Posts: 8
Threads: 1
Joined: Jun 2014
I'd like to invite everyone who reads this forum to attend the Malama O Puna State House District 4 candidate forum on Thursday at the Pahoa Neighborhood Center at 5:30pm. I'm looking forward to the chance to speak to you about my candidacy, to explain why I feel I'm uniquely qualified to represent the many voices of Puna, and to discuss some of my positions.
I joined this race because I felt our incumbent doesn't represent all of us as well as she could, and because I didn't believe that any of the other candidates could reach out into the community and listen to the needs and concerns of the people living here in Puna, communicate those concerns to the legislature on Oahu, draft legislation to protect Puna and help us grow effectively, and build consensus among the Hawaii delegation to affect positive change for our entire island moving forward. I believe that I can do those things.
These next two years will be critical for Puna. We're growing, we're aging, we're changing. We've got to control the chaos, and along the way, we've got to take care of our own. Puna doesn't belong to lawyers or corporations, it belongs to you, the people who live here. You are Puna. And you deserve to be heard.
Hope to see you all on Thursday.
Leilani Bronson-Crelly
Candidate for State House Representative, District 4
Posts: 8
Threads: 1
Joined: Jun 2014
Also, please feel free to have a look at my website, to familiarize yourself with my positions:
http://www.vote4Leilani.com
Mahalo,
Leilani Bronson-Crelly
Candidate for State House Representative, District 4
Posts: 968
Threads: 74
Joined: Aug 2007
Aloha Leilani. Thank you for informing us of your candidacy. Unfortunately I will not be able to attend the forum, and am hoping you will take the time to answer a few basic questions here.
Since the responsibilities of the legislature are so much more far reaching than any one persons positions on different issues I find it prudent to ask the following:
What experience do you have in actually crafting laws, or if not in making them, upholding.. defending.. judging.. them? In other words what education and/or experience do you have that has prepared you to be a law maker?
And, since as a legislator one is responsible to formulate public policy, do you have any on the job type experience in this field, or, in one that you can point to and say that it has prepared you for these responsibilities?
Also, considering the budgetary aspect of the job, what sort of fiscal responsibilities have you had professionally?
And on a more personal note, I see from your website that you have a colorful history that seems to be a bit nomadic, so I suppose it's prudent to ask why you aren't seeking office on Maui, or Palau, or wherever else you have been? Why have you come here, and with so little experience as a member of our community what is it about you that we can rely upon to overcome the limitations that being a relatively newcomer will obviously saddle you with?
Mahalo in advance for taking the time to respond, and, good luck to you!
Posts: 8
Threads: 1
Joined: Jun 2014
Aloha Dakine,
I'm so sorry you cannot make the candidate forum on Thursday but maybe you will be able to watch the proceedings on Na Leo TV. I will address your questions here briefly.
Regarding my experience, on Maui I worked for 4 years for Wayne Nishiki as a legislative aide and in case you are not aware, it is the legislative aides who often actually draft the legislation to be put forward by their legislator, seek support from others, and build consensus around the position advocated by the legislator. From that work I gained a deep understanding of the inner workings of government and parliamentary procedure, and more recently have followed many state level proceedings in my work on the Fugitive Dust Committee in HPP. I'm not sure why you feel it is necessary for a candidate to the legislature to have experience defending or judging laws. That's what lawyers are for, and creating legislation is a very different task.
As for public policy, I would argue that formulating it is the responsibility of the collective body of legislators. And as such, the skill sets necessary to have an impact on that process include consensus building, networking, and listening. And I have plenty of experience doing all that. Our next representative will have to be as comfortable trying to persuade a group of fellow lawmakers as she is mingling with her constituents at home and listening to their opinions. I'm a people person and that's not something you learn in law school, but it is an effective tool on the belt of any legislator.
