Hawaii Island Political Races

[BKHale2007]

For a discussion of the upcoming County Council, mayoral, and state legislative races. Also the congressional campaign on this island.

[pzarquon]

How 'bout a brief rundown of the major races and declared candidates? (I mean, besides the formal list we'll be able to get at the Office of Elections (http://www.state.hi.us/elections/) website.) Which are the ones to watch? Who are the players already on the campaign trail?

I lived on the Big Island briefly, and hope to again soon, but never voted there, and haven't paid attention to much since the days of Keiko Bonk (http://starbulletin.com/2000/10/20/news/story4.html).

[BKHale2007]

Headlining today's Hawaii Tribune-Herald is the announcement by former Hamakua County Councilman Dominic Yagong that he will run against Harry Kim for mayor. The article is not yet online, so allow me to share an excerpt with you.

Yagong said he is confident of victory despite joining the mayoral race somewhat late. "Believe me, we're entering this not to set up anything in the future. We're entering this to win," he said. "I've never played for second place."

My take on Harry Kim: the bloom is somewhat off the rose, but he is in no way another Stephen Yamashiro.
And I'll gather and post the names of candidates in all the aforementioned races. As for former candidates, Keiko Bonk is now on Oahu, where she heads the Japanese Cultural Center.

[BKHale2007]

Rep. Eric Hamakawa not running for office. Andy Smith, Lingle's East Hawaii liaison, may run again (as he did in 2002).

http://starbulletin.com/2004/07/04/editorial/borreca.html

[BKHale2007]

Today's Tribune-Herald has a front-page article on Hawaii County Council Chairman Jimmy Arakaki's seeking an eighth term in office. But he's being challenged by those who assert the candidacy violates term limits set forth in the County Council.

[mel]

I could not help but notice a lot of Mike Gabbard signs all over Hilo and along the Hamakua Coast into Honokaa when I arrived here for a week-long vacation.

[Konaguy]

I could not help but notice a lot of Mike Gabbard signs all over Hilo and along the Hamakua Coast into Honokaa when I arrived here for a week-long vacation.

UGH !!! The same thing happened in Kailua-Kona, but luckily there is some Ed Case signs that cropped up.

[mel]

Another thing I noticed, is almost a total lack of a mayoral campaign going on there. I saw zero Harry Kim signs, and a few Dominic Yagong signs and a banner around. I know Harry Kim is a low-key person, but it is kind of strange to know of such a high profile race and see almost no campaigning occuring in that race.

One race that has always seemed to be an underachiever on the Big Island is the race for County Prosecutor. I think the same guy has run for that seat for years, often unopposed, and gets elected by a landslide with hardly anything said or written about that race.

I think the anti-Gabbard forces don't have much to worry about, even though at least on the Big Island, Gabbard may be winning the race for lawn signs. The last poll indicated that Congressman Ed Case was very far ahead in this race.

[BKHale2007]

One race that has always seemed to be an underachiever on the Big Island is the race for County Prosecutor. I think the same guy has run for that seat for years, often unopposed, and gets elected by a landslide with hardly anything said or written about that race.

I think that's Lincoln Ashida. The Councilman for my district, Michael Tulang, was appointed when Bobbie Jean Leithead-Todd resigned, but almost nothing is known about him. And, of course, Jimmy Arakaki gets re-elected again and again with little to no opposition. Things are changing this season: even the Tribune-Herald, in an editorial recently, suggested he resign.

[Konaguy]

[I]
I think that's Lincoln Ashida.


Actually it is Jay Kimura.Lincoln Ashida is the County Corporation Council

[BKHale2007]

My bad. The mayoral campaign is not hot yet but Yagong could be a formidable challenge.

[BKHale2007]

http://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/articles/2004/09/06/local_news/local01.txt

An excerpt

Believing that developers have enjoyed greater access to the County Council than Big Island residents, Christie favors concurrency legislation that would require developers to build up front new roads, schools and other infrastructure needed to sustain their projects.

Tighter restrictions are warranted to preserve the rain forest and even individual trees of distinction, Christie said.

"Just because you own it doesn't mean you get to kill it as far as I'm concerned," he said.

Some form of waste-to-energy incinerator will be needed to handle East Hawaii's garbage once the Hilo landfill becomes full in an expected two years and must be closed, he said.

But that facility, along with a similar one to be built in West Hawaii, are not enough, he said.

