STATE HOUSE 9TH DIST.
(Incumbent)
NAME: Robert Nakasone*
AGE: 68
YEARS ON MAUI: Born in Paia
CURRENT PROFESSION: State Representative
EXPERIENCE: Business owner, Maui County Councilmember
BACKGROUND/INFO: Served on the Maui County Council 1977-’82, 1985-’89; first elected to State House of Representatives in 1992… Sits on four committees: Finance, Labor and Public Employment, Public Safety and Military Affairs, Transportation… Decided to seek reelection despite a battle with lung cancer… Has cited as the legislature’s biggest challenge the need to balance revenue shortfalls in a declining economy against necessary transportation, healthcare and education projects. Says experience is a key to accomplishing this.
*The Nakasone campaign did not respond to requests for input; the information provided was gleaned from public statements and the candidate’s voting record.
(Challenger)
NAME: Henry Kahula, Jr.
AGE: 66
YEARS ON MAUI: 66
CURRENT PROFESSION: Financial analyst, food manufacturer, tour driver
EXPERIENCE: US Army, construction, trucking
PRESIDENTIAL ENDORSEMENT: McCain
KEY DISTRICT ISSUES/MAUI ISSUES: TRAFFIC Would push to expedite construction of the Paia Bypass: “The highway coming into Paia is the same road that was there when I was growing up in Hana.”… JOBS Would seek to “get information out to the public on how grants can be gotten to help our local people get into businesses for themselves. There are people that could do well as entrepreneurs if they had the resources to help them.”… EDUCATION “[Education] funds should never be cut for any reason. I would do all I can to make sure they never cut the education budget.”
“Paia seems to be forgotten… I know [my] district includes Kahului and part of Wailuku also [and] those areas have experienced much growth, which is great, but we should include Paia in the picture too…”
–Henry Kahula, Jr.
COUNTY COUNCIL (KAHULUI)
(Incumbent)
NAME:Joe Pontanilla
AGE: 66
YEARS ON MAUI: 66
CURRENT PROFESSION: Councilmember
EXPERIENCE: U.S. Army, GTE Hawaiian Tel Maui manager
PRESIDENTIAL ENDORSEMENT: Decline to state
KEY DISTRICT ISSUES/MAUI ISSUES: AFFORDABLE HOUSING Advocates creation of a large-scale affordable development in Central Maui… DRAINAGE/INFRASTRUCTURE Promises to push for funding to deal with aging infrastructure, frequent flooding in Kahului.
KEY MAUI ISSUES: ECONOMY Argues funds should be directed to capital improvement projects that are “ready to go” to “stimulate our local economy”… WATER Calls for “increased storage capacity, development of new sources, greater utilization of effluent water from treatment plants for irrigation [and] conservation measures and education.”
(Challenger)
NAME: Susan “Netra” Halperin
AGE: 49
YEARS ON MAUI: 20
PROFESSINAL HISTORY: Social worker, business owner, designer
PRESIDENTIAL ENDORSEMENT: Obama
KEY DISTRICT ISSUES: KAHULUI HARBOR Stresses the “need to prioritize freight over passenger traffic,” to deal with capacity problems. Recommends “redirecting cruise ships to Lahaina, where there is space to accommodate them.”… AFFORDABLE HOUSING Calls for a streamlining of the permitting process and clearer zoning guidelines: “If we allow more flexible and mixed use zoning, we could accommodate extended families wishing to live close by each other.”
KEY MAUI ISSUES: WATER Advocates increased conservation, improved storage and reclamation, stream restoration and county ownership of water resources: “We don’t want another situation like Molokai Ranch.”… FOOD SECURITY Calls for increased support of community gardens, local farmers and diversified farming methods including taro; advocates “clustered” subdivisions with more space allocated for agriculture.
VOTE!
Dates to remember…
Thursday, Aug. 21 (4:30pm): Deadline to register for primary election
Monday, Oct. 6 (4:30pm): Deadline to register for general election
Saturday, Sept. 20: Primary election
Tuesday, Novermber 4: General election
For more information, visit http://hawaii.gov/elections or call 442-VOTE (8683)
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