03-01-2010, 03:55 AM
FYI - Emily’s Accomplishments – by Emma Geist-Scribben
Because it is time to gear up -- once again -- for local vote later this year, and because I firmly believe we need to vet each candidate and boot out those who have not worked in the best interest of their constituents and for our constitutional rights, I started by doing my research and interviewing the incumbent for county council seat 5! I went in to the office and asked them to convince me why Emily Naeole-Beason should be reelected again. I did this because as I read through the archives in the local print media it seemed apparent Emily Naeole-Beason had been relegated to the ‘kid at school everyone loved to pick on’. Yes! Caricatures of her in the paper, articles about her behavior at Council meetings, etc. Then there are the lengthy tirades about her on the various local blogs which all served to paint up a less than attractive candidate for county council. My opinion of her was fast being defined by the exposure I was seeing in the paper and blogs. And yet, the one really HUGE surprise that honestly hit me the morning after the last election continued to ring in my mind…though she was not my choice for county council last time around, she won a second term! Those who voted for her couldn’t have all been her ‘friends and family’. She was up against some stiff competition in Kale Gumapac for the same demographic!
Armed with this lingering and nagging bit of reality, I decided to march into her office and ask them for a laundry list of things she has done and is doing this term for the folks here in this district.
To my surprise, I was met with an eager willingness to fully share that laundry list. I was blown away. From here forward, please remember, I am an old fashioned voter. I tend to think in terms of Jefferson’s philosophy that our governments were designed at the various levels for different purposes and the county level was to more directly impact the quality of life as a resident of the county. To my pleasant surprise the following quality of life issues have been or are being addressed by the Councilwoman.
• Working with state and national legislators and agencies like HUD and Fanny Mae, to reinstate mortgages in lava zones 1 and 2
•Working with state legislators and Insurance Commissioner to reduce the exorbitant insurance rates recently imposed on lava zones 1 and 2.
• Increase the number of buses serving the makai Puna area
•To add stops in subdivisions not before serviced, like Leilani Estates
• To provide additional security in Pahoa for after hours
• To build a skate board park for the kids in this area
• To improve the family experience at Pohoiki including a lifeguard
• A resolution supporting our individual rights to refuse a medical treatment we did not feel was congruent with our quality of life
• Moving into a lesser expensive office
• Leading by example in the ‘green’ for her office
• Making herself and staff available to the folks here in her district
• Resolution to keep the I’O on the endangered and threatened wild life list
• Playground
• Street lights
In the pipeline:
• Improving the water temperature at the Pahoa Pool
• Getting lighting at the pool
• Increasing hours to night use of the pool
• Preservation of the Steam Vents area
• Working with the county agencies that could positively impact the decision regarding longer hours for the Transfer Stations. A couple of weeks ago, the discussion was to have the Pahoa Transfer station have longer hours -- at least on Mondays.
• Ongoing back and forth with OHA to release monies from the Puna Geothermal Venture Fund for use in makai Puna. It has been a 3 year endeavor that has not lost its steam
Now, as I have read the comments on other sites, their focus is on her personality and agendas they feel everyone in the district should step up and support because it is important to them. About that, her personality…it occurred to me that while she is ‘no politician’ as we have been accustomed to recognizing as such, she is her own person and she does ‘live Aloha’ and she does ‘speak Aloha’. To me, that in and of itself improves the quality of life for everyone with whom she comes in contact. Of course it is not all there is to being a councilwoman, and frankly, never having been a fan of hers until I decided to research her performance, that alone would not be enough to get my vote. But, what she has done with her Aloha is to look at the areas in her district where she could make a difference and where the quality of life could be positively impacted for the multi generational demographic that comprises her district. Who of us will not benefit if her arduous and conscientious efforts to roll back insurance rates for homeowners in lave zones 1 and 2 is successful? That alone will improve the job market in a couple of different sectors not to mention the potential to put thousands of dollars back into the homeowner’s pocket! If she can get Fanny Mae to underwrite mortgages, once again, those who own property here and who want to build their dream home will be able to do so. The economic situation has wreaked havoc with so many and having the bus run more often to makai Puna and into more subdivisions to encourage ridership increases the quality of life for those who cannot afford to drive to town. Further, it reduces traffic exponentially by those riders who have opted to reserve their gas money for other necessities of life. Mass transit has long been understood to be a ‘quality of life’ improvement.