"I'd raise the consciousness of recycling so every molecule of so-called trash is reused in some way," said Christie, who added he supports construction of the proposed Hilo sorting station, a kind of super recycling facility.

But he's against hauling the garbage to the county's other landfill located near Waikoloa "because more trucks through Waimea is a bad idea."

[BKHale2007]

The Hawaii Tribune-Herald's endorsements:

Mayor: Harry Kim

County Council District 1: Fred Holschuh

CC2: Mike Tulang

CC3: no endorsement

CC4: no endorsement

CC5: Gary Safarik

CC6: Bob Jacobson

CC7: no endorsement

CC8: no endorsement

CC9: Peter Hoffmann

[Miulang]

http://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/articles/2004/09/06/local_news/local01.txt

An excerpt

Believing that developers have enjoyed greater access to the County Council than Big Island residents, Christie favors concurrency legislation that would require developers to build up front new roads, schools and other infrastructure needed to sustain their projects.

Tighter restrictions are warranted to preserve the rain forest and even individual trees of distinction, Christie said.

"Just because you own it doesn't mean you get to kill it as far as I'm concerned," he said.

Some form of waste-to-energy incinerator will be needed to handle East Hawaii's garbage once the Hilo landfill becomes full in an expected two years and must be closed, he said.

But that facility, along with a similar one to be built in West Hawaii, are not enough, he said.

"I'd raise the consciousness of recycling so every molecule of so-called trash is reused in some way," said Christie, who added he supports construction of the proposed Hilo sorting station, a kind of super recycling facility.

But he's against hauling the garbage to the county's other landfill located near Waikoloa "because more trucks through Waimea is a bad idea."
Now dis guy get one good coconut sitting on top his head! The opala problem is bad on ALL the islands. Pretty soon you going run out of space foa dump stuff. Maui get one really bad opala problem; even though it's free to drop stuff off at the Central Maui landfill, some loloheads dump opala on the roadside in front of the landfill! What kine dis, anyway? If da opala dump not open, why dey no can come back some other time? Really disgusting. And they used to blame da tourists for da opala. I tink sometimes da locals moa worse den da tourists!

The State of WA has one beeeeg landfill in da middle of da state dat's looking foa customers. You guys can always barge your garbage up hea...

Miulang

[craigwatanabe]

If one coconut stay on top my head I would look pretty lolo because the only way one coconut would stay on top my head is if one wen drop on top.

Trouble with having a coconut for one head is that you gotta crack em open before the wata turns da meat to mush and da whole ting turn into one rotten, stinkin' mushy pulp. No good for the noggin. :D

The reason why there's so much opala just outside the landfill is because of one simple reason, no where else to dump their stinking baby diapers. Most people don't make special trips to the landfills. They typically are enroute to other places. Can you imagine going to work and stopping by the refuse center to drop off your two bags of garbage. It's closed and you have no time to find another site so you go to work and your garbage turns to compost using your car's trunk or worse yet, the passenger compartment.

After work 8-hours later while the car baked in the sun, you open your door and HO BOY DA HAUNA!! Junior's diapers and the rotten mango from the fridge just turned your car into a Hazmat emergency! That's why they dump it outside the gate. Keep the refuse centers open or leave a bin for those after hour drops and you wouldn't see that problem.

And the reason why people dump their stuff along the sidewalks fronting their apartments is because Bulk Refuse was supposed to pick up that stuff weeks ago but didn't see it. When I was leaving Oahu for the Big Island I left some bulky items out for Bulk Refuse to pick up the next day. Well guess what, they didn't come and I wasn't about to haul that stuff (broken washer, old furniture etc) back to the newly repainted and refloored house.

The city tells me they forgot that street and now 18th Avenue looks like a friggin landfill because some city refuse worker forgot that street and they won't come for another MONTH! Meanwhile I got a plane ticket outta here, no place to keep the stuff and a major problem on my hands. Most people will simply say, "hey I called for the pick up, I did my part, the city failed and for that it's their opala problem now not mine" Fortunately for me, my neighbor said he would keep the opala in his yard until the next pick up, fortunately for me.

[Miulang]

If one coconut stay on top my head I would look pretty lolo because the only way one coconut would stay on top my head is if one wen drop on top.

