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At an alarming rate, local businesses are closing. COVID-19 is not killing Hawaii businesses and entrepreneurship, lack of political leadership is.

Voting starts July 21 for the Aug. 8 Primary. I will be an active voter and I urge you to be too.

Tell everyone you know to check that  so that they get their ballot in the mail in this first all vote-by-mail year for Hawaii. Our elected representatives need to hear from us through the power of our vote.

They like to say “We are all in this canoe together.” In the canoe I am in, there are thousands of business owners who have been asked to close for the greater good. We were promised support, but thousands are still waiting while our leaders squabble over who controls the aid that now sits in the rainy day fund!

If this isn’t a rainy day, I do not know what is.

Many of our employees have been without work and unable to receive unemployment benefits. Some of those who lived paycheck to paycheck are now literally starving. Many landlords are demanding lease payments even though businesses have no income. When we reached out to politicians to see how and when we could re-open, we were met with silence. If you were in my canoe, you would have felt like you were in the middle of the storm, soaking wet, and patching the holes with nobody steering.

In their canoe, politicians and large industry CEOs are all receiving paychecks. They are not facing eviction. Their staff are either employed or have unemployment checks.

Maxed Out

Checks are still coming in while they encourage people to enjoy this time off. They have no sense of urgency. If you are in their canoe, you are asleep warm and comfy inside your bed in the cabin watching “Tiger King” and posting about supporting small business by ordering take out.

Going on 12 weeks now, many of our staff have maxed out their credit cards and borrowed from friends and family. Local businesses have personal relationships with our employees. We work side by side, our keiki go to the same schools together. We have a bond that is completely different compared to a massive corporation.

Initially, many of us business owners were asked to shut down to “flatten the curve,” to not overwhelm our hospitals and care facilities. Residents sacrificed for the greater good. We deserve credit for keeping each other safe.

But it’s time to expect more leadership from lawmakers. We must never forget elected officials work for us.

For the majority of businesses within the state to open up, they need start-up capital and time. We don’t have teams of lawyers and advisers going through the regulations to make sense of them. We have to find the money, read, interpret, shop for the necessary items, implement new practices, and then we make adjustments as needed. That takes time.

So who survives? Corporations, mostly, that can weather the storm.

Yet the aloha of the islands is dependent on local people running local businesses. If these businesses close, we lose part of what attracts the visitors we depend on. All of this could be avoided with strong leadership with actionable plans.

All the small businesses on the island are all essential. Claiming one business is more valuable than another disregards that nearly every small business is run by local families.

The aloha of the islands is dependent on local people running local businesses.

Nobody understands our businesses and what we need to do to protect our community members better than us. We are families willing to work hard to make a life for ourselves, support our communities and provide jobs.

We are the same people you ask to support your child’s fundraiser or sponsor your event. We care.

I welcome the fact that we are starting to open up kamaaina businesses while restricting large gatherings like Aloha Stadium concerts. I am glad that some businesses like retail and restaurants are being allowed to spill over to the sidewalks to increase capacity. It is good to see families going to the beach and limited social interaction taking place.

And yes, people that are high risk should continue to stay home. We need to keep monitoring and testing. We all agree that we need to take care of each other.

But like it or not, we need to address the safe and quick return of some tourism. We need strict criteria including 100% mandatory COVID-19 negative testing certification in hand or continue with the mandatory two-week quarantine.

The state should also immediately guarantee abatement of rents between landlords and tenants, reduce taxes on businesses and allow loans for operating capital.  Consider 100% debt relief for those months we were shut down. Reduce all state and city building permits and licenses for small businesses to no more than one month, with no fees, so we can try to build up new businesses. Do something, try anything, show that you care about our kamaaina families that run small businesses.

Right now the true colors of our political leaders are showing and I for one have lost faith in their ability to steer any canoe through the storm. It makes me want to get off this canoe.

We, the business owners of Hawaii need to stop licking our wounds and insist on change. Or be sure to vote our silent lawmakers out. And tell a friend to do the same.