a positive example of international success. - [20:11 → 21:19] Vision for Supporting Local Arts and Cultural Venues
Zeke expresses a desire to integrate local musicians into county events and public venues, noting the positive impact of musicians performing at places like the airport. He shares a vision for re-establishing classic entertainment venues such as dinner clubs with live music and cocktail singers, which could enhance the cultural fabric and nightlife of West Maui. He encourages supporting existing venues that offer live performances and considers these cultural investments vital to community identity and economic vitality. - [21:19 → 22:42] Youthful Leadership and Commitment to Future Generations
Zeke reflects on his position as one of the youngest candidates at age 34, highlighting his openness to new ideas and willingness to contribute actively to the council. He respects the work of current and past council members and expresses a sense of duty to represent not just his generation but also future ones. He embraces the challenge to step up and lead, inspired by the desire to make meaningful improvements that will benefit his children and grandchildren. - [22:42 → 25:25] Community Concerns: Development, Rezoning, and Smart Growth
Zeke discusses ongoing community concerns about economic development, rezoning agricultural lands, and the general plan guiding Maui’s growth. He advocates for smart growth principles that promote affordable, walkable, and environmentally sensitive development. However, he points out challenges with county codes that can conflict with smart growth goals, such as fire safety regulations requiring wide roads that contradict narrower road designs intended to reduce traffic speed and enhance walkability. He stresses the need to reconcile these codes with current development philosophies to avoid project delays and community distrust. - [25:25 → 26:23] Influences and Foundations of Zeke’s Wisdom
The interviewer probes into the sources of Zeke’s practical wisdom and leadership qualities. Zeke credits his father’s hardworking, common-sense approach and his mother’s educational background for shaping his balanced outlook. He combines these influences in his approach to community service, underscoring the value of family and grounded, thoughtful leadership. 
[26:23 → 27:20] Closing Remarks and Contact Information
The interview concludes with a reminder that voters across Maui County can support Zeke regardless of district, as council members serve at large. Zeke invites the community to contact him anytime via phone, mail, or his website to share ideas or concerns. The host expresses confidence in Zeke’s dedication and looks forward to positive developments under his leadership.- [27:20 → 29:31] Closing Inspirational Message: Unlocking Hope
The transcript ends by returning to the opening theme, reinforcing the call to action to unlock hope within everyone. It reiterates the collective power to make change and improve lives, emphasizing that progress depends on embracing this hope together.
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- Key Themes and Insights
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- Community Engagement and Leadership: Zeke Kahlua’s candidacy is rooted in long-term community involvement and a desire to serve beyond nonprofit activism by embracing formal political leadership.
- Economic Revitalization: Focus on balancing tourism (including TVRs), agriculture, and microenterprise development to create sustainable economic growth.
- Cultural and Social Enrichment: Strong advocacy for revitalizing music and arts as means to enhance community spirit, provide youth engagement, and stimulate the economy.
- Smart Growth and Infrastructure: The need for thoughtful development that respects environmental and safety concerns while fostering walkable communities.
- Youth and Social Challenges: Recognition of the importance of providing positive opportunities to youth to prevent drug abuse and gang involvement.
- Hope and Collective Action: The recurring motif that unlocking hope within individuals and communities is essential for transformative change.
This comprehensive summary captures the candidate’s vision, concerns, and personal background, presenting a detailed picture of his platform and community values.
Hi, I’m Zeke Kalua. I’m running for West Maui County Council. And I’m a resident of a 98 GMC Yukon, as you can see. Aloha. Welcome to Up Close and Personal 2010. I have a very special guest today. I’m here with Zeke Kalua. Aloha. Aloha, Jason. Welcome to the show.
02:59
Welcome to these guys. You know, out there, right behind that red nose, is, I would think, thousands of people. What do you think? Yeah, I’d have to agree with you. Maui County is three islands, and no matter where you are in Maui County, Maui, Molokai, Lanai, if you like Zeke Kalua, you can vote for Zeke Kalua. Okay? Zeke is running for the residency seat in West Maui, and obviously, that’s really the area that you’re the most expert and you’re really…
03:29
sitting for those people. But all of our council members are at large voting. And even if they weren’t, they’d all care about you. But right now, you elect all nine, and they’re all nine your advocate. They’re your friend and your council people. So I just want to make sure that’s clear. Got it. Thank you for coming and taking the time here with us. Glad to be here. What got you that said, I want to run?