Because it is time to gear up -- once again -- for local vote later this year, and because I firmly believe we need to vet each candidate and boot out those who have not worked in the best interest of their constituents and for our constitutional rights, I started by doing my research and interviewing the incumbent for county council seat 5! I went in to the office and asked them to convince me why Emily Naeole-Beason should be reelected again. I did this because as I read through the archives in the local print media it seemed apparent Emily Naeole-Beason had been relegated to the ‘kid at school everyone loved to pick on’. Yes! Caricatures of her in the paper, articles about her behavior at Council meetings, etc. Then there are the lengthy tirades about her on the various local blogs which all served to paint up a less than attractive candidate for county council. My opinion of her was fast being defined by the exposure I was seeing in the paper and blogs. And yet, the one really HUGE surprise that honestly hit me the morning after the last election continued to ring in my mind…though she was not my choice for county council last time around, she won a second term! Those who voted for her couldn’t have all been her ‘friends and family’. She was up against some stiff competition in Kale Gumapac for the same demographic!
Armed with this lingering and nagging bit of reality, I decided to march into her office and ask them for a laundry list of things she has done and is doing this term for the folks here in this district.
To my surprise, I was met with an eager willingness to fully share that laundry list. I was blown away. From here forward, please remember, I am an old fashioned voter. I tend to think in terms of Jefferson’s philosophy that our governments were designed at the various levels for different purposes and the county level was to more directly impact the quality of life as a resident of the county. To my pleasant surprise the following quality of life issues have been or are being addressed by the Councilwoman.
• Working with state and national legislators and agencies like HUD and Fanny Mae, to reinstate mortgages in lava zones 1 and 2
•Working with state legislators and Insurance Commissioner to reduce the exorbitant insurance rates recently imposed on lava zones 1 and 2.
• Increase the number of buses serving the makai Puna area
•To add stops in subdivisions not before serviced, like Leilani Estates
• To provide additional security in Pahoa for after hours
• To build a skate board park for the kids in this area
• To improve the family experience at Pohoiki including a lifeguard
• A resolution supporting our individual rights to refuse a medical treatment we did not feel was congruent with our quality of life
• Moving into a lesser expensive office
• Leading by example in the ‘green’ for her office
• Making herself and staff available to the folks here in her district
• Resolution to keep the I’O on the endangered and threatened wild life list
• Playground
• Street lights
In the pipeline:
• Improving the water temperature at the Pahoa Pool
• Getting lighting at the pool
• Increasing hours to night use of the pool
• Preservation of the Steam Vents area
• Working with the county agencies that could positively impact the decision regarding longer hours for the Transfer Stations. A couple of weeks ago, the discussion was to have the Pahoa Transfer station have longer hours -- at least on Mondays.
• Ongoing back and forth with OHA to release monies from the Puna Geothermal Venture Fund for use in makai Puna. It has been a 3 year endeavor that has not lost its steam
Now, as I have read the comments on other sites, their focus is on her personality and agendas they feel everyone in the district should step up and support because it is important to them. About that, her personality…it occurred to me that while she is ‘no politician’ as we have been accustomed to recognizing as such, she is her own person and she does ‘live Aloha’ and she does ‘speak Aloha’. To me, that in and of itself improves the quality of life for everyone with whom she comes in contact. Of course it is not all there is to being a councilwoman, and frankly, never having been a fan of hers until I decided to research her performance, that alone would not be enough to get my vote. But, what she has done with her Aloha is to look at the areas in her district where she could make a difference and where the quality of life could be positively impacted for the multi generational demographic that comprises her district. Who of us will not benefit if her arduous and conscientious efforts to roll back insurance rates for homeowners in lave zones 1 and 2 is successful? That alone will improve the job market in a couple of different sectors not to mention the potential to put thousands of dollars back into the homeowner’s pocket! If she can get Fanny Mae to underwrite mortgages, once again, those who own property here and who want to build their dream home will be able to do so. The economic situation has wreaked havoc with so many and having the bus run more often to makai Puna and into more subdivisions to encourage ridership increases the quality of life for those who cannot afford to drive to town. Further, it reduces traffic exponentially by those riders who have opted to reserve their gas money for other necessities of life. Mass transit has long been understood to be a ‘quality of life’ improvement.