Trouble with having a coconut for one head is that you gotta crack em open before the wata turns da meat to mush and da whole ting turn into one rotten, stinkin' mushy pulp. No good for the noggin. :D

The reason why there's so much opala just outside the landfill is because of one simple reason, no where else to dump their stinking baby diapers. Most people don't make special trips to the landfills. They typically are enroute to other places. Can you imagine going to work and stopping by the refuse center to drop off your two bags of garbage. It's closed and you have no time to find another site so you go to work and your garbage turns to compost using your car's trunk or worse yet, the passenger compartment.

After work 8-hours later while the car baked in the sun, you open your door and HO BOY DA HAUNA!! Junior's diapers and the rotten mango from the fridge just turned your car into a Hazmat emergency! That's why they dump it outside the gate. Keep the refuse centers open or leave a bin for those after hour drops and you wouldn't see that problem.

And the reason why people dump their stuff along the sidewalks fronting their apartments is because Bulk Refuse was supposed to pick up that stuff weeks ago but didn't see it. When I was leaving Oahu for the Big Island I left some bulky items out for Bulk Refuse to pick up the next day. Well guess what, they didn't come and I wasn't about to haul that stuff (broken washer, old furniture etc) back to the newly repainted and refloored house.

The city tells me they forgot that street and now 18th Avenue looks like a friggin landfill because some city refuse worker forgot that street and they won't come for another MONTH! Meanwhile I got a plane ticket outta here, no place to keep the stuff and a major problem on my hands. Most people will simply say, "hey I called for the pick up, I did my part, the city failed and for that it's their opala problem now not mine" Fortunately for me, my neighbor said he would keep the opala in his yard until the next pick up, fortunately for me.

Kden, why da peeps no go raise hell wit da government den? Could it be because da goverment no care? And who wen vote dose buggahs into office? Can dose same peeps vote da buggahs out of office just as easily? Only if dey CARE. Remeba: If you not part of da solution, you part of da problem.

And wat? Everybody so makule and lazy dey can oni tink about demselves or wat? Da hauna diapers going affect everybody if not disposed of properly! Wat eva happened to da kine cloth diapahs and den? Wat? Too much humbug to wash dem, yeah?

Miulang

[craigwatanabe]

kden too la dat. You goin wash em? Mo betta wrap em up and toss da buggahs.

After six boys I use disposables. My brother in law with his first born daughter only wanted the best (what proud daddy doesn't right?) so he told his wife to use cloth diapers. I told him, "Braddah, big mistake" after one week of daily soiled diapers in the wash, his wife revolted. After one day of washing diapers, he gave up.

[Miulang]

kden too la dat. You goin wash em? Mo betta wrap em up and toss da buggahs.

After six boys I use disposables. My brother in law with his first born daughter only wanted the best (what proud daddy doesn't right?) so he told his wife to use cloth diapers. I told him, "Braddah, big mistake" after one week of daily soiled diapers in the wash, his wife revolted. After one day of washing diapers, he gave up.

Does anyone who resorts to disposable diapers ever wonder what parents in the 40s, 50s and 60s did? Disposable diapers hadn't been invented yet. Moms used to wash mountains of diapers and hang them out to dry on clothes lines. Nowdays with real estate being so valuable, no clothes lines, but there are baby diaper services. Yes, it costs kala, but doesn't it also cost to buy cartons of Luvs and then if people don't dispose of them properly (or at least clean off the poop before they toss them), what cost is there to the environment and the future of the kids who are now crapping in them plastic nappies?

Miulang

[BKHale2007]

The front headline of today's Tribune-Herald: Court, Voters Agree: Judge Rules Arakaki, Re-Elected Last Month, Can Legally Serve

A Big Island judge ruled Friday that James Arakaki is eligible to serve on the Hawaii County council for another two years.

Circuit Judge Glenn Hara ruled that a charter amendment imposing term limits didn't apply to the 1996 election. He said applying it for the first time to the 1998 election would eliminate any question of a retroactive law and still honor the public's desire to limit council terms.

[Konaguy]

Circuit Judge Glenn Hara ruled that a charter amendment imposing term limits didn't apply to the 1996 election. He said applying it for the first time to the 1998 election would eliminate any question of a retroactive law and still honor the public's desire to limit council terms.[/I]


The ruling by Judge Hara could've been worse. He could've invalidated
the Charter Amendment entirely.

