Categorized | Elections, Featured, News

Kona council candidates tackle top issues

County Council candidates from left Brenda Ford, Enock Freire, Kelly Greenwell, Debbie Hecht, Angel Pilago and Jim Rath. (Hawaii 24/7 photo by Baron Sekiya)

Karin Stanton | Hawaii 24/7 Contributing Editor

For the six candidates vying for the two Kona council seats it’s all about jobs and infrastructure.

The two incumbents and their challengers were peppered with questions Tuesday evening at Kealakehe High School in front of more than 200 residents. The forum was sponsored by Kona-Kohala Chamber of Commerce and moderated by Sherry Bracken.

In District 8 (North Kona), Kelly Greenwell faces Debbie Hecht, Angel Pilago and Jim Rath. Hecht spearheaded the 2% Land Fund amendment, while Pilago and Rath previously have served on the County Council.

In District 9 (South Kona), two-term incumbent Brenda Ford is up against political newcomer Enock Freire, a native of Brazil who first moved to West Hawaii 30 years ago. Freire owns a small consulting business in Kona.

Here’s the highlights, notes and quotes in the order questions were asked and answered:

* What are the top critical issues facing West Hawaii?

Rath: Infrastructure and meaningful concurrency. Put a stop to developers “promising the sun, wind and stars and we get nothing.”

Pilago: Reorganize the council and put the focus back on the community’s needs; advocate open government and continued video-conferencing opportunities outside the Hilo council chambers; build and operate the Makalei fire station and Captain Cook police station.

Hecht: Open lines of communication with constituents; host forums and polls to hear from residents; maintain open door policy; improve infrastructure; repave Kaiminani Drive.

Greenwell: With 25,000-30,000 new homes planned in West Hawaii, create jobs for those residents.

Freire: Put people back to work, specifically farms and farmers; public safety; roads and infrastructure.

Ford: Jobs; alternative fuel plant, for example, diesel, algae and geothermal in West Hawaii; impact fees and concurrency.

* Any ideas on infrastructure and concurrency? (Infrastructure includes roads, sewers, parks and police and fire protection. Concurrency means that developers and/or the county build the infrastructure to support new development.)

Rath: Infrastructure must come before development.

Pilago: Fully utilize available state funds to create Safe Routes to School.

Hecht: Institute park-and-ride system. Use larger parking lots, such as K-Mart and Loew’s, and provide frequent, regular shuttles in and around Kailua Village.

Greenwell: Raise West Hawaii’s profile internationally. Attract outside investment. Realize and capitalize on Hawaii’s role in the well being of the entire planet.

Freire: Eliminate the government burden; have local government step out of the way of small businesses that provide jobs and drive the economy.

Ford: Bring down the cost of electricity by developing on island alternatives, such as hydrogen, diesel, geothermal.

* How much time are you willing to dedicate to the council and do you have other employment?

Pilago: Dedicate 100 percent to council work; has shown that dedication in two previous terms.

Rath: Committed to full-time. Found in two previous terms it was the best 60-80 hour a week part-time job he’d ever had.

Hecht: Committed to full-time. Retired after 30-year real estate and property management career.

Freire: As much time as it will take.

Greenwell: “Do you consider the time I spend awake at night worrying about county business?” Operates family nursery business.

Ford: Already commits 50-60 hours a week, including nights and weekends. No other job.

* What are some of the characteristics and values you will bring to the office?

Rath: Honest, plain-spoken, “blunt at times.”

Greenwell: Born and raised on the Big Island. “I’ve always been here.” Has seen the past, the present and has a vision for the future.

Hecht: Reputation and word are her bond; will treat all people equally.

Pilago: Awarded Silver Star during military service; national environmental award; served on many public service boards and committees; sees council as public service.

Ford: Honest, straight-forward, work for the people and with anyone who is reasonable. “I always do my homework (on county issues).”

Freire: As a father and church youth leader is dedicated to promoting a healthy and safe environment. Teaches his children three things: 1) Be good; 2) Obey immediately; 3) Ask lots of questions.

* Impact fees.

Rath: Charge developers impact fees when zoning changes are approved, rather than tie them to building permits or construction start.

Greenwell: Put infrastructure first to prevent delays due to unforseen hold ups or changing economy.

Pilago: Impact area needs to be determined first, then tack fees onto subdivision code.

Hecht: Model after other communities across the country. Prevent fees from being passed onto new homeowners.

Ford: Impact fees and concurrency are “two prongs and we need both.” County fair share assessment method has no state law supporting it.

Freire: Supports impact fees, but need to go further in ensuring work gets done. County is not set up to act as a developer.

* Parks

Hecht: Parks are basis for eco-tourism industry. Link county parks with National Park Service and Ala Kahakai Trail, develop campgrounds to promote eco-tourism.

Rath: Work with non-profit organizations and other grassroots efforts. Helped kickstart 10 acres of soccer fields in West Hawaii during council terms 1992-1996.

