Koloa resident John Hoff wants to be mayor to represent Kaua‘i’s “little guy.”
Hoff says he wants to be the eyes and ears of the common man whose call for real property tax relief, lower electricity bills and resolution of solid waste issues has been ignored by Mayor Bryan Baptiste and other mayors before him.
“Why am I running for mayor?” Hoff said. “Do the math. Locals can’t afford to live on Kaua‘i. Our mayor does not listen to ‘We the people.’ Our government is looked upon with contempt rather than with trust. We have a government which resembles more of an enemy than a friend.”
Hoff feels government leaders have not been responsive to the needs of residents, and that the situation has compelled him to run for mayor.
“I am tired of all the talk, big announcements, money down the drain and no results and not seeing any relief in sight,” Hoff said.
Aside from himself and Baptiste, Jesse Fukushima of Lihu‘e, Bruce Pleas of Kekaha and Janee M. Taylor of Koloa are hoping to win the island’s highest public office.
Hoff said he will work to resolve key issues facing Kaua‘i — restoring trust in government, building more affordable housing units and requiring government departments follow federal, state and county laws and the Kaua‘i County Charter.
Hoff said he believes many residents lost their trust in government when the county failed to implement the Ohana Kauai’s property tax relief charter amendment, which was approved by 13,000 votes in the 2004 general election.
“Our mayor and incumbent council members refused to accept the voters choice and threw their votes into the courts and filed a lawsuit against the county, using county tax money to pay off island attorneys to trash the voters’ votes,” Hoff said.
County leaders felt the measure could illegally affect the county’s taxing authority.
Ohana Kauai proponents said residents should have that power as well, and exercised it through the charter amendment process. The matter is before the Hawai‘i Supreme Court for resolution.
Hoff said he will drop the lawsuit immediately if elected mayor.
“I will focus on honoring the voters’ vote and make the Ohana Kauai charter amendment law as soon as possible, hopefully with the help of a newly structured county council consisting of at least four new council members,” he said.
The Ohana Kauai measure reduced property taxes for residents who occupy their homes to the tax amount they paid in 1998.
The approved amendment also limited tax increases to 2 percent a year in 2006, a year after the proposal would take effect.
Hoff said he would follow up on reimbursing residents who would benefit the most from the passage of the charter amendment — residents who own their homes and live in them.
As mayor, he said, he also would immediately begin working on an “aggressive biomass energy program” to resolve two problems that have surfaced and worsened in the last four years.
“I speak of our obscenely high electrical bills and solid waste management cost,” Hoff said. “Both disasters could have been avoided with visionary leadership, but it was and is non-existent.”
While the mayor’s office wields no direct control over electricity bills, Baptiste has supported Kauai Island Utility Cooperative’s plans for a waste-to-energy project that would significantly reduce garbage volumes while generating electricity that could be purchased by the utility.
Hoff said he also would support energy alternatives developed by KIUC as well as establishing an aggressive affordable housing program that will first focus on obtaining land.
“Having a construction background and having built affordable housing, I have an understanding of what needs to be done,” he said. “To obtain land I will use every tool available as prescribed by our county charter.”
Affordable housing has been used too long as “political bait for one’s vote,” he said.
“If I fish, I expect to catch a fish, to produce,” Hoff said.
He also would set up a volunteer program to monitor the state Department of Education’s policies and its use of money.
The group would consist of “non-government personnel such as parents, grandparents, business persons and clergy,” Hoff said.
Hoff has lived on Kaua‘i for 40 years.
He served in the Coast Guard for eight years and has worked as a general contractor, substitute teacher and union organizer.
He founded STPAL, a statewide teachers group that has sought collective bargaining rights, formed “Grip on Life,” a program in which he installed handrails in homes to help senior citizens and served as president of the Lihu‘e chapter of AARP. Hoff also has served as an American Red Cross volunteer during disasters.
Hoff is married and has four grown children, all living on Kaua‘i.
• Lester Chang, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) or lchang@kauaipubco.com.