[Konaguy]

http://starbulletin.com/2004/10/05/news/story12.html

Big Isle Council
gets new leader
Both the chairman and vice
chairman hail from outside Hilo

By Rod Thompson
rthompson@starbulletin.com

HILO >> Two members from outside Hilo will lead the Hawaii County Council, a major shift from the body's usual balance of power.

Gary Safarik, councilman from the lower Puna area, has been named chairman by a five-member majority, said Councilman Bob Jacobson, who represents the huge district from upper Puna to South Kona. Jacobson was named vice chairman of the nine-member council.

Safarik will replace the current chairman, Hilo member Jimmy Arakaki, when a new Council term begins in December.

In addition, two newly elected Council members from West Hawaii, Angel Pilago from North Kona and Pete Hoffmann from North and South Kohala, will share chairmanship of the key Planning Committee, which controls land development on the island. The dual chairmanship has never been tried before on the Council, Jacobson said.

[craigwatanabe]

Safarik really sold his soul! Before being re-elected he decided to vote with the West Hawaii board members to disapprove of certain developments there, now he'll be the chair!

Before that vote he could have cared less about West Hawaii! He's such a traitor to his own district of Puna it's rediculous,now there's a new Old boy network going on in Hawaii Council. Same old same old

[Konaguy]

I'm holding out hope that things will be better with new leadership
on the council. The really good news is Angel Pilago and Peter Hoffman
will co-chair the planning comittee.

How is Safarik a traitor to the Puna district ? I believe politics
played a part in Safrik's decision to vote not to override Mayor
Kim's veto of Cliftos Kona Coast rezoning. But I'm giving
him the benefit of the doubt that the same old good ole boy
council won't happen to the extent as it occured in the past.

[craigwatanabe]

When asked if he would support Hawaii's public charter schools (in which a majority are on the Big Island) he declined.

When asked to come to a public charter school board meeting in Puna District, he declined.

Public Charter schools are DOE schools and provide a necessary alternative to those children who are in fact left behind in our DOE school system. Most kids attending PCS (Public Charter Schools) are either from Title 1 families or are special needs students.

When these students are enrolled in standard DOE schools and fall thru the cracks those "special needs" funds that were meant for those kids stay at the original school while that student is typically expelled after the first semester. Where do these kids go? Charter Schools offer a learning environment that's suited for these kids but the federal funding doesn't follow that child to that PCS, it stays at the original DOE school where that child doesn't attend anymore.

So the problem is when a PCS takes in a special needs child but isn't granted the funding for that child's enrollment. Enter our government leaders starting at the county level. Only recently has PCS been supported by the Hawaii County council with the exception of Safarik. Now with him in the leadership position, Hawaii's PCS is in far greater danger of failing.

Public Charter Schools are important because they fill a need. It also needs to survive because these schools are the litmus test to see if Governor Lingle's desire for separate school boards will happen. If PCS cannot make it here, then separate school boards won't either.

This may sound partisan but it isn't. Some of the original authors of the Hawaii Public Charter Schools were from Democrats. Lingle has supported PCS with the exception of her own attorney general (who is a democrat by the way).

Safarik represented the lower Puna district where most reside in East Hawaii. Whose voices was he representing when he changed his mind? Not East Hawaii. Now suddenly he will replace Arakaki? Was that his "reward" for voting with the now majority on the council?

[BKHale2007]

I think my district came out well with the election of Donald Ikeda. As for Safarik, Craig raises some good points about dealmaking and representing one's district.

[Konaguy]

Safarik represented the lower Puna district where most reside in East Hawaii. Whose voices was he representing when he changed his mind? Not East Hawaii. Now suddenly he will replace Arakaki? Was that his "reward" for voting with the now majority on the council?

Why does his opinion on charter schools come into play here
The county of Hawaii has no responsibilities in handling education affairs, but the state does.

In regards to him changing his mind ? I assume your referring
to his vote in regards to Clifto's Kona Coast.Did you want
that project to be built ? I live very close to where that
project was going to be built. Thus I was strongly opposed
to that massive project.

From my viewpoint the council deals with no only Puna
issues by islandwide issues like Cliftos Kona Coast. Until
Safarik changed his mind Clifto's, I had a very negative
impression of him. I thought he was too Puna-centric
frankly, just like Holschuh is too Hamakua-centric.
Thus my point is we are an island, you cannot just focus
on one district's issues or there will be more rumblings
to split West and East Hawaii.