Pilago: Partner with community groups to protect shorelines and natural resources.

Greenwell: Parks are foundation of evolving economy. County is losing opportunities and needs to develop 50-year vision to attract outside funding.

Ford: Praised Mayor Billy Kenoi administration for cleaner parks and motivated West Hawaii crew. Work with community to improve and maintain parks. Pointed to volunteer efforts at Higashihara Park.

Freire: Parks are soul of community. Disappointed more council time has not been dedicated to park development, maintenance and improvement.

* Budget

Freire: Council has obligation to balance budget; roll back tax rates especially for farmers; cut wasteful spending; tie county contracts worth $100,000 or more to incentives and penalties.

Ford: Didn’t support mayor’s latest budget; worked with other councilors to identify $23 million in savings, but only $90,000 was cut; eliminate county worker overtime except for public safety.

Pilago: Can’t willingly accept mayor’s budget carte blanche; role as councilman to examine, probe and find ways to save.

Greenwell: Can’t take money out of the hands of people who will spend it in local economy. “We can’t print it, so we’ll have to find it.” Look to ‘white jet fleet’ of part-time residents, federal sources and find ways to bring people to the Big Island.

Rath: Service and goods industries create jobs, not government. “We can cut enormous amounts out. We’ve done it before.”

Hecht: Can’t continue to take people’s money through more taxes; look to cut county positions that are funded but vacant.

* Ooma (The Ooma Beachside Village development is seeking to rezone a parcel just south of Kona International Airport from conservation to urban. The proposal still is before the state Land Use Commission and has not yet been heard at the County Council level.)

Greenwell: You’ve got to pick your battles and other organizations are fighting this one. Will wait until the issue arrives before the council, but wants to think about alternatives in the meantime. If you don’t want this, what do you want?

Pilago: Against rezoning; favors conservation. “It’s just not a good place for a resort.”

Hecht: Against rezoning. Concerned it is too close to the airport; concerned about future property values.

Rath: Against rezoning. Concerned it is within the airport’s ‘crash zone.’ “It’s a dumb place to put a subdivision.”

Freire: Wont’ be a champion for or against at this time.

Ford: Against rezoning. “It’s cray to put it under the flight path.”

* Council divisiveness

Rath: “I get a gold star next to my name for ‘works well with others.'” Works to convince, not compromise.

Greenwell: Job is to get along, even in not the best circumstances. Picture is way bigger than the council.

Pilago: First task would be to reform the council and create a new majority; concentrate on protecting the public good.

Hecht: Listen to constituents, translate that into legislation and funding. Has experience and skills as facilitator, teacher and mediator.

Freire: Listen to people and stand up against ways West Hawaii has been shortchanged. Reconnect to the real heart of people.

Ford: Disagreement over issues is part of democracy. Wants committee and council chairmen (and women) who will not tolerate incivility or disrespect.

* Agriculture and sustainability

Hecht: State is not doing a good job of timely and thorough inspections; seeking grants and funding to bolster ag; bring electricity costs down for farmers.

Greenwell: Be realistic, Hawaii is tropical state. Competition is not mainland U.S. states, but foreign countries that are able to use banned pesticides.

Pilago: Protect the watershed in order to protect the farmer. Can’t continue to import food that we should be able to grow.

Rath: Farming is a huge risk. Cut taxes and protect the water supply. “That’s about all we can do at the county level.”

Ford: Advocate farm-to-school programs; locally grown food should feature in resorts, restaurants, hospitals; promote biofuel options; adopt The Kohala Center’s ag plan.

Freire: Ag sustainability is “a must.” Adopt reasonable land use policies and develop farmer trade schools.

* Solid Waste

Pilago: “I will never allow trash to be trucked to West Hawaii.” Problem must be solved in Hilo; explore alternate methods.

Rath: Expand the Hilo landfill to the adjacent quarry “and be done with it.”

Hecht: Expand to quarry, while looking for appropriate waste-to-energy methods.

Greenwell: Truck Hilo trash over Saddle Road, convert to ‘black dirt’ for use in building those 25,000-30,000 new homes in Kona region. Current development is polluting nearshore waters.

Freire: Entire countries have successfully adopted waste-to-energy methods. “Digging a big hole and putting garbage in it is a thing of the past.”

Ford: Supports the idea of zero-waste, but realizes we’ll only get 95 percent of the way there. Compost and recycle as much as possible. “You will always need a landfill.”

* Several of the candidates said their websites offer additional information on their websites:
Brenda Ford: www.fordforkona.org
Enock Freire: www.enockfreire.com
Debbie Hecht: www.dhecht.com

The audience at Kealakehe High School for the candidate forum numbered more than 200. (Photography by Baron Sekiya | Hawaii 24/7)

The audience at Kealakehe High School for the candidate forum numbered more than 200. (Photography by Baron Sekiya | Hawaii 24/7)

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