Candidate Q&A: Hawaii County Council District 7 — Jennifer Wilkinson
“Study after study has reported that bureaucratic red tape is the biggest hurdle to building more housing in our county and state.”
Editor’s note: For Hawaii’s Nov. 8 General 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 Jennifer Wilkinson, candidate for Hawaii County Council District 7, which covers a portion of Kona and South Kona. The other candidates include Zahz HewLen, Joshua Montgomery, Wesley Moore and Rebecca Villegas.
Go to Civil Beat’s Election Guide for general information, and check out other candidates on the General Election Ballot.
Candidate for Hawaii County Council District 7
Website
Community organizations/prior offices held
1. What is the biggest issue facing your district, and what would you do about it?
Lack of housing is the biggest issue facing the Kona area. Affordable, attainable, mid- and high-density, market rate, transitional — we need more of all types of housing.
From local think tanks to large academic institutions, study after study has reported that bureaucratic red tape is the biggest hurdle to building more housing in our county and state.
While the current administration has made strides to streamline processes and procedures, much of the burden falls on the council to revise the county zoning and building codes to ease the economic burden associated with the onerous process and the long period needed to move through the complete plan/permit/build process.
If elected I would make refining our building and zoning codes among my highest priorities.
2. Overtourism can degrade the environment, threaten biodiversity, contribute to wear and tear on infrastructure, generate traffic and disrupt neighborhoods. What do you think about the amaount of tourism on the Big Island and how it’s managed? â¶Ä‚â¶Ä‚â¶Ä‚â¶Ä‚â¶Ä‚
In February 2021 the Hawaii Tourism Authority approved the three-year Hawaii Island Destination Management Plan, which would promote a strong message of regenerative and conscientious tourism through nine or so actions/sub-actions of varying purposes including preservation, education, communication and regulation.
And while current figures show visitors and occupancy on Hawaii island is down approximately 3% year over year, revenues are roughly on par with prior periods, meaning there has been some success with the message and actions taken by the team implementing the plan.
However, there is much work to be done to further complete all commitments in the plan and grow our destination management into a workable and sustaining program.
I believe we should take a wider, systematic approach to development of an islandwide tourism management plan that includes all stakeholders.
The steering committee included approximately 18 members from the Big Island, but no one representing property management or vacation rentals which not only comprise a large portion of tourism accommodations but are the subject of one of the action items. Only by including all stakeholders can we have a real cohesive plan to reach all tourists and incorporate all proprietors for a comprehensive plan.
3. What needs to happen to relieve traffic congestion in and around Kailua-Kona and along the Puna-Keaau-Hilo corridor? â¶Ä‚â¶Ä‚â¶Ä‚â¶Ä‚â¶Ä‚
The council recently approved the $2 million study to explore options for alternate routes between Puna and other island areas. While it will take two years to complete, it is a step in the right direction to finally focus on the infrastructure needed in that area to ensure safety and accessibility for area residents.
The same methodology and analysis should be used to examine the Kailua Kona corridor for alternative options to alleviate congestion and plan for emergency accessibility. Where significant road widening is not an option, alternate road connections, completion of through-ways, creation of roundabouts and increased public transportation should be used to help reduce congestion.
Other items to consider are movable center dividers, staggered school start times and increased mixed-use development to bring services closer to living communities.
4. The cost of living on Hawaii island is rising rapidly. How are working and middle-class people expected to buy a house or pay the rent as well as take care of other expenses? And how can the county government help?
The government can help by reducing hurdles to building, promoting mixed-use development and adaptive reuse to allow folks to live closer to where they work, creating walkable communities where cars aren’t needed and allowing business and daily living services to be located closer to housing subdivisions.
This type of planning would increase housing availability reducing the rental cost associated with high demand. It would also reduce costs associated with travel allowing people to keep more money in their pockets. The government should also reduce property taxes for commercial and retail properties, which would allow proprietors to pay higher wages, add staff and expand business, creating jobs.
We could also create parking benefits zones to allow for greater improvements to busy business areas while subsidizing free parking for workers and residents.
It is also the responsibility of the government to focus on infrastructure, which includes ensuring necessary and reliable public transportation to allow for low-cost commuting and ease congestion while extending alternative routes for travel, both helping in emergencies and during heavy traffic times.