03:57
Well, Jason, I’ve been involved with the community of the West Maui people for at least 10 years now. I moved back from Washington State in 2000 and immediately joined forces with the West Maui Taxpayers Association. Collectively, we’ve done a lot of really good things in the community. And I’m at the point in my life right now where I’m thinking that I’d like to try and do something a little bit more than what we’re doing in the nonprofit. There’s definitely a need for some leadership and
04:24
There’s a lot of good people that are running with a lot of well-intended ideas, and I feel that I’m one of them. I think that I can bring a lot to the table. I’m definitely a team player. I definitely like coming together on good projects. I don’t necessarily need to be the guy that gets pat on the back for an idea that I brought forth, but if it’s in the best interest of the community, that’s just what I want to be a part of. The West Maui Taxpayer Association, they’ve been around a long time.
04:50
Since I was first on the West Side, which is 20 years ago, and Mark, what do they do? I mean, their name seems very focused, but what was their role in the community? Well, they originally started in 1974, and they were known as the Honokawai Napili Kapalua Taxpayers Union. And several years into that, people felt that it would be more friendly for the West Maui community if they changed the name to something that encompassed all of the West Maui community.
05:18
so they changed their name to the west maui taxpayers association the mission statement has always been revolving around the quality of life issues the need for adequate infrastructure and for the reinvestment in the community by way of the tax dollars that are collected within our community of west maui and all throughout maui kaki you uh probably have had
05:41
A great experience there. That’s a great group of people with a long commitment to the West Side. What do you say right now is the main issue if you were going to start with something that you want to address for the West Side? What do you think that might be? Well, being a local person and having a lot of friends in all communities, even on the islands of Molokai and Anai, I see the need for economic revitalization. It’s such a big thing to target right now. A lot of people are talking about it.
06:10
And in my opinion, I just think that we need to really look at some of the things that we’ve done in the past that have worked and incorporate a lot of that into what we’re doing now. I know that the TVR issue was a huge issue and a lot of people were concerned about whether or not it was sensitive in certain areas or whether it was appropriate in communities and whatnot. TVR, many of you know by heart, you know, it’s a transient vacation rental. Yeah, it’s a hot issue.
06:41
07:08
Well, the one thing that just comes to mind about the TVR issue is that, you know, in some areas, in some communities, it could be allowable where it wouldn’t negatively impact the resources that are for shelter within those communities. Definitely, it’s not something that’s for every community and every place on the island. But the main thing is that the people that own these properties, legal or illegally, are already paying their property taxes. And if they’re in the process of becoming legal, even better.
07:37
The people that occupy these units, they rent cars, they put gas in their vehicles, they buy groceries, they utilize services in Maui, monies that otherwise would normally not be collected if they decided not to come because they didn’t find the kind of accommodations that they wanted that are, in this case, in a TVR setting, more private, more intimate. I think that TVRs are only one small aspect of how we can do economic revitalization, but
08:05
You know, there’s so many stereotypes out there about what works, what doesn’t work. Agriculture always comes up. Recently there’s been a lot of discussion about rezoning ag lands and turning them more for development. You know, another hot topic, another hot issue. But there are certain forms of agriculture that can be profitable. And so, you know, in incorporating some of those, maybe even giving incentives for people who are willing to open businesses and go into agriculture, that’s another way. Microenterprise is definitely something that needs to be considered.
08:34
I’ve been a strong advocate for MEO because they offer the four core business program, and they help many micro enterprises go into business, and in one way or another, they start stimulating the economy. I mean, you’d be hard-pressed to go into a room full of 100 people and say, a showing of hands, who in this room has ever provided a service for someone and charged a modest fee for it but didn’t have a license to do it? I bet you not one person could not raise their hand. The thing that’s most clear while I’m sitting here with you
09:04
all the good issues you just brought up. You have a lot to say, and it sounds like you’ve been involved in your work, but when you say you came back to Maui, you went to school, you went to school and came back? Well, I graduated high school in 94, and I moved to Washington State shortly, about mid-95. I lived there for a couple years. It was a great experience.
09:32
But majority of it was just going up there for work. And my father passed away in 97. Thank you. When I came back for the funeral, I had been just surrounded by a lot of family members that I hadn’t seen in years. And it just was a real wake up call to myself about, you know, yeah, living is kind of cool. It’s all right. I’ve made some friends and I’ve done pretty well for myself. But, you know, these are like some of the most formidable years of my life where I’d like to enjoy Hawaii as much as possible.
