Keeping Our People Housed is # 1!

My administration will continue the Kawakami Administration’s work in providing the much-needed affordable housing communities that we have underway.

• Structuring Temporary Safety Zones will help to humanely move unhoused people off the sidewalks and out of the bushes into areas of greater stability and lowered impacts to our public spaces.

• Long-Term Market Rate Rentals Directed at our Working People requires a restructuring of what is now prohibitive taxation on market rate, that creates unaffordable rent for our gap working community.

Upgrading our infrastructure is essential to reclaim our stability, which includes roads, water, sewer, and solid waste.

• Support County Water System Improvements through bonds backed by the County for matching grant funding. Water is critical for the health and strengthening of our communities.

• Explore and Embrace Innovative Technology for reducing our waste stream; both for solid waste and waste water. The structure for this process is underway and will continue under my administration.

• Develop and Reclaim Evacuation Routes for Emergency Response with a structure that holds potential for future additional road pathways to alleviate traffic congestion.

Remove the Silos in Government with Bi-Monthly Department Head Meetings Reviewing Measurable and Coordinated Goals such that the public and Council can understand and support the County’s improvement objectives.

From global to local, the ways of earning a living have shifted substantially where county policies need to adapt to support our people finding a way to build a life filled with purpose and stability.

• Supporting Agriculture at all levels is a high priority. Small scale diversified Farms that feed Kaua’i and supply our Farmers Markets along with export value-added crops such as Koloa Rum, Kaua’i Coffee, produce from Aloun Farms, and cattle are important. Landscape and agricultural supportive businesses are another important vector.

• The Visitor Industry will continue to be a primary economic driver, supporting a wide range of Small Businesses, Adventure Businesses, Health and Wellness and amplifier of our Sports Industries from surfing to golfing and everything in between.
  

• Support the continued shift to Destination Management Action Planning in which our authentic cultural experiences and natural environment are highlighted rather than exploited. This sector continues to be an employer of many people, amplifies our arts, and the highest tax contributor to support our county government.

• Brick-and-Mortar Businesses keep Kaua’i strong and resilient. They are an essential part of the functioning of our communities. The County needs to partner to help retain this important presence.

• Large shifts are happening with the internet and gig economies. The Amazon distribution center is moving to Kaua’i as a reflection of people’s shopping habits. Our economic development policies need to adapt to changing work patterns. A most resilient economy is a circular economy where production and consumption occurs locally.

• A clear gap in our workforce is in the Trades and especially needed for our Construction and Medical Industries. Active partnership with Kaua’i Community College and Trade Unions are of value to inspire and train more trades people as their skills are essential to building and maintaining the physical environment that sustains us.

• On the individual level, Micro Businesses are on the rise and providing opportunities to more home-centered people from crafts building on-line businesses and at the pop-up markets, to those running TikTok shops, Lyft drivers, Instacart, and a whole range of economic opportunities.

Caring for our natural environment is essential for preserving our island culture and way of life.

Environmental Stewardship is essential for:

• Healthy Aquifer and Watersheds

• Reducing the impacts of Floods, Fires, and Natural Disasters, plus supporting our response and recovery efforts

• Control of Invasive Species

• Preservation of Indigenous Plants and Animals

• Healthy Food Production from Mauka to Makai (the mountain to the sea)

• Retaining our Beautiful Vistas, Beaches, Open Spaces, and Natural Beauty of our islands

As Mayor, it is important to serve all of our island people working to honor what unites us and amplify how our different populations can strengthen us all.

• The Hawaiian Culture is the foundation of what makes us Hawai’i and carries the wisdom and knowledge of how to successfully care for the environment and live in isolation.

• Perpetuating the Hawaiian Culture and recognizing the practitioners as essential to a healthy, functioning Kaua’i will be integrated in policy development, board appointments, consideration for fishing and hunting access, new street names, and more. We will continue to nourish canoe clubs, protect and amplify cultural sites, Keiki and Kupuna programs, Hula Halau, customary rights for Lo’i Kalo, ‘Olelo, our Charter Schools and cultural celebrations.

• Partnership with Cultural and Non-Profit Organizations reflecting the range of people groups that have brought their knowledge and heritage to Hawai’i over the past couple centuries will continue in importance.

• Service Groups, Food Providers, Shelters, Churches, Mental Health, Youth, Sports and Justice Advocacy Organizations are vital partners for a healthy community.

• Recognized inclusion of our newer residents with their gifts of talent, capacity and volunteerism will be welcomed to strengthen the island that they call home. We also embrace the valued support that has come for decades, even generations, from our part-time families.

We are all better together, undivided, and helping one another.