5. Do you support the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope on Mauna Kea? â¶Ä‚â¶Ä‚â¶Ä‚â¶Ä‚â¶Ä‚
I support science and the advancement of astronomy-related education and access for Hawaii, but not at the expense of the cultural rights of Native Hawaiians and the preservation of their sacred mountain.
I believe any future activity should only proceed after developing a fair and impartial management plan that cures the mismanagement and illegal takings of the past, does not prioritize astronomy over Hawaiian rights, and is agreeable to respected representatives of the Native Hawaiian community.
I would also support a significant reduction in the footprint of the site. The two additional telescopes should be decommissioned as agreed, and the impact on the mountain should be minimized and substantially reduced — regardless of whether or not the TMT is built.
6. Homelessness remains a problem statewide, including on Hawaii island. What would you do to come to grips with this persistent problem?
Permanent housing is the biggest driver to reducing homelessness and is absolutely necessary to create long-lasting solutions for those experiencing homelessness.
However, it is only part of the solution and along with providing basic needs like food and water, we need to provide wrap-around services or help for those needing mental health care and substance abuse services.
By creating transitional and long-term housing around the island with professional services to address chronic hurdles to consistent housing, we can really start to reduce homelessness and provide a foundation for people to achieve housing security.
7. Half of Hawaii’s cesspools are on the Big Island, some 49,300. Seepage from cesspools can make people sick, harm coral reefs and lead to a variety of ecological damage. By law, cesspools must be upgraded to septic systems by 2050. What can be done to help people who may not be able to afford the conversion?
First, we need to complete the master wastewater plan to identify which cesspools will be best serviced by sewer, area treatment systems or individual systems. This is necessary to ensure we are not wasting taxpayer money and/or further harming the environment by prematurely converting to slightly less harmful septic systems.
Once all best-case options are identified, it is critical the county works with the state and any other entities to harness grant funds and subsidies to offset the cost to the taxpayer, based on priority and through varied programs which will spread the cost over years.
We must simultaneously expand all possible sewer lines and connections where feasible to eliminate as many cesspool and septic systems as possible while prioritizing tax spending to not only mitigate failings in our wastewater systems but also upgrade our systems and processes to ensure proper maintenance and compatibility with future improvements. â¶Ä‚â¶Ä‚â¶Ä‚â¶Ä‚â¶Ä‚
8. What is the first thing Hawaii County should do to get in front of climate change rather than just reacting to it? â¶Ä‚â¶Ä‚â¶Ä‚â¶Ä‚â¶Ä‚
One of the biggest contributors to climate change is transportation. The first thing we can do to reduce our emissions is to reduce the need to drive by improving our public transportation system.
We need to increase the frequency, routes and reliability of our public transportation. We could also encourage fewer rental cars used by visitors with these improvements and specific incentives to companies to provide daily shuttle service to areas of the island that receive high traffic from transient drivers.
9. Should the Hu Honua biomass energy plant be allowed to start operating? Why or why not? â¶Ä‚â¶Ä‚â¶Ä‚â¶Ä‚â¶Ä‚
No. Biomass processing produces air pollution in amounts similar to conventional fossil fuels to produce the same amount of energy. Although more consistent, efficient and less expensive, the environmental trade-offs are not worth it.
I would rather see the county consider supporting a constitutional amendment to allow for the construction of small nuclear plants. They would be considerably more dependable and clean, with a smaller footprint than even wind or solar, and maybe the only way we reach the 2045 deadline for a carbon-free energy state.
10. How would you make the county administration more transparent and accessible to the public? â¶Ä‚â¶Ä‚â¶Ä‚â¶Ä‚
I strongly believe that elected officials have a duty to actively inform and solicit the opinions, concerns, ideas and collaboration of their constituents, not just simply be available for questions and meetings.
People have lives and jobs and responsibilities; trying to find and follow legislative activities or figure out how or where to voice an opinion shouldn’t be difficult. If elected I would make it a point to have a monthly newsletter, an active website (where current legislation, resolutions and projects are shared), a Facebook and IG page (where current events and concerns can be discussed ) and schedule and hold ongoing quarterly town halls, alternating both in-person and virtually, for the entirety of my term.
No resident should feel like they are disconnected from what is happening in their district or with their representative.