10:01
And so I made a decision in 2000 to come home. And immediately coming home, I got right away involved with Westmire Taxpayers because a lot of the issues that they were bringing up made sense. It didn’t seem like pie-in-the-sky ideas. And the majority of what they wanted were things like making sure that beach accesses were made available, making sure we had adequate sidewalks and children had adequate playgrounds to play in, things that really made sense to improve the quality of life for the people in the community. So for myself, I had to get behind it.
10:31
And were you always a Westside guy? Well, I would say that, privy to the experience that I’ve had, eight of the years I worked as the executive director for the Texas Association, two of the ten years I worked as an executive assistant to the mayor, and four of those years I was the vice chair for the Governor’s Council of Advisors. So, just on those facts alone, I’ve been privy to state, county, federal… I was going to say, and you’ve been around. So, I’ve just been doing this. A lot of this you probably know.
11:01
I kind of know the answers, but I’m doing this because I want these guys to know. That’s why I’m here. When I first saw you, I said, this guy’s got red shirts. You guys are spotted in a crowd, and there’s lots of them. That says alone you can’t miss us. And not only are they friendly, but they’re all a very thoughtful, caring group. You have a really conscious group of people.
11:30
When I saw you at the Kula Community Association thing, someone must have asked you a question about drugs. And I heard you say something like, my name is Zeke, which is Ezekiel. My father’s name is Solomon. His father’s name was Israel. Is that right? My name is Ezekiel. My father’s name was Israel. His father’s name was Solomon. When I heard that, I thought to myself, he’s a man who
11:59
You know, comes from a source, a solid foundation, family guy. I mean, that really rang true. And like I said, what I saw was a big heart and somebody that cared. And that’s what made me want to get this interview with you. I knew that you were someone who had a strong commitment. What about drugs and families and what’s going on here? What do you think you can do to be able to help them all the time?
12:25
Well, I think a lot of when, and I’ll say youth as an example, even though it doesn’t cover the whole statement, but a lot of the time when youth are lacking job opportunities or positive things to occupy their time, they usually end up falling into either a state of depression or just that state of awareness where they want to be a part of something. And if the only thing that’s available for them at the time is a negative influence of possibly drugs, possibly gang activity,
12:53
Unfortunately, that’s the direction that they tend to go. When you have their parents working two or three jobs each just trying to sustain the family’s needs, it’s not a downside on the family. God bless them. If they’re willing to go out there and work to support their family, that’s the best thing you could hope to expect.
13:09
But sometimes without that supervision, without that opportunity for families to interact, sometimes they fall to the wayside, even though they don’t intend to. A lot of the people that I grew up with ended up falling into gangs because they seem to always be there to show them that form of camaraderie, or in some cases love, or maybe it didn’t exist in the families. And I know it’s never intended to be that way, but
13:36
Unfortunately, as long as a negative element exists, people can easily be swept into it, you know, with or without thinking clearly. Now, this next piece that I’m going to probably mention, you’ll go, yeah, yeah. I don’t know if you’ll do that. Music. You know, talk about an inspiration for young people and old people. A way into people’s hearts and minds where they suddenly are open to things they didn’t before.
14:04
If their star or favorite sees it or says it, that suddenly becomes important to them. What about music? I understand that you’re involved here in the music business. Yes, actually I am a factor of that micro enterprise we spoke of earlier. I do DJ services and small sound systems on the side. I come from a musical background where we all had to sing in church, so we didn’t have a choice anyway.
14:31
I play a little bit of ukulele. I’ve been a percussionist for about 12 years. And assign that to one of the concerns that we had in Lahaina, and that’s Lahaina Luna High School hasn’t been able to have the funding to keep up with their band. And now they have this beautiful football field, but no band to play at on their homecoming games. And that’s one of those things where if we had all the money that we need, we could fund these important programs in school. And, you know, I’d never, ever drive my vehicle without having some kind of music playing.
15:00
Whenever I’m sitting down doing a very tedious job, whether it’s working on a car in a garage or working on some kind of report or any kind of writing assignments that I do for the job that I have, I always have some kind of background theme music going. Well, that means I’m going to recommend that the next council meetings that we get some music in the background. Definitely. Because those council meetings need a little bit of, you know, something to keep driving.
