Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 11, Number 12, 1 November 1994 — MAYORAL CANDIDATES [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

MAYORAL CANDIDATES

Maui County Frank Furcini (L) Age: 49

B o r n ; McKeesport, Pennsylvania P r e v i o u s p o I i t i c a 1 experience: None Employment and eommunity service

experience: Investigator, State of Hawai'i DHS, Poliee officer, HPD; automobile salesman, Honolulu Ford, Aloha Moters and SERVCO; Oahu chairman, SHOPO, Maui Kokua Services board member; Liquor adjudication board member. Why running for office? To give the voters another ehoiee over the traditional Democratic and Republican politicians. To restore trust, faith and integrity in Maui County government by representing the working class and not special interest groups. big business. pol it ieal parties and/or large campaign contributors. Views on social/economic issues in Hawai'i — • Cost of living: It cannot be resolved until government and large corporations make land available at an affordable cost. • Housing: You cannot have affordable housing until you have affordable land. I do not believe the government should be in the housing business but rather securing state and federal funds to assist the deveIopment by private industry. • Health: Maui is too reliant on the staterun hospital and should openly solicit private health care institutions to open so as to give more options to the public. • Jobs: We should concentrate on mainlenanee and upgrading our infrastructure to include water. A long range plan should be undertaken related to water and hydroelectricity that would create mueh employment. • Education: The children must be educated to enter the work world, not just Hawai'i. If the state cannot provide higher facilities. then they should free up the land and encourage private sector to eome in. This would also create more jobs in the area of construction and teaching. What will you do for Hawaiians? I would encourage them to do for themselves. Take advantage of the free eleetoral process to select their leaers and destination they wish to follow. How should Hawaiian sovereignty and self-determination be addressed? By calling on your leaders to regain the island of Kaho'olawe (and the elean up funds) to create a sovereign nation to be ruled by your chosen officials. You must capture the land in order to recapture your past. Goro Hokoma (D) Age: 65 Born: Wailuku, Maui Previous political experience: Member

of the Board of Supervisors and the C o u n t y Council of Maui since 1955. Emplovment and eommunity service

experience: Department clerk with Dole Company 1946-1992. In the U.S. Army from 1951 to 1953. Whv running for office? I feel 1 ean improve on the operation of our county government and bring equal service and treatment for our people. Views on social/economic issues in Hawai'i — Number one: Education. Number two: Housing. Number three: Cost of living. Number four: Heahh. Number five: Jobs. What will you do for Hawaiians? Have the county government work with Hawaiian Homes Commission and OHA in making infrastructural improvements so Hawaiians ean use lands. How should Hawaiian sovereignty and self-determination be addressed? Referendum and the majority decision must be accepted and if changes or amendments are to be made, they should be done by the same process. • Linda Crockett Lingle (R) Age: 41 Born: St. Louis, Missouri

P r e v i o u s p o I i t i e a I experience; 1 9 9 1 - p re - sent, Mayor of Maui C o u n t y : Maui County C o u n e i 1 member.

Emplovment and community service experience: Honorary chair, Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai'i, March of Dimes Walk America, Alzheimer's Association Memory Walk: chair, Maui United Way campaign; tutor at Makawao Elementary School; editor, owner of Molokai Free Press; associate editor, Hawai'i Teamsters and Loeal 5 newspaper. Why running for office: Although I have achieved mueh in the last four years, I want to solidify the programs I have instituted, to make sure they continue. Views on social/economic issues in Hawai'i — • Cost of living: To make sure that eounty government lives within its means, there have been no increases in property tax rates, water rates, and no major budget increase over the last four years. • Housing: Refocused housing efforts toward private housing development. Over the last four years 1,500 affordable homes were built. Low ineome rentals/special needs housing include the

