12-01-2011, 08:08 AM
Since posting my last comments about Fred, a several other points have occurred to me. First, other than enabling the expenditure of Geothermal Fund money in Pahoa and Hawaiian Beaches, what pieces of legislation has Fred gotten passed or even initiated? (The other Councillors happily supported the Geothermal bit because it leaves more general appropriations funds for their districts.) He has an experienced legislative aide working for him, so it's not like he doesn't have any help. It would be nice if our under-served and economically neglected district were designated as an Enterprise Zone or otherwise incentivized for economic development through business tax abatements or other measures. Fred has not even suggested this, never mind introduced legislation to enable it. Even if such legislation were not passed, the mere proposal would be a positive step.
The second (and related) point is the "vision thing." Fred seems to function in the nuts and bolts realm of human endeavor, such as building bus shelters, cleaning up vacant lots, and repaving some roads. Those things are good, and they need to be done, but Puna needs a Councillor who can articulate a comprehensive, integrated plan for a better future. I don't see Fred being able to do that. Piecemeal feel-good projects are not going to erase decades of neglect. We need someone to represent us with a bigger plan than what we have seen from Fred.
Third, I would take Carol's excellent comment about Fred's focus on Pahoa and Hawaiian Beaches a bit farther. That focus reinforces the position of Pahoa as one of the few "have" locations in Puna vs. quite a few "have nots." Now don't get me wrong, all of Puna is underserved, but Pahoa-Hawaiian Beaches already have a Community Center, new police station, new fire station, a public swimming pool, and other amenities the rest of us only dream about. So what does Fred do? He spends a year's worth of Geothermal money there, leaving the rest of us out in the cold.
Finally, like Wax, I don't see what bringing James Weatherford into the conversation at this point accomplishes. When we know the exact district boundaries and see who is in the running for the next election, we can comment on what other candidates have done or might do. Meanwhile, Fred is fair game as the incumbent, and he has a lot of broadening of his perspective to do. Unfortunately, I'm not convinced he can do it.
The second (and related) point is the "vision thing." Fred seems to function in the nuts and bolts realm of human endeavor, such as building bus shelters, cleaning up vacant lots, and repaving some roads. Those things are good, and they need to be done, but Puna needs a Councillor who can articulate a comprehensive, integrated plan for a better future. I don't see Fred being able to do that. Piecemeal feel-good projects are not going to erase decades of neglect. We need someone to represent us with a bigger plan than what we have seen from Fred.
Third, I would take Carol's excellent comment about Fred's focus on Pahoa and Hawaiian Beaches a bit farther. That focus reinforces the position of Pahoa as one of the few "have" locations in Puna vs. quite a few "have nots." Now don't get me wrong, all of Puna is underserved, but Pahoa-Hawaiian Beaches already have a Community Center, new police station, new fire station, a public swimming pool, and other amenities the rest of us only dream about. So what does Fred do? He spends a year's worth of Geothermal money there, leaving the rest of us out in the cold.
Finally, like Wax, I don't see what bringing James Weatherford into the conversation at this point accomplishes. When we know the exact district boundaries and see who is in the running for the next election, we can comment on what other candidates have done or might do. Meanwhile, Fred is fair game as the incumbent, and he has a lot of broadening of his perspective to do. Unfortunately, I'm not convinced he can do it.