15:25
I think, depending on the point that they’re making, I think it would be a good thing to have. Maybe we should have sound effects with each speaker. That would be interesting. You could do that. Definitely. So everybody in the audience is happy, shake the tambourines. Make some noise. That would be a good thing. I think it’s a very soothing agent for myself. I always find myself involved in music, whether it’s sitting at home playing some music or
15:52
Going out and DJing, which I particularly love. It’s like air. It’s just like air. Well, you know, it just makes me bring up some of my favorite subjects when it comes to the economy. And I’m just bringing it up because maybe you can help me with this as we go along here. A lot of musicians and artists…
16:14
in our sort of not getting an opportunity to play and sing. And a lot of musicians and artists would like to be able to play and sing and make some money, but they’d also like to be able to contribute to their island and contribute toward creating more jobs for others and creating a better environment here. I believe that we should have more music
16:38
Music festivals and a lot of more music and art festivals where it’s known going in by the people coming that the money that they’re giving and spending, a third of it is going to go to create a new flow of additional jobs and environmental jobs and responsible things that are going to create solutions for our island.
16:59
and so what i’m hoping to see happen is more music and art in parks in clubs get the public here and all around the world to know it and create more action and economy the reason i’m bringing it up now is um i really i can already tell you got a big heart and uh physically and spiritually well i see that and um i think that i would like to be able to
17:29
what is it get your assistance in developing a local music thing we’re getting people more conscious that we can do something through our music i was just at bounty am i allowed to say bounty oh it’s my show sure bounty music shop there too you know a lot of stuff and um i want to get in touch with musicians
17:51
And artists, you know, I’m a little older and there are some extremely good musicians here. But there’s also a lot of extremely good younger musicians that I’m not in touch with. Then I would like to be able to promote it and get it known around the islands, around the world. And through it, where money comes through, we’ll be able to make money. That’s a whole separate story. But the economy here, what people come to these islands for is open space, relaxation, music, art.
18:21
We’ve pulled away from Hawaiiana. We’ve pulled away from music. All these things have retreated. Less places are open. There’s less music, less art. Let’s see what we can do about revitalizing. That one, when I say that one, costs nothing. That’s not a council thing. But, and I want to tell you, for 20 years, it hasn’t really been part…
18:47
of the plan here, where it’s sort of been on the fringe, where, oh, we don’t need music. Well, I am aware of one small way that the council did play a good role in helping to promote that on Molokai. And what happened was, I want to say somewhere around 12 to, maybe 12 to 15 years ago, the Molokai Youth Center in Kanakakai underwent a complete renovation of the facility.
19:13
And in renovating that facility, they actually created a studio. A studio where they allowed local musicians, young children to come in, and they set it up with enough equipment where the roof, the room itself was soundproof, where it was an actual studio-like environment. And some artists have been able to record demos of some of the music that they played. Now, one of the harder sides of that is that even if you get it, the marketing of local music in Hawaii has been very difficult, which is why you get a lot of musicians going
19:43
even further than the States. And Kolo is a good example of that. They’ve toured internationally many times. They’ve also got a great sound. Very good band to listen to. And the thing is, you know, these guys probably started where they were singing songs in church and then enjoying time with their friends in school. And now you look at an empire that they’ve created, including their own record label and also what they’re doing to help promote other local artists. And I think that’s terrific. Well, I’m exactly with you. I just know that I find that
20:11
Musicians and artists are some of the most heartfelt people that want to give. And I would just like to see that as something we incorporated into when there are events going on with the county, bring musicians in. Be able to get things in. You know, the airport does it. The airport has a little musician there. It’s amazing how many people remember those musicians at the airport.
20:34
A lot of the clubs have cut back. I’m really proposing that we find a way to get all that stuff back again. I’ve always wanted to, and I’ve only seen it in movies, but I’ve always wanted to be able to have an older style dinner club where you would have a reason where you could dress up nicely in maybe a tuxedo or a good suit.
20:56
You can come down and sit down and listen to a nice cocktail singer in the room. Well, there are a couple of rooms like that, but they do comedy and card tricks. Right. I’m sure you know on the west side there. Yeah. A couple of them there. Well, that’s a great thing. Let’s try to support that. That would be a great thing. Definitely. If I, you know, I mean, there’s so many issues. You know, the old story. There’s so many issues.
21:19
Any other pet issues that you really want to be sure to address, you want our viewers and the people here to know that are important that you want to tackle, or any areas you feel that you have some special gift that you can add to the spin on what’s going on here? You know, I think, you know, if elected, I’ll be one of the youngest members of the council. I’m 34 right now. That’s a good age. I think it’s a terrific age. It’s been terrific to me so far. But I think that with a young mind like mine,
21:49
You know, it comes the willing to try new ideas. And I believe that the council in place now has done a pretty good job, and even those before them. I’ve been going to so many meetings within the last 10 years and hearing older people say, you know, I’m not here for myself. I’m here for my sons and daughters and their sons and daughters. And they’re talking about my generation. And so for me, it’s one of those, it’s either put up or shut up. I choose to put up.