[craigwatanabe]

Clifto's Kona coast development meant those workers who travel from Puna to the Waikoloa Village wouldn't have to travel as far. There was speculation that if this development continued many employees within the Waikoloa Village would leave and find employment at the closer development. That would have left a major void in hotel employment there.

Safarik represents the Lower Puna district, his voice must reflect his constituents desires, just as any representative should. By voting against the Clifto project, he undermines those constituents that live in Lower Puna and must travel the extended distances to Waikoloa Village.

As for PCS, there is this move by the State Attorney General to put Health and Safety permitting at the State level. Chris Yuen has said he wants to enforce Home Rule, empowering the County to take on those issues.

The difference as to who gives out those permits is vitally important to PCS. At the State level Health and Safety falls under the State's special use permits. Just the environmental impact statements that would be necessary would bury most PCS budgets. The State of Hawaii drafted legislation several years ago allowing PCS to be built on AG-1A lands and left the permiting process to be handled at the county level (Home rule). There are several PCS schools that are affected by this State Mandate to their benefit. The county can deal with public health and safety without the need for special use permits thus establishing these PCS aren't so financially daunting.

By the State Attorney General's opinion (under Lingle) he says that the State is responsible for public health and safety which undermines the previous attorney general (Cayatano's admin) statement allowing PCS to be built under the jurisdiction of the County by right of home rule.

So how does Safarik fit in this mess? He wanted to pass the health and safety issues back to the state and forfeit home rule. That's like giving away power granted to you. Why did he take this position? Who knows but somewhere someone is happy for his decision. As for PCS, his decision didn't help the plight of those schools caught in the crossfire and to those kids who desperately need PCS in order to graduate and Puna has a lot of kids who fall into this catagory. Like I said, he's a traitor to his own district, he sold out for personal gain. That sucks big time!

[Konaguy]

About the home rule stuff you mentioned, I am not familiar about that so
I cannot comment further about it. In regards to your comments about
Cliftos I absolutely do not understand your logic. Do you even know
where this project was planned to be built ? From Puna to Waikoloa
is closer than Puna to Kona Int'l Airport.I should know I drove from Hilo
to Kona today.

There was absoultely no benefit whatsoever for Puna folks in regards
to Cliftos. There was a negliable benefit for the people living Waikoloa
though. More shopping would be closer to them. But I guess you don't
care how jammed up Queen Kaahumanu Highway gets at peak hours.
This project would've jammed it up further.

I guess I know why it doesn't matter to you. Lemme see within
the last 6 years how many new roads have opened in East Hawaii.....
hmmmmmm. No wonder there is a portion of people in West Hawaii
who want a seperate county.

[BKHale2007]

Today's Hawaii Tribune-Herald has a front-page article
Developers know who they like
At least 4 winning council candidates received hefty contributions
By JASON ARMSTRONG
Tribune-Herald staff writer

Large developers have donated thousands of dollars to help certain County Council members win re-election, while other candidates were victorious despite having rejected the special interest money.

That's according to a review of available campaign spending reports from the nine lawmakers who will comprise the new council that starts its term Dec. 6. The mandatory reports--some have not been filed--covered the period from Jan. 1 up to the Sept. 18 primary election.

The biggest recipient of developers' money was Chairman James Arakaki of Hilo, who has served 14 years on the council and raised $26,127 in campaign donations this year.

Arakaki received $1,000 each from Stanford Carr Development Corp., Hualalai Realty Inc., SunStone Realty Partners LLC and Continental Pacific LLC, among others.

Efforts to reach a representative from each of those companies Friday was unsuccessful.

Continental Pacific, an Alabama-based company, is seeking rezoning approval to build "Pepeekeo Point Subdivision," a 92-lot housing project located near the coastline on former sugar land.

Arakaki was out of the country Friday and unavailable for comment, his aide said.

He also accepted $2,000, the maximum allowed under Hawaii law, from the Honolulu law firm of McCorriston, Miller, Mukai and Mackinnon LLP.

William McCorriston, whose law firm defended Hawaii County against a police corruption lawsuit and another one filed over the privatization of the Puuanahulu landfill, did not immediately return a phone call to his office Friday.

The firm also gave $500 to both Puna Councilman Gary Safarik and Hamakua Councilman Fred Holschuh.

Holschuh said he doesn't know why the lawyers gave him money.

