careers in sports broadcasting
as well as restaurant and property
management prior to her
current position at Kona Coffee
and Tea Company, where she said
she works regularly with county
agencies.
She said she’s most proud of her
time spent over the last decade
trying to champion development
of a regional park in West Hawaii.
During that time, she said she’s
worked closely with two mayoral
administrations to develop nearly
200 acres for beautification purposes
and to serve as a local revenue
source by bringing in sports
tournaments and the like to the
area.
Kossow touted his experience
as both a coffee farmer and a
member of the game management
advisory commission as just
a few of the ways he’s got his
“boots on the ground” and is connecting
with locals to get a grassroots
sense of the issues.
He said his most impressive
accomplishment is rounding up
county support to try and shut
down the state Department of
Land and Natural Resources’
practice of the aerial shooting
of feral animals over Waianae
Mountain Range.
Nazara said her experience
across several community organizations
has kept her in unusually
close touch with community
members of all sorts.
She added this contact has provided
her a unique opportunity
to educate and inform the way
Hawaii Islanders think about and
engage with local issues, which
has been her greatest community
impact.
Shute-Villegas said she’s been
advocating for the ethical care of
Hawaii Island since her teenage
years, collaborating with business
and political leaders to tackle
important issues like homelessness
and conservation.
She said her greatest accomplishment
is the establishment of
a park at Kohanaiki, also known
as Pine Trees, during her time
as president of the Kohanaiki
Ohana, as well as her advocacy
over the years leading up to the
ultimate realization of the park.
Candidates also provided a
clear picture of their priorities.
Drysdale said homelessness
and creating a regional park in
West Hawaii are at the top of her
list, although she has her resignations
about Village 9, a controversial
homeless encampment
proposed by Mayor Harry Kim
for a plot of land off Kealakehe
Parkway.
She said her very first piece of
legislation would involve bringing
the Kona branch of the Hawaii
County Department of Motor
Vehicles up to snuff, which she
believes is lagging behind other
branches across the island.
Kossow said his priorities
would be homelessness and
affordable housing, getting a
handle on problems with malfunctioning
deep water wells and
bolstering road projects.
He supports the development
of Village 9 and would push
for legislation to decriminalize
homeless living in their cars,
a solution that, in his opinion,
helps both chronic and working
homeless.
Nazara stated her primary concern
for the island as sustainability.
Her answer to homelessness,
a point addressed by every candidate
Tuesday night, would be to
study why people become homeless
in the first place and try and
stave it off through education.
As to vacation rentals, a hot
button issue on Hawaii Island,
she said rentals shouldn’t be in
residential zones.
Shute-Villegas said her top
priorities would be homelessness,
biosecurity and bolstering
current projects in the county
pipeline.
If elected, she said her first legislation
would be a push to make
it easier for people to install gray
water systems. Her comments
came in light of the county’s mandate
to do away with more than
50,000 cesspools by 2050 and the
problems that poses for residents,
as switching to septic tanks is a
costly solution that doesn’t produce
measurably better results.
West Hawaii
House races
5TH DISTRICT
(PORTION OF NORTH
KONA, SOUTH KONA AND
KA‘U)
•Richard Creagan (D)*
•Jeanne Kapela (D)
•Gene Leslie (D)
6TH DISTRICT
(NORTH KONA)
•Nicole Lowen (D)*
7TH DISTRICT
(NORTH KONA, NORTH
AND SOUTH KOHALA)
•Tom Belekanich (R)
•Cindy Evans (D)*
•David Tarnas (D)
(D) = Democrat; (L) = Libertarian; (R) =
Republican; (N) = Nonpartisan; (G) = Green;
* incumbent
DECISION 2018
NEWCOMERS:
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Paid advertisement
Sherry Alu Campagna - U.S. Representative District 2
What platform would you
champion most in Washington to
better Hawaii and what action
would you take implementing it?
In D.C., I will prioritize growing
Hawaii’s economic sectors in
CD2. We need to diversify our
economy by focusing on the
growth of Agriculture-for-food;
new clean technologies, especially
solar power; and local art, just to
name a few. I will work with our
Congressional delegation to ensure
federal support for these purposes.
Why should people vote for you
over your competition?
Unlike the incumbent, I would have
voted to support the NDAA, an
omnibus defense bill that increases
veterans’ pensions, supports unions
by funding federal construction
projects, supports health care, funds
Hawaii’s public schools, and pays
into our state’s infrastructure, among
other significant economic benefits
to our state and its people.
Also, in contrast to the incumbent,
I strongly oppose weaponizing the
Pacific Military Research Facility on
Kauai as it would have permanent
impacts on the fragile environment,
militarize the area, change the
population, and draw a target onto
the rural island of Kauai.
I would have also ensured full
funding for veterans’ programs
on Hawaii Island that have been
seeking to help house and care for
aging houseless veterans who have
served our country. Lastly, I would
have also voted against the
banning of Syrian refugees seeking
asylum in the U.S.
What are the most pressing issues
facing our state?
We are a tightly knit community
and when one suffers, we all feel
the effects. I will always be true
to my representation and work to
end our Affordable Housing Crisis
with truly attainable housing;
end homelessness with true
compassion, not criminalization;
protect our aging kupuna, fully
fund early childhood education
and public education; and ensure
Medicare for all.
CANDIDATES:
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