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I am asking people to name the top three issues with the county government that pisses you off.
Here's a couple of mine:
Council: seems completely oblivious to public testimony on most any subject. 2% Land Fund gutted. A Finance Committee with no ideas. A council reorganization replete with deception and lies.
Emily Naeole-Beason: tends to vote as her Hilo buddies or Billy tell her - often at the expense of Puna. Misguided efforts that are not productive and accomplish very little. Puna remains the most under served and under represented district in Puna.
Budget: The budget has grown 120% over ten years. Population and delivery of services has not.
Feel free to elaborate.
Assume the best and ask questions.
Punaweb moderator
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1. Better Council representation for Puna is at the top of my list. We need assertive leadership and specific nuts and bolts legislation to bring County resource allocation for Puna in line with our population. What we get from Emily Naeole is a combination of feel-good resolutions with no practical impact, religiosity, expensive trips to Washington that produce no results, and a folksy approach that some people mistake for charisma or some useful connection to "her people." Also, Rob is right about the fallacy of the Councilwoman's alliance with the Hilo bloc on the Council.
Emily's ethnic and family connections (and her really good ability to get her voters to the polls) will make her hard to beat. Some respectable and admirable candidates have come forward to oppose her, but I don't see any of them as capable of pulling off what would be a major upset. We need someone who inspires grass-roots activism across party and ethnic lines to get into the race. Fred Blas, are you listening? Please???
2. Next would be the County Budget. Everything from procurement and bidding to "phantom" job positions left on the books screams for a closer look. The mayor was elected with major public employee union support, so he is not likely to seriously consider eliminating a significant number of positions or changing work rules to require more efficiency or less cushy benefits. His attempt to raise money by selling land was not only a bad idea, but they had not one bid on the first properties offered. Raising taxes in recession like this would be akin to kicking the taxpayers in the groin. We all know there is waste in the budget, and Billy Kenoi and the Council need to get busy and deal with it.
3. The County's continued neglect of "substandard" subdivisions rounds out my list. They were happy to allow these to be created as long as they were able to collect property taxes without being expected to provide services or help with infrastructure. I don't expect them to pave my road or put water in here. I do, however, have a right to expect a police station, some parks, and transit access in a community of 10,000. Some zoning to allow shopping without having to drive to Hilo would be nice, too.
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Three, really, that's all I get?
1. Ms. Naeole-Beason: after listening to her on the council, I've realized she has very little to contribute, and therefore rambles on, eventually making her way around to "her" God or "her" people, and she is quick to let us know the mayor is her cousin. And when she does actually propose something, it's the "tent bill", or a resolution to prevent us from accepting vaccines we never needed to accept in the first place. Or unenforcible ordinances to modify our personal behavior to her standard, not our own. We need better representation, and frankly we deserve better representation.
2. Taxation without representation! Do I really need to define this one? We pay for services the rest of the county seems to receive, yet here we sit, receiving little in the way of infrastructure improvements. I would compare this to going into a restaurant, paying for everyone else's meal, and being served the few crumbs left on their plates. I keep hearing that our "substandard" subdivision roads are private, as in the county bears no responisibility for their maintenance. If they are so private, why can a police officer issue a citation on them if you commit a traffic violation? Sounds like a public roadway to me. (Yes, I know that this is a basic example.)
3. Puna perception. Puna is an amazingly beautiful place, diverse in ecosystems, geography, and its characters. My wife and I have lived here for over eight years, and loved every day of it. When we are in Honolulu or Kona, we hear the same thing. "Oh, you live in Puna?!" Quite frankly, I'm tired of it. Our state and local reps are not helping this perception at all. Yes, we have crime, yes we have drug issues. But so does everywhere else, as in Hilo, or Oahu, or Albany, NY!
And these are just a few of the reasons why I am running for county council. A friend asked me if I thought I could do a better job on the council. I had to honestly say that yes, I believe I can. The county is a business. It provides government services in exchange for our tax dollars. After successfully running my own business for thirty years, yes, I believe I am qualified. A few months back, in the H. T-H, someone wrote a letter to the editor that we all needed to stop bashing Emily. Otherwise, get out there and try to take her seat, and provide better representation for your tax dollars. That is what I would like to do.
Loren Baker
baker4puna.com
Loren Baker
baker4puna.com
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1. County Procurement: three examples of problem areas ...cost over runs; too many outside consultants; relationships of elected officials and contractors when the contractors are also political contributors. NOTE: Names of political contributors from the Campaign Spending Commission put into 'Search' on the County website has resulted in several hits, one being the contractor who did the roof on Central Fire Station in Hilo a few years back.
2. Council conduct: The current term has been one of much ado and little done. The credibility of the Council has been degraded. On Day One, I am able to work to do my part as one of nine to change this.
3. Credible representation from Puna. This is what I heard from very many people in collecting the 200 signatures for my public funded candidacy. "I love her, but...".
James Weatherford, Ph.D.
15-1888 Hialoa
Hawaiian Paradise Park
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We need 24/7 transfer station access
More Police patrols in our sub-divisions
No more bans,fines or tax increases
A Loren Baker supporter
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I am curios why no one has said boo about Emily talking about spending 700,000 for a new transfer station for Pahoa
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Where is the source of this?
Assume the best and ask questions.
Punaweb moderator
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wednesday night at the hppoa bod meeting, was not there but got it from a 100% relialbe source that was.
Anybody that was there want to chime in did it happen or not?
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I was there, and Emily claimed to have obtained $700,000 for improvements to the Pahoa transfer station. She also dropped a document on the table listing other things she claimed as accomplishments, but I didn't get a chance to look at it. I'd better not say any more about her "speech" or I will go off on a rant and probably induce multiple flames. Everybody knows my opinion anyway.
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