He also got $2,000 from 327 Kona LLC--the same California-based developer who gave $2,000 to Safarik--$500 from GW Construction, and $250 from Stanford Carr.

"I don't know these donors," Holschuh said. "I've never spoken to any of them. I know this sounds crazy, doesn't it?"

He, however, does know Earl Bakken, who gave Holschuh $2,000 this year.

"Earl, of course, is just a sweet, philanthropic guy who happens to like me," said Holschuh, a retired doctor. "He's always been my biggest donor."

Safarik also received money from Kaupulehu Developments ($500), GW Construction ($500), Ocean Kona Development LLC ($250), Stanford Carr Development LLC ($250), Concept Development Inc. ($2,000), and Okahara and Associates Inc. ($150), a consulting firm that works with developers and the county.

Safarik, expected to replace Arakaki as council chairman, said the money won't influence his vote and his donors know that.

"These people support our type of candidacy," he said, adding that donating to a political campaign is a form of free speech.

Safarik and Holschuh also each received a maximum $2,0000 [sic] contribution from the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers, or SHOPO. Safarik is a former Honolulu police officer.----
The article continues for fifteen more paragraphs. Those who refused developers' money were Donald Ikeda and Bob Jacobson.

[Miulang]

Just another confirmation that he who gathers the most money also is beholden to more special interests. It's not what you know (unless it's worth money to somebody for everybody else not to know it) but who you know (in which case, it's the same thing as knowing what you do know and can use against somebody). Ain't politics grand?

Miulang

[craigwatanabe]

About the home rule stuff you mentioned, I am not familiar about that so
I cannot comment further about it. In regards to your comments about
Cliftos I absolutely do not understand your logic. Do you even know
where this project was planned to be built ? From Puna to Waikoloa
is closer than Puna to Kona Int'l Airport.I should know I drove from Hilo
to Kona today.

There was absoultely no benefit whatsoever for Puna folks in regards
to Cliftos. There was a negliable benefit for the people living Waikoloa
though. More shopping would be closer to them. But I guess you don't
care how jammed up Queen Kaahumanu Highway gets at peak hours.
This project would've jammed it up further.

I guess I know why it doesn't matter to you. Lemme see within
the last 6 years how many new roads have opened in East Hawaii.....
hmmmmmm. No wonder there is a portion of people in West Hawaii
who want a seperate county.


It's not that I don't care about the traffic mess, you gotta remember I came from Honolulu where an eight mile drive in the morning to work from West Oahu can take as long as the drive from Hilo to Kona (okay slight exaggeration) More like Volcano to Kona and that's on a good day!

You cannot stop development but that's not the point here. Safarik represents Lower Puna whose business is in East Hawaii, not West. Who knows now that Puna seems to rule the county council now maybe there will actually be some focus on this district as it needs it. Hilo development seems to be working it's way towards Puna with developments in homestead land which could be the deathnail to the business sector in downtown Hilo.

Let's see just how supportive Safarik is towards those in his district. This should be an interesting turn of power in Hawaii County.

As for Home rule, the State Legislature empowered each of the Island's counties with Home rule. Each island county was granted limited (but broad) powers to determine land zoning in their respective counties. With these powers came the issuing of permits to build or develope as each county saw best fit. It was determined that the counties knew best what to do with their lands over the State as a whole.

However as we know about Hawaii County, they seem to do things without full understanding of the implications of their decisions, for example Hokulia. Need I say more? Well one of the permitting processes that Hawaii County is trying to keep is health and safety. Hawaii County has argued to the State Attorney General that their county divisions can sufficently address those concerns and issue the appropriate use permits for developments in certain zoned areas.

Mark Bennett (State Attorney General under Lingle) has submitted his opinion stating that only the State can address public health and safety and the permit that addresses those concerns are the State's Special Use Permit.

This opinion takes public health and safety permits out of the county level and puts it back in the State level, taking away a very important piece of land zoned developmental power out of the hands of the county, basically limiting the county's Home rule advantage.

Now on a scale of Hokulia, that opinion seemed justified since the County erred in their original decision to support it's development. However in much smaller developments such as a Public Charter School, a law was passed several years ago under the Cayatano Administration allowing these kinds of schools to be built on State owned Agricultural land zoned A1. This law was passed (bipartisian) so start up charter schools could build on AG-A1 lands without the need of special use permits (which can run into the tens of thousands of dollars to complete by the developer).

