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Editor’s note:ÌýFor Hawaii’s Nov. 5 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 Cindy Evans, candidate for Hawaii County Council District 9, which includes North and South Kohala. The other candidate is James Hustace.

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

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

Ability to afford a rental or buy a home. I support a change to the County Code that supports mixed-use development, an increase of rental housing choices, assistance to first-time homebuyers, lowering costs of development, job creation. 

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 amount of tourism on the Big Island and how it’s managed?

The amount of tourism is adequate except during the shoulder seasons when the number of tourists shrinks.

Tourism impacts county government. It increases the cost of first responders (fire, police), changes the environment of gathering places, increases potential of damage to natural resources, cultural sites and sacred places and creates a need to educate tourists on the need to protect natural resources disaster alerts, and the dangers of the ocean. 

3. What needs to happen to relieve traffic congestion in and around Kailua-Kona and along the Puna-Keaau-Hilo corridor?

Change current zoning and permitting requirements to mitigate for unfavorable density in locations where roads are not planned, parking will be inadequate, drainage is a problem. Advocate for forward thinking by the Planning Department. 

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?

Collaboration, leadership, education, partnerships, economic development, regulations. 

5. Do you support the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope on Mauna Kea?

If and when it’s built with respect for the land and for the people. 

6. Homelessness remains a problem statewide, including on Hawaii island. What would you do to come to grips with this persistent problem?

Acknowledge its presence, speak to service providers, read to learn more about the challenges and opportunities. 

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?

Grants, zero interest loans, income tax credits. 

8. What is the first thing Hawaii County should do to get in front of climate change rather than just reacting to it?

Lots of ideas and studies. Best to prioritize and focus, then follow through with regulations, education and training and creating programs and services.

9. Should the Hu Honua biomass energy plant be allowed to start operating? Why or why not?

If the claim that the plant will create air pollution and any other environmental dangers is true, then I do not want it to start.

10. How would you make the county administration more transparent and accessible to the public?

Keep changing the County Code to require reporting, monitor auditors’ reports and execution by the administration, strive for user-friendly county websites, provide training materials to the public.