Finally, as for my "colorful" history... I wouldn't have had it any other way. I'm proud of my life. I'm proud of my service to the people of Maui and Oregon, as well as my service to the people of Hawaii County, where as co-president of the League of Women Voters I championed the recent Clean Elections Act. I'm also proud of my activism, working to protect the coastlines and near shore waters off Maui, and working here on the Fugitive Dust Committee in HPP. I've lived in many places, and learned many things about the people of the world. As you must know from reading my bio, I never really lived much on Palau, having been hanai'd to Hawaii at a very early age. My parents made a difficult decision to allow me to leave so I could be educated in an environment where I would have an opportunity for a better life. I am grateful for their sacrifice and proud of my heritage, but I consider myself a kama'aina after all these years.
I have lived in Hawaii since 1966, so I'm hardly a newcomer. It's true that I attended college on the mainland, but so have many who now serve our county and state. When I came back home, I tried Maui for awhile until the wild, sprawling development and rapid growth got to be too much for me and my husband. Since 2005 I have lived in HPP. And if Maui is any indication, I've seen Puna's future, and unless we work very hard and very quickly to protect it, we may lose the way of life here that we all love. It can be done, and I'm inspired and ready to meet the challenges that lie ahead.
I hope that addressed some of your concerns.
Mahalo,
Leilani Bronson-Crelly
Candidate for State House Representative, District 4
Posts: 400
Threads: 7
Joined: May 2014
Ms. Bronson-Crelly,
1. District Four is subject to pressures of an energy hungry world. How would you maximize the benefits geothermal extraction might bring, while minimizing its damage?
2. Agriculture is a major source of revenue for this district. In what ways do you support the relationship between farmers and The School of Tropical Agriculture, and in what ways do you not?
3. Crimes against property are often perpetrated by those who employ cost/benefit analysis. What are your thoughts on taking some of the incentive out of this type of criminal behavior?
Thank you for taking the time to respond.
Un Mojado Sin Licencia
Posts: 1,163
Threads: 32
Joined: Aug 2009
I found Leilani to be an articulate candidate and was seriously considering her until she basically told the residents of the substandard subdivisions of Puna to go pound sand when it comes to getting any assistance from the state regarding our unpaved roads. She said private roads should not get any type of public funding - fuel tax assistance or any other source.
The question was clearly stated, so either she doesn't understand the issue (one of the top priorities of many Puna residents) or she understands and doesn't care to try to help her potential constituents. Either way, it was political suicide in my opinion.
Posts: 8
Threads: 1
Joined: Jun 2014
Aloha, JohnDW, and mahalo for your thoughtful questions.
The development of geothermal energy on our island is a hot topic, no pun intended. We need to reduce our reliance on fossils fuels, but at the same time, we need to embrace all the sustainable energy choices available. Solar, wind, wave... all of these have strengths and weaknesses, but none of these choices pose a potential health hazard to the citizens of Puna. Geothermal energy can be dangerous. The folks living next door to the existing facility worry, not unreasonably, about these health issues. About the danger of a blowout. We must, MUST, do more to ensure the safety of our citizens before we allow more drilling. We must mandate and enforce the federal guidelines for drilling near residential areas, and we must acknowledge that houses built here in Puna on agricultural land are effectively residential areas. We take care of our own, no loopholes allowed.
I support local farmers, and would work to create incentives to enhance local markets where they could sell their produce. I support incubator programs that would allow local entrepreneurs to create value added products with locally grown produce and enhance the local economy of Puna generally. As for the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, I feel that we are blessed to have such a wonderful resource literally on our doorstep. CTAHR has an extension program funded by local, state and federal governments and I fully support continued funding of that program as an outreach to local farmers and business people in Puna. I also support the diagnostic programs available to local farmers to help them with things like soil analysis, insect identification and nematode counts. I'd like to work to make sure all our local farmers are aware of the resources that are available to them through CTAHR.
Your last question seems to suggest that existing penalties are not stringent enough to act as a deterrent against the potential benefit derived from theft of property. As a lawmaker, it would be politically easy for me to stand in support of stricter mandatory sentencing guidelines, but this would serve only to tie the hands of judges who ought to be using more of their own discretion when cases come before them. I believe that we should trust our judges. I believe that existing mandatory sentencing law has already gone too far, and that our judges ought to be given more discretion in sentencing decisions.
