Housing, trust in government, community safety, improving department morale, and issues involving the Thirty Meter Telescope were among the priorities that the four leading candidates for Hawai‘i County mayor shared Wednesday evening in the Hawai‘i County Mayoral Forum hosted by AARP Hawaii.
The event was held ahead of Hawai‘i’s Aug. 10 primary election.
Mitch Roth, the current Hawai‘i County mayor, running for his second term, said that during his first 100 days in office, he plans to focus on housing and sustainability to ensure that Hawaii’s children and grandchildren can continue living on the island.
Roth said he already has begun laying the foundation for housing projects. If reelected, the county can expect more housing units and infrastructure projects within his first few months as mayor.
Candidate Breeani Kobayashi, 33-year-old president of the Hawai‘i Rise Foundation, is also general manager of the Hawai‘i SCP Hilo Hotel and owner of Keaukaha General Store.
Kobayashi said her main priority as mayor is ensuring that the community regains trust in the government. She has been preparing for the role by visiting different communities to learn about the issues they face and to understand their needs and concerns.
“We do not have any time to wait to hear problems and take time to figure out how we’re going to solve them,” Kobayashi said. “We are knowing and learning about the problems right now, today, and when we win, we hit the ground running with solutions in place.”
Junior Tupa‘i, who currently serves as a senior pastor and previously was an instructor for the Hawaii National Guard Youth Challenge Academy for 13 cycles, highlighted his hopes to enhance the livelihoods of local families, seniors and youth.
Tupa‘i emphasized that his main priority is ensuring the safety and security of the community, particularly kupuna.
“I believe that we need stronger messaging from the mayoral direction as far as just to make sure the community is actually safe, they feel supported,” he said.
He said he has received numerous concerns about rising crime rates, with kupuna expressing that they no longer feel as safe walking around their neighborhoods or parks as they did before.
“I know per shift we have 43 officers, over 2,000 constituents,” Tupa‘i said. “That means one officer is overseeing 4,000 residents. I think we need a stronger boost in that regard.”
Kimo Alameda, who has experience working at both the county and state levels, prioritizes improving morale within county departments. He emphasized that workers deserve more “respect and aloha.”
Alameda pointed out that the departments are often understaffed, with workers feeling overworked and underappreciated. He noted that “they’re hurting right now.”
“I think it’s our job as their supervisors, their leaders, to show them that we care for them and we aloha them,” he said.
Regarding homelessness, Tupa‘i pointed out that despite $20 million being allocated to address the issue, homelessness has not decreased over the past few years.
“I think we have to reevaluate how those monies are being spent and how they’re being allocated,” he said. “I would think we’re doing an independent management, financial and management audit to see how much the funds are being allocated.”
Incumbent Roth rebutted by pointing out that according to the Point in Time count, homelessness in the county has decreased by 28%.
As mayor, Roth cited his collaboration with Gov. Josh Green on initiatives such as building more kauhale and setting up tents downtown near the canals for homeless people.
He also highlighted the allocation of $13 million for renovating the old Hilo Memorial Hospital and other developments in Kona aimed at providing housing for homeless families and individuals.
“We’ve put a plan in place and it is working,” Roth said.
According to Kobayashi, 35 percent of people experiencing homelessness suffer from mental health issues, while another 35 percent struggle with substance abuse — meaning that 70 percent of the homeless population is dealing with issues unrelated to housing inventory problems.
Kobayashi identified the root of homelessness as stemming from mental health and substance abuse issues, and said that as mayor she would enhance resources in those areas.
Kobayashi also proposed exploring the use of available buildings and potentially implementing a volunteer work program to address homelessness in the county.
According to Alameda, the majority of homeless individuals are not homeless due to financial reasons, but rather because they have “run out of relationships” or “burned bridges” due to mental health and addiction issues.
He suggested that a better solution might be to prevent homelessness by paying more attention to groups on the brink of homelessness. This includes kupuna who are one paycheck away from being homeless, foster children aging out of the system, individuals exiting incarceration or those without family support.
On the controversial Thirty Meter Telescope project on Mauna Kea, which has divided the community, Kobayashi emphasized that the future of Mauna Kea hinges on the county’s discussions and collaborations with the community.
She emphasized the importance of reaching a decision through dialog before any development proceeds.
“The role of the county, not only in TMT, but in any type of development, needs to be with the intent to resolve,” she said. “If there is something that people are literally willing to kill themselves over, is anything of that worth it?”
Tupa‘i referenced the state’s Constitution, emphasizing that all political power rests with the people, and government must operate under this authority.
He highlighted community concerns about the negative impacts of TMT and called out the lack of significant action despite allocated funds.
Tupa‘i’s primary concern revolves around the potential environmental impact of drilling on Mauna Kea, particularly its potential effects on water sources, streams and Hawaii’s food systems.
Alameda characterized the TMT issue as primarily a matter of trust within the community, questioning whether the project is responsible or irresponsible.
He said that many community concerns revolve around the aquifer and decommissioning plans associated with the project.
As a potential mayor, Alameda wants to quickly address these concerns and ensure that the community’s voice is heard at the decision-making table regarding the TMT issue.
Roth expressed his support for TMT because of its educational benefits — the potential to keep Hawaiians in Hawai‘i by providing job opportunities in astronomy, and preventing young people from having to leave the state to seek better opportunities elsewhere.
“We have also started taking down telescopes,” Roth said. “But I think at the end of the day, we’re talking about jobs that we need to be working harder to get our kids into.”