Home rule was granted to the counties to address what a special use permit would have been required but at a much lower cost to the developer. In this case the developer was the PCS board. These board members are not rich folks, their parents and teachers of that PCS. Funding for those schools come from the DOE and special use permits from the State are not budgeted into the operating costs of any start up PCS. There in lies the problem with special use permits and PCS schools.

If special use permits are required for public charter schools to be built on cheap ag-A1 lands then the cost of development out weighs any benefit of building on those lands!

Okay so don't build there, then where? All other lands are either cost prohibitive (commercial land) or prohibitive to build period (conservation lands)

Problem with Hawaii County is that there are two charter schools that were given the go ahead to buy Ag-1A lands and build with the promise that public health and safety permits would be granted. Those schools spent a major portion of their budget to buy these lands only to find out that Hawaii County reversed their decision in midstream and turned this issue over to the State regarding public health and safety.

Were these schools damaged? You bet, and because it's a state entity (DOE PCS school) representation was supposed to be thru the State Attorney General who has biased himself with his opinion unsupportive of the state entity it was enacted to protect.

Now Chris Yuen (Hawaii County Planning Director) has told the media that he wants to enforce Home rule again to regain the power his County council practically gave back to the State.

Home rule is vitally important to each county. That way the counties have power to grant or deny development in their respective counties instead of leaving it up to the state.

[Konaguy]

Safarik represents Lower Puna whose business is in East Hawaii, not West.


But the WHOLE council has to vote on projects like Clifto's.
Yes the council members are responsible for their own districts.But they vote on islandwide issues like Cliftos.
Thus I believe each council member has a responsibility
to each district on the island also. It is one ISLAND
county not 9 individual counties.

On a related note you never elaborated on your flawed
thinking why you supported Cliftos ?

By my count 3 major highways opened in East Hawaii
in the last 6 years. In West Hawaii zero new highways
opened in that time span. My point is the infrastructure
needs to catch up with the growth. Sadly I don't think
you see that.

I drove around Hilo for two days this week. Aside from
the construction going on at Makaala Street and Kaumana
Drive,It was a breeze getting around Hilo. Unlike Kona
where it is gridlock central.


Hilo development seems to be working it's way towards Puna with developments in homestead land which could be the deathnail to the business sector in downtown Hilo.


I heard the same thing when Wal-Mart opened 7 years ago.
The downtown area in Hilo is flourishing and doing well
last I checked and I don't think the upcoming opening
of Home Depot [and possibly in the future Costco] is going to change that.

These big box retailers are looking at the DHHL land since
there is a lot of open space and closer to where the population growth is in Puna.




Home rule is vitally important to each county. That way the counties have power to grant or deny development in their respective counties instead of leaving it up to the state.

I disagree I believe the county should not have home rule on
planning decisions. Look at the mess the county got us into
with Hokulia...nuff said.

[craigwatanabe]

I agree that the entire council must vote as one entity however I do feel that his recent flip flop on his vote this close to an election smells of something more than just a man with a conscious. Look at the facts here, he changed his mind and voted against the project (which I have no interest in at all) and now he's sits as the council's chair voted by the majority which he is not a part of. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure that one out. There was a lot of back room politics going on that led to him chairing the council.

Look I'm glad the power has shifted from East to West, I have no problem with that as I haven't been here long enough to care. Doing business from Honolulu to both Hilo and Kona I understand the "second-fiddle" nature Kona has had to regard itself next to Hilo. I have friends in Kona who felt the rub from Hilo and I truly understand that situation.

I've driven around Kona during your grid-lock central and quite frankly that's a typical off hour traffic situation in Honolulu anytime of the day. Grid lock is basically shutting your engine off and playing poker with four other guys stuck in traffic just like you, at least you eventually move. Hilo is a breeze as you said and honestly in comparison to Kona it is better. Kona was just built haphazardly without regard to future growth. I remember when the Keahoe airport was built. Wayyy out there on lavaland connected to the heart of Kona by a thin ribbon of asphalt. Now everthing is tied to that highway with homes above and businesses below and somehow everyone there has to cross that ribbon of highway to get to work. You guys need an H-1 freeway.

