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Editor’s note: For Hawaii’s Aug. 10 Primary Election, Civil Beat asked candidates to answer some questions about where they stand on various issues and what their priorities will be if elected.

The following came from Ana Mo Des, candidate for Kauai County Council. The top 14 primary vote-getters advance to the general election. The other primary candidates are Abe Apilado Jr., Addison Bulosan, Bernard Carvalho Jr., Felicia Cowden, Sherri Cummings, Bill DeCosta, Fern Holland, Ross Kagawa, Arryl Kaneshiro, W. Butch Keahiolalo, KipuKai Kualii, Jeffrey Lindner, Jacquelyn Nelson, Mel Rapozo, Bart Thomas and Clint Yago Sr.

Go to Civil Beat’s Election Guide for general information, and check out other candidates on the Primary Election Ballot.

1. What is the biggest issue facing Kauai County, and what would you do about it?

The biggest issue we’re facing here is exploitation, which results in drug and alcohol abuse, domestic violence, crime, homelessness, trafficking and, tragically, suicide. We must level out the playing field so we may be in the authentic practice of capitalism where one is not allowed to profit off exploitation.

Due to the state changing the rules and keeping 100% of the TAT, the county was forced to create a tax department that can collect our own TAT and that tax should be distributed to all the residents (adults born here) similarly to the way Alaska has a permanent fund that distributes the profits off its oil to all Alaskans.

This is how we begin to mitigate the exploitation that has caused so much chaos and move forward with more harmony and respect for each other and the precious island we call home.

2. Kauai has proven vulnerable to natural disasters especially on the island’s north shore. What would you do to improve disaster preparedness?

In order to improve disaster preparedness we must improve infrastructure and focus on being able to fund such efforts as watershed mitigation, sewer, underground electrical and cable wires and fortifying all neighborhood centers as shelters, having evacuation routes heavily rehearsed especially in the more vulnerable areas across the island.

3. There are nearly 14,000 cesspools on Kauai that must be removed by 2050. With an average cost of $15,000 to $30,000 to convert to septic, many homeowners say making the transition is not affordable. How can the county help to jump-start cesspool replacements?

The removal of waste is very much the purview of the county in all its forms, so it is the responsibility of the county to create the infrastructure necessary to eliminate human waste in a hygienic, sterile and environmentally friendly way.

Investing in sewers should be a priority where those with homes required to upgrade from cesspool to septic can pay a monthly investment in the sewer system the same way we pay our water bills. We can get federal funding and find investors to contribute, which has been done in some areas already and will encourage more homeowners to participate and lessen the heavy burden on homeowners with cesspools that are under the pressure of providing a hefty sum to keep their homes.

We can build multiple sewer processing plants to ensure we keep our rivers and oceans toxin free and safe, upgrading our infrastructure countywide.

4. Traffic is getting worse on Kauai, and different regions face different challenges. What would be your approach to improve Kauai’s transportation problems?

Traffic will always be an issue with our small island home. Adding lanes where possible has always yielded improvements and round-abouts do work where available, but the issue becomes when large areas need to merge together into smaller areas or bypass roads meet the highway.

There also need to be improvements on when maintenance work is scheduled to be more focused on flow, so communication between agencies is imperative.

5. The median price for a single-family home on Kauai has topped $1 million. What would you do to help address the shortage of low-income, affordable and middle-class housing?

Attainable housing is the main concern on Kauai and I support the solution brought forward by Peter Savio as an effective and tangible way to enhance fee-simple ownership in perpetual attainable price points.

I do, however, need to acknowledge that there is systemic abuse of power where individuals gain notoriety in the public and use that to leverage personal economic gains by having official departments overlook discrepancies and bypass rules and protocols meant to conserve the way of life here and avoid exploitation of resources.

There’s a previously undeveloped parcel in Koloa as an example zoned for VDA where a proper and complete cultural survey was never accomplished but fraudulently falsified and burials never registered due to a conflict of interest. I’m not of Hawaiian blood but know that if we are to live in harmony there must be respect, which is why these rules and protocols exist to begin with. In my opinion this parcel should be used to bring back the old style circular hale neighborhood where there is the capacity for multigenerational living with shared yards for gardens, etc., enhancing vitality and mental health.

6. Kauai’s landfill in Kekaha will soon run out of capacity and there’s still no timely plan in place to build a new one. What can the county council do to address what could become a garbage crisis for the island?

The mayor has brought forward an actionable solution for a part-time mitigation of the landfill, enhancing its lifespan for some years giving us a chance to recalibrate what we do with our rubbish.

Being limited on space we need to be innovative and this would be the perfect opportunity for public/private partnerships to bring in more processing plants for different aspects of rubbish like metals, rubber, etc., and the ability for small businesses to take on the separating of reusable and recyclable materials in order to divert them from the landfill so we don’t run into to this same problem if another location gets approved, especially with our growing population.

7. Overtourism can degrade the environment, threaten biodiversity, contribute to wear and tear on infrastructure, generate traffic and disrupt neighborhoods. What more can be done to better manage the island’s tourism sector?

Firstly, the most important thing that can be done is acknowledge that we are all enjoying the benefits of living with the abundant beauty of nature all around us and those with the most knowledge on how to be good stewards of this aina are those of our host culture Kanaka people and it is with them we should be having these conversations and implementing their contributions or manao.

I would go so far as to assume after hearing so many members of the community step forward to say that active villages where the culture is perpetuated and lived and also where education can take place for visitors and residents alike is imperative.

8. Should more be done to encourage agriculture and food sustainability on Kauai? What would you suggest?

Yes is the simple and obvious answer, but also where government needs to back off and allow for the evident solutions to take form in the capable hands of the people.

9. What would you do to ensure transparency and accountability in county government?

The county needs to step up in exposing the “back room deals” that have led to such an imbalance and admit the wrongdoing so they may sincerely apologize and ensure it will never happen again, agreeing to full transparency in any dealings involving government agencies.