22:15
I love that. I was talking to someone yesterday about just that. We really are thrilled. I mean, obviously, I’m 20 plus years more than you. I’m 59. So you could be my son. There’s something very important about passing a torch, about having people get involved. And like you say, you’re ready to put up. And that’s really a wonderful thing. Thank you. Thank you. It’s wonderful.
22:42
Unless you want to stop, I would like to give you more time because I know that you’ve got a lot that you’d like to say. A lot of people come up to me and say, I just like him. He’s somebody that I can give an idea to and he doesn’t just let it go. He’s got something to add. Any things that people have come up to you that are their issues? We know the economy is surely one of them. I know that there’s a lot of people concerned about the development. A lot of people concerned about the rezoning of ag lands.
23:10
I’m definitely concerned with the general plan and where that’s going to be going. In being able to incorporate smart growth principles into new developments and whatnot, we need to really re-look and revisit some of the county codes that we have. Because in many cases, a developer may propose a good development that’s at a very realistic, affordable cost and incorporate a lot of these smart growth principles, which is where we as a community inevitably want to go.
23:37
But if he comes in and applies for 36 exemptions during the planning process, all of a sudden it looks like there’s some malice behind the plan and this person is not very genuine anymore. What do you think? It’s just because these codes are out of whack with what’s really going on? What do you think? Well, I’ll give you a good example. There was a project that was going to go on in West Maui that a lot of us were concerned about.
24:01
Now, it was designed on smart growth principles, and one of these was in order to make a walkable, friendly community, you had to shrink the size of the roads so that it would decrease the amount of people that were wanting to speed because you would allow for roadside parking, but only on one side of the road. This roadway, they were looking to be anywhere between 13 to 15 feet. Now, if you read a certain portion of the fire county code, basically, this would be no good, and there would need to be a minimum of 20 feet because
24:30
Majority of the fire trucks nowadays are 9 to 10 feet in width. So if you’re fighting a fire from the front of the house and you need to get a truck around it to continue fighting the fire while the original truck backs out to be retanked or fueled, if you have a 13-foot roadway, you won’t be able to do it. Right. And so, I mean, it’s a part of the code where maybe, you know, when subdivisions that were not built previously, it was something that worked really, really well. But, you know, clearly…
24:58
They’re both good ideas. You know, shorten the road with decreased amount of speed, keep the road with wide. You can get a fire truck pass it. You know, it almost wants to be safety in both aspects when you look at it. But just looking at how the code is, it’s not meant to be prohibitive. It’s really meant in the best interest of the community. And then when you look at the smart growth concept, you know, it’s meant to do the same thing. But the problem is this one is law. This one is idea. And until both of them can come to a common ground,
25:25
we’ll always bump into problems like this when we utilize smart growth as the basis for new development. Where did you catch your wisdom? I mean, where do you think it came from? Your mom and dad? More than that? Community? Well, my father was a very hard worker. He was a very common sense, hands-on type of man. My mother was very educated. And just growing up, I just
25:54
took a little bit of both and kind of combined what you see in front of you today. Well, I believe you are the best, best from the family, and what you have to offer is really a worthwhile thing. I want all of you out there, no matter if you’re Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Kahului, Hana, to know that if you like Zeke Kalua, you can vote for him. Yes. Right? Yes. So he lives in West Maui. He’s the West Maui candidate.
26:23
But until we go for district voting, which may well come up as an issue next year, but realize you have nine representatives and you vote for them all. So I’m really glad that you took the time to come here, and I know they are. And hopefully we’ll be doing this and congratulating you soon. Thank you, thank you. Thank you very much. And for those out there that want to contact me, you can get me on my cell phone 24 hours a day, 280-9111.
26:50
You can mail me something at P.O. Box 308 Lahaina, 96767. Or you can come check out my website, ZekeKalua.com. And I feel free to send me a thought, a comment, or any concern you may have. And hopefully we can do something about it. My kind of guy. Nice to meet you, Zeke. Thanks, Jason. Look forward to many good times and positive things happening. Definitely, definitely. Thank you guys for joining us, and we’ll see you again. Aloha. Aloha.