And you said it Aaron, Puna is the direction of population growth and the time will come when Hawaii County will be in the same situation Kauai County is in right now, which way to develop! But I disagree with you wholehartedly about Walmart and the future Costco not impacting downtown Hilo's business stability. Look at what happened to Kaikoo mall when the Prince Kuhio mall opened up, and that is just the start. Kea'au is developing rapidly where it's residental and small commercial growth will be a magnet to development outside of Hilo. So why in the world are the major highway projects in the other direction out of Hilo? The Pahoa widening project is a safety issue and will have little business impact between Pahoa and Kea'au so I can understand that project.

And on the issue of Homerule, coming from Honolulu where the buck stops there, I think it's a good idea where local zoning laws can be dealt with at a more grassroots level. The Big Island has the most agricultural lands than the rest of the counties and as such those decisions should be kept at the county level where accountability is greater. There is a beauracratic black hole in Honolulu where outer island issues simply dissappear. You cannot escape those issues when it's in your own backyard.

Hokulia? I'm sorry I cannot defend the current council's behavior on that one but it all comes down to who you vote for. Now maybe Kona will get the respect it deserves with the majority of the county council coming from West Hawaii.

And I may be wrong about Clifto, but word around my neighborhood is that it will affect those working in that direction. But you may be right, heck I don't live out West, you do so I hope you are right. :)




I agree with you that highway building has gone to the wrong side of the island. Kona needs the infrastructure to handle it's growing population.

[Konaguy]

One other thing in regards to Cliftos. There was a lot of people from
Waikoloa whom wanted the project to go forward. The primary reason
was because of lack of shopping and the long distance to shopping in Kailua-Kona.This was getting more pressing because of all the housing coming down the pipeline in Waikoloa in the coming years.
But my thoughts on that is if they want more shopping it should
be built closer to Waikoloa resorts/Waikoloa village and not effect the
quality of life of people living nearby where Cliftos was planned.

I guess that was what your driving at ? As I still do not get what
your hearing about how Cliftos would effect Waikoloa. Except
if it is what I wrote I wrote above. I don't see how it would
effect the people working in Waikoloa ?

Cliftos was just a hotel, retail and housing project ?

Yes you could say Safarik's vote was done because of the elections.
But I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Bear in mind he wasn't
the only one that changed his vote. Michael Tulang did also.

Yes I know the Kona gridlock is not in the same league as Honolulu.
But I can remember when there was one stop light in the middle
of Kailua Village and there was hardly any cars on the road

I'm not sure if 7 years is fair enough time line to see what impacts
Wal-Mart has had on the Hilo downtown. But as far as I can tell
downtown has adapted nicely to the competition. Despite the fact
that it lies in tsunami innudation zone and as far as I understand
the older buildings in downtown cannot be altered. I have lived here
long enough to not be terribly concerned about it. If downtown
can survive Wal-Mart it can [almost] anything [Besides a tsunami]

Hokulia was actually approved by the council 10 years ago. None
of the recent council members had a hand in it. But i digress
that is getting O/T.

[BKHale2007]

Aaron and Craig, you both make good points. Since the '46 and '60 tsunamis, Hilo has been expanding more and more inland and Puna-ward. The Industrial Area along Kanoelehua Avenue was built in the 60s. Kaikoo Mall was built in the late 60s on higher ground, albeit in the tsunami zone.

I remember in the mid-80s, when the Prince Kuhio Plaza opened, that the downtown and surrounding area was affected in two ways: Woolworth was replaced almost immediately by Spencer's health club, an example of the downtown adapting by offering trendier businesses (Spencer's is still going strong, by the way). Just outside downtown, the building formerly occupied by Safeway was a vacant hulk throughout the late 80s. It was the site of a used-car dealership ca. 1991. Several years later Ben Franklin Crafts, Shiigi Drugs, City Bank (these three were former tenants of Kaikoo Mall), etc. set up shop there.

Even after PKP opened in 1985, Kaikoo Mall was thriving, but in the early 90s it began to empty out. The first big blow, in my recollection, was the relocation of JC Penney to PKP in late 1995. When the Kaikoo branch of Sure Save (a local supermarket chain which has been struggling, and has since closed all but its Keaau store) closed in 1998, the mall was all but abandoned. The last few businesses moved out, and the mall is now being demolished. However, the former JC Penney and Firestone part of the mall was renovated as county offices.

When Wal-Mart opened in 1996, there was much concern it would affect the downtown, but the downtown was in a sense immunized by PKP's being built, and found its niche in trendy businesses and historical buildings as far back as the 80s.