Ask about their vision for Kauai
Before you vote this election, take a few minutes. Turn off your TV, put down your newspaper (sorry TGI) and get outside. Walk or drive to the top of a hill and look around. Enjoy the beauty that is Kauai. We are blessed to live in one of the most beautiful places in the world and we need to acknowledge that and protect it.
When you vote, ask yourself, “Does this candidate have a vision for the future of Kauai that I can support?”
Go beyond the dollars and cents, beyond the rhetoric and “old-boy” connections. Think about who will protect our island from unsustainable development and best help create an environment that will work for all of us, local and tourist alike.
We have watched this campaign closely; watched the candidates for mayor as they discussed the issues; seen what they think is important through their actions and attitudes and compared them with their words. Only one candidate stands out for us. Without a doubt JoAnn Yukimura is the candidate we endorse wholeheartedly to once again be the mayor of Kauai County.
Bill and Sea Peterson, Lihue
Proposals for all candidates to consider
To all candidates vying to become a public servant in any position from Kauai, The Garden Island. Here are some “specifics” which might generate some support to have people cast their ballots in your behalf if you:
1. Can come up with some specific plans to feature a “garden island” presentation on the grounds of the Russian Fort, reflective of the colors of the rainbow. Call it the Waimea River Anuenue Gardens where the river meets the waters of the Pacific Ocean.
2. Consider other “garden projects” as: a) The presentation of orchid varieties in a “forest setting”; b) a hibiscus park; c) a profusion of ornamental plants like the croton, plumeria, pikake and fern varieties, and possibly development of a cosmetic industry to utilize the aromatic distinctions of some of the plants; d) orchards of lychee, longan, sour sop and other edibles;
3. Consider making “the Kauai Experience” as something which can be enjoyed elsewhere: like videotapes and technological renditions of our “homegrown” talents; or through the food chain of edibles (as is being done now, but proliferating in variety and volume). We need to be cognizant of the finite resources of our aina so as not to deplete and/or contaminate those resources which need to be safeguarded.
If any of these ideas and/or other possibilities may be productive and positive without being threatening to our health and well-being, go for it!
Jose Bulatao Jr., Kekaha
Bill and Sea, you are probably transplant newbies and you have been conned by a onetime mayor career politician, The four main mayorals have all had reality books written with their names that go back a few of the mayors/council and their snakelike corporate and illegal belligerent u.s. military occupation. TOP to bottom corporates need to change into profit sharing corporates and discontinue money laudering, murder, and fraud that each of the four monied candidate looking for the ol boy network status quo. Do you know being an american citizen is not mandatory yet u.s.a. shoved this and the social security name in high caps, when judiciary courts have no jurisdiction over the Hawaiian Kingdom, people, and land. RUSE and fraud for 125-years. They lie straight in your faces and this is how ignorants continue to vote those weve known and observed 55-kauai years. Their book cover is like no one you have ever seen to date. DUE Diligence research would have you paying ATTENTION to who is a con and who tells only truth and integrity. I can guarantee the four monied ones are scayed that i will past their hopeful numbers and go on to take the seat, UNDER Hawaiian Kingdom, no matter who you vote for, it is corrupted and overdue in time that we bring our keys to unlock the door, TRUTH and Integrity! prevails or deep dark cesspool swamps
Some might argue that our highest office should go to the one with the greatest vision and we should disregard the little picky things. I think otherwise. The office of the Mayor is detail oriented and attention to detail is an important function. Notice that Debra has not proof read her missive. “…scared that I will pass…” came out as: “scayed that i will past…” with 3 obvious errors. Also, our Mayor needs to play by the rules. Debra makes her own rules as in “mayorals and ignorants.” These are adjectives in search of nouns. They cannot be pluralized and left by themselves. This has nothing to do with local dialect. It’s just Debra making her own rules. Language can be very revealing!
Ha! I’d take a “good old boy” over reckless tax and spend any day. Joanne represents the interests of new transplants who weren’t here when Joanne was mayor before, how she got beat by the awesome Maryanne Kusaka, and then left Kauai vowing never to return again.. But she didn’t keep that promise either. Bummer.