Makawao elderly housing project, the Waiale affordable rental project, and the Ka Hale A Ke ola homeless shelter. • Health: Promoted "investing in our future," through the Mayor's Community Coalition for a Drug-free Maui County; expanded park system; developing a bikeway system. • Jobs: Increased funding of the Maui Visitors Bureau's. Need to support diversified agriculture, develop jobs in the film and high-tech industries, and create long-range opportunities through education. • Education: Will continue to push for the development of a four-year college. Assisted Head Start, Project SEED (elementary science and math program ) and the Visitor Industry Training and Education Center (VITEC). Worked closely with Maui Community College on early childhood education and aquaculture enterprises. What will you do for Hawaiians? Maui County was first to pass a tax exemption for Hawaiian homesteads, and recognize our responsibility to pave homestead roads. Formed a county-DHHL task force on land use issues. Will continue to lobby for development of the Keokea homestead water system. How shou!d Hawaiian sovereignty and self-determination be addressed? The Hawaiian community must create a united front. Fractionalization and ad-hoc leadership by a diverse field of selfappointed individuals makes it impossible for the Hawaiian community to gain general support. While the need for a national identity for Hawaiians cannot be denied, it must win general support or it could Iead to an unhealthy factionalization of the community. Successful incorporation of a Hawaiian sovereign state within Hawai'i could be a major step forward for Hawaiians and, as a result of their improved status. the whole eommunity. Kaua'i County Mayoral Candidates Marvanne W. Kusaku (R) Age: 59 Born: Kamuela, Hawai'i Previous political experience: administration assistant (managing director) to the mayor, County of Kaua'i. Employment and communitv service experience: DOE educator, 33 years; chair, State Advisory Committee. Federal Grants to Education; director, Hawai'i Film Festival. 3 years; island manager Aloha Week Festivals, 13 years; member, Board of Directors Aloha Festivals, 15 years; officer/member Delta Kappa Gamma Intl.; founder/director Keiki Hula Competition, 10 years; many other eommunity organizations. Why running for office? To bring better representation for the people of Kaua'i. I believe in a receptive, reponsive and responsible government. We will provide a eommon sense style of leadership with fairness and integrity whieh will rebuild the public trust so lacking today. Views on social/economic issues in

Hawai'i — • Cost of living: I am circulating a petition to the PUC to convince the commission to disallow Citizens Utilities' 36 percent rate increase. • Housing: Assess the present inventory, examine current plans and determine marketplace demands. Government should not be in the housing business. Instead, government should encourage and support home building houses by private enterprise. • Health: Encourage and support heahh facilities, especially for the elderly. Assist in seeking out federal moneys to fund mueh needed pre-natal and early chiIdhood health care. • Jobs: Revitalize the economy by opening 4,000 hotel rooms for business by offering tax incentives and tax breaks. Insist that plantations retrain employees being phased out. Dedicate appropriate funding to visitor marketing. • Education: Support and provide public facilities for sports and l'ine arts activitivities. Get tough on truancy through partnerships with DOE, business community and government. What will you do for Hawaiians? Advocate for the Hawaiian community with the state and Hawaiian Homes for infrastructure to get Hawaiians on their own land with their own house. Encourage beautification of homelands, and be a catalyst to bring dissenting groups together. How should Hawaiian sovereignty and self-determination be addressed? By allowing the Hawaiian people to arrive at a collaborated consensus on this issue. When a compromise is reached. the eommunity at large will determine the role of this sovereign nation within the eommunity. This is a Hawaiian issue. They must work out the details and proposal for a solution first. James Tehada (D) Age: 62 Born: Wai' āhole, Hawai'i Previous political experience: 8 years, Kaua'i Planning Commission; Kaua'i County Council, 1986 to present.

EmpIoyment and community service: retired, Hawaiian Telephone Co.; Kaua'i Chamber of Commerce, Lawai Japanese Community Assn.; Koloa Lions Club; member, various state advisory committees; Contractors' Assn. of Kaua'i; and many other organizations. Why running for office: I believe that government ean do a mueh better job of responding to people's needs. I have 26 continued on page 38

MAYORAL CANDIDATES: frompage36 KAUA'I years management experience, have done capital improvement and operational budget planning for nearly 40 years, both in government and private sector, and I understand business, labor and land use planning. Views on social/economic issues in Hawai'i — • Cost of living: I propose to reduce the cost of housing by streamlining government permitting process, ... eliminating/modifying unnecessary construction standard requirements that add to costs. Construct sewer treatment and collection facilities for affordable housing to further reduce cost. • Housing: Go after more federal and private grant moneys and work with state HFDC to bring more state housing projects to Kaua'i. • Health: I am a member of the State Health Planning and Development committee (ehaiiman of the emergency medical service sub-committee) whieh is addressing health concerns and requirements for Kaua'i County .

• Jobs: I have introduced and the County Council passed legislation to designate all Kaua'i as an enterprise zone. This offers tax ineentives to new businesses who hire low ineome workers. I will work with the state on a task force to address ways to keep sugar plantations viable and identify alternatives for eane lands. I support/encourage more research /development projects at Pacific Missile Range Facility at Barking Sands. Also, expanding the film industry, cottage industry and heahh industry, and maintaining a healthy visitor industry. • Education: The county ean help by requiring land dedication for school expansion or for future sites, such as Kilauea School expansion. What will you do for Hawaiians? I have drafted a bill to waive payment of real property taxes to the county. How should Hawaiian sovereignty and self-determination be addressed? Because the issue of Hawaiian sovereignty and selfdetermination rests with the Congress of the United States, who is the ultimate authority, lobby and work with our state Congressional leaders to acquire the same rights as other indigenous people in the U.S.