Leilani Bronson-Crelly
Candidate for State House Representative, District 4
Posts: 8
Threads: 1
Joined: Jun 2014
Aloha KeaauRich,
I can certainly understand how you came to your conclusions about my position on privately accessed public roads. I would have too, had I been sitting there in the audience. I was flummoxed, no doubt about it. Chalk that one up to nerves, I guess. I certainly don't think the residents of Puna should "pound sand." What was going on in my head at the time was a flashback of sorts, to when I was working for HPPOA and the county basically told us to go pound sand. "Private roads are private," they said to us, "and even if the county spends money on a park that increases traffic flow in your area, you guys are on the hook for any road improvements." But that's not the way it ought to be. Not by a long shot.
In my response, I also mentioned a grant in aid program that the county tried to enact a couple years ago that would have funneled fuel tax revenue to subdivisions that requested it through a proposal process. Nothing came of that program primarily because the resolution as written required changes to be made to the Hawaii Revised Statutes, and although SB 382, which would have made those changes, passed in committee and in the full Senate two years ago, the effort died in conference when the House Chairman of Transportation failed to schedule the conference hearings.
Fuel tax revenue, however, is still the best source of funds that might be used to help improve the hundreds of miles of private roads in our district. We all pay the same 8 cents per gallon of gas, but if you live in Hilo, the county takes care of your roads. Puna, not so much. Puna, pound sand. And it's not fair. But the county says they can't afford to pave ALL the private roads. And they'll only dedicate a road that meets county standards. Can they do some roads? Sure. But who gets first? And if they choose a road, you'll have everybody else raising the roof saying "what about my road?"
So yeah, when you crunch the numbers, you see they are right. They can't afford to pave all the roads. But they can't afford to pave none of them either. We're growing too large too fast. So the question is, how do we begin? The beauty of the grant in aid program was that it would have been driven by citizens, making a case for each improvement project. Then the county could choose from those deemed best within a framework that could be defended as fair. And then some work could be done. A small amount. Not enough, I said the other night. But a start.
The job is huge. To say, "yeah, let's just do it" would be politically dishonest. The money isn't there to do it all today. And the language in the Hawaii Revised Statutes still needs to be changed to legally allow the fuel tax revenue to be used for this purpose. Russell Ruderman introduced SB382 two years ago, to clear up the language of the H.R.S. Since it was never scheduled for conference it was eligible to be taken up again by the House, but that did not happen this year. I would champion such a renewed effort, if elected. I would also explore the possibility of allowing other kinds of state revenue to be used to improve these roads. The recent increase in vehicle registration fees, for instance.
Admittedly, I bungled that question. I am still angry when I think about how HPPOA was treated by the county when we requested funds. We all deserve better. I will fight for Puna in Oahu. I will work with Russell to clear the way for the county to begin the work. Nobody in Puna should have to pound sand.
Mahalo KeaauRich, for giving me this opportunity to clarify my position.
Leilani Bronson-Crelly
Candidate for State House Representative, District 4
Posts: 14,105
Threads: 424
Joined: Aug 2012
They can't afford to pave all the roads. And they'll only dedicate a road that meets county standards.
Again: compromise with a lesser "farm lot standard" that includes gravel, grading, and the occasional tree-trimming. Full pavement is overkill, and often not desired by the residents.
Posts: 8
Threads: 1
Joined: Jun 2014
Aloha Kalakoa,
The great thing about a grant in aid program would be that it doesn't have to be a one-size-fits-all. The people who submit each proposal get to decide what an "improvement" is, so if they'd rather have gravel roads, graded on a regular schedule, then the proposal they write can say just that, and their council person can consider it along with all the other proposals he or she receives. Everybody wins.
The only reason I mentioned paving was that the county won't dedicate a road that hasn't been paved, so any subdivision that wants to get a road back on the county's rotation of maintenance would have to bring that particular road up to county standards.
Leilani Bronson-Crelly
Candidate for State House Representative, District 4
www.Vote4Leilani.com
|