When JoAnn was mayor the county budget was less than $68,000,000. Today the county budget is nearly 4 times that amount while the population has grown by less than 30%. Do you really feel we are getting 4 times the services? Or is our infrastructure crumbling around us while developers get rich?
We need a woman with a vision and not a good old boy who is in the developers and big ag’s pocket.
Maryann Kusaka is awesome?? Please. This is the woman who felt entitled to a red convertible courtesy of Count taxpayers and who made racist public comments. Then, to end all, she squelched a County engineer’s report about illegal grading around the site of the Kaloko dam, basically giving Jimmy Pflueger a green light to do what he pleased. He subsequently filled in the dam safety spillway, resulting the the over-topping of Kaloko and the failure of the dam. The resultant flood cost the lives of 7 innocent residents and that of an unborn infant. Kusaka has blood on her hands and has never been held accountable.
Aloha Kakou,
It would seem that a priority of all Kaua’i Candidates for elected office, would NOT be what they support, or claim they will work on, or are in favor of…from traffic, housing, crime, tourism, drugs, bridges, parks, health, education, and health education…but INSTEAD IT SHOULD BE How will they implement that which is required to fix, improve, repair, change, put a stop to some, or put a start to others; then these candidates without the KNOW HOW don’t have a clue what to do and would really stand for and support just another warm body in a County Council meeting chair, knee jerking their vote for this or that for whatever this or that comes up at the Council meetings. They will be boringly and inactively reactive, but absolutely not PRO-ACTIVE, or get anything done for us to solve the growing problems.
Haven’t we had to many and too long of council members who are just council voters gratifying their followers but still getting nothing done and coming up with more and more drawn out endless questions, …but NO ANSWERS…! ! !
It seems we have not heard anyone come up with a traffic solution for all sections of the highway on Kauai for the Window of Times a day that traffic turns to a crawl or standstill. It’s still called Stuck Here In Traffic.
There is an answer for at least the traffic problem, and whoever comes up with it is sure to get elected.
At least a few people have the solution to the traffic problem, but who do they tell…the State DOT ? But so many in government do not want to hear about change. An old saying is: “Old Ruts Wear Deep” and apparently it’s true when it comes to Kaua’i Highways…and puka’s too.
Can the TGI host a solution oriented ongoing column where reasonable, even humorous, solutions or discusión, and certainly answers for Kaua’i problems cans be shared, aired, suggested, and provided. While newsprint space is costly, online space is reasonably affordable and may it just may be someone in the community has some solutions for our needs.
Mahalo,
Charles
Jose, to plant your rainbow flowers on the fort side of the Waimea river you’ll need to pump water up from the river as there’s no public water supply that side.
Bill and Sea, I couldn’t agree with you more. 45% of Kawakami’s campaign donations come from Oahu. Why is Oahu trying so hard to control the outcome of our Mayoral election? Meddling in our election by outside States is limited by law to 30% but what about outside our island. He has all the support of the construction industry, pipe fitters, carpenters and more. It makes you wonder if Oahu wants to send more tourists here so they can collect more TAT or if they just need a pawn. He also received large donations from A&B two weeks before the Council vote on the “Second City “ Provisional Ag was included in our General Plan. Rapozo has received over $14,000 from A&B in campaign donations over the years. Currently Arthur Brun has a proposal to double the density on a certain area of Rice Street, where Kawakami owns at least three properties and so does Grove Farms. The really unsettling part of the upzoning is it will zone for 2,800 units when our infrastructure can only handle 250 more units. At the Mayoral Forum Rapozo said to expect several 14.9 acre developments as the developer won’t have to do an Environmental Impact Statement and the Land Use Committee is if the development is under 15 acres. Kawakami has accepted a campaign donation from Syngenta earlier this year prior to the sale of Syngenta. It’s all in their campaign records. https://csc.hawaii.gov/Report/RPT2015/20180712235032CC10377SA.html