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Editor’s note: For 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 Tamara Paltin, candidate for Maui County Council West Maui District. Her opponent is Lorien Acquintas.

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

1. Clearly, Maui County faces big issues related to the fires. What’s the primary thing Maui needs to do now to recover from the fires?

The primary thing Maui needs to do now is to take care of our residents. Recovery from the August 2023 Maui fires is a multifaceted effort with many actions taking place simultaneously, but the current primary focus is providing stable interim and permanent housing solutions for our displaced residents.

A significant part of this includes working with our federal partners such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on debris removal and the Environmental Protection Agency on water and wastewater service restoration, as well as the Office of Economic Development on economic recovery, so residents can afford to continue to live here on Maui.

It is critical that we engage the community in the vision of the Lahaina rebuild so that our residents are a part of creating the future they want to see and continue to be a part of. The county also needs to work with support services such as the Disaster Case Management Program and Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement’s Kako’o Maui to provide ongoing support for affected families and individuals who need financial aid, counseling and other services to help them recover from the trauma and loss caused by the fire. 

2.  What should Maui do to encourage people to stay? What can the county do to ensure that families aren’t priced out?

The council has passed initiatives to encourage people to stay and keep families from being priced out. Immediately after the fires, real property taxes were waived for all properties within the burn zone and those willing to house displaced residents; the deadline has been extended to file the homeowner exemption for residents able to purchase homes on other parts of Maui.  The council funded an apartment rebuild and new housing project in West Maui, it needs to ensure follow through to completion.

There are also pilot programs like the gap financing pilot project that would help cover up to $300,000 of the gap between insurance payout and rebuild costs as well as the Ohana Assistance Program that would provide grants to families to help with the build out of accessory dwelling units.

The need taxation strategies that keep our owner-occupied property taxes affordable for working families and shift the burden to investment properties and vacation homes. Working on ways to streamline and expedite all of the various permits needed for building is also important to keep our residents here. For our upcoming college-bound generation, it’s important to highlight good-paying professions that Maui needs.

3. Do you support the new state law that allows counties to regulate and even shut down short-term rentals? Why or why not?

This legislation represents a concerted effort by the state to give more control to local authorities and ensure the housing needs of residents are prioritized over the short-term rental market. It’s basically another tool aimed at addressing the short-term market and its impact on housing availability.

I support the proper use of this legislation in that any phase-out should be done in a way that is most legally defensible and makes sense for our residents overall. It’s estimated that there are currently approximately 16,000 legal vacation rental properties on Maui in total. This is in addition to hotel units. North of Lahaina, 87% of units are listed as short-term rental, and I do think an adjustment needs to be made.

It would be beneficial to go through the mayor’s proposed short term phase-out (non-conforming apartment zoned properties — approximately 6,000 of 7,000 units are being taxed as short term rentals) and pursue changs in zoning and community plan amendment to hotel for those properties where short-term rental continues to make sense; for example, existing resort areas of Kaanapali, Kapalua, Wailea and Makena and any other area the respective communities feel makes sense.

4. What’s your vision for Lahaina? How should it be rebuilt and who should decide? 

Ultimately, the vision for Lahaina should be a collective one, community driven — shaped by the voices of its people and guided by principles that ensure perpetuation of our cultural heritage, historical significance, preservation of local character, sustainability, resilience and long-term prosperity.

There will be difficult decisions that need to be made, whether it is to widen or not widen roads, or rebuild in the sea level rise exposure area; those decisions should be made locally by those living here on Maui, in Lahaina and those who will be returning.

I think the county should facilitate diverse working groups of residents to come up with proposals to address the many difficult decisions to be made that can then be vetted and decided upon by elected officials.

5. What should elected officials do to restore trust in county government?

Clear, ongoing, and effective communication from elected officials through a variety of mediums is one of the most important things elected officials can do to restore trust in county government. We need to communicate what we know, what we don’t know, and follow up on questions asked with answers that can be explained in a way that makes sense to our community.

While many times we cannot please everyone and we won’t always agree, it’s important that we still communicate what is being done and the rationale to constituents.

One of the strategies that the county is currently using is posting to the MauiRecovers.org website as well as frequent community meetings or updates that are livestreamed to social media.  

6. Do you think Maui County should do more to manage water resources? Why or why not?

Water resource management is a critical issue for any region, and Maui County is no exception. Effective management is essential to ensure a sustainable supply of water for residents, agriculture, and the environment-especially considering the challenges posed by climate change and periods of drought.

I believe Maui County must utilize more of its R-1 recycled water and build out the infrastructure, especially in the arid areas of Lahaina and the regions to the south.

In theory, I support the elimination of private water sources, however, the reality is we do not have the resources to acquire and manage all of the private water sources in Maui County at this time. So, I am anxious to see what types of solutions the East Maui Water Authority can pursue in that area and what lessons can be learned and applied countywide.

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

Maui County is already taking steps to get in front of climate change rather than just reacting to it. The county has developed a Climate Action and Resiliency Plan and is starting to implement portions, we are putting more resources into our Emergency Management Agency to better prepare for future emergencies and during the global pandemic, we began to put more resources into local agricultural generation for the purposes of food sovereignty.

We need to continue to work to turn our challenges into opportunities. For example, axis deer ares a problem in many parts of Maui, but should be a local food source if managed correctly; and green waste that currently goes into the landfill should be a local source of compost.

The county also needs to continue education about the effects of sea level rise and discourage building in the sea level rise exposure area to prevent future losses — it is not the slow steady rise of the ocean that is the problem as much as the severe weather events compounded by higher high tides as we saw with the code red swell which went right through the windows of one of our oceanfront restaurants.

8. Homelessness is becoming more of an issue on Maui. What do you think needs to be changed to help people get into housing, and stay housed?

We need to build more housing and shelters in the long term, which is being worked on, but that takes time and it won’t address the immediate issues.

Immediately, I believe the county should take steps to manage county lands that are being utilized by our unsheltered populations for public health and safety and create partnerships to maintain these public lands in perpetuity. We can do this by building relationships with our unsheltered populations who are oftentimes just as much victims of the crime, illegal dumping and vandalism that the county and police are trying to address; then as housing units come online, outreach coordinators can continue to advocate for unsheltered to get into permanent housing solutions.

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

There are a number of things that can be done to improve Maui’s transportation problems, it begins with engaging local communities to understand their specific transportation needs and challenges, which can vary across different regions of Maui County.

The Maui Metropolitan Planning Organization is a great way for constituents to give feedback on transportation planning at the federal, state and county levels.

Specifically, at the county level, we should continue to develop a more robust and accessible public transportation network that covers more areas of the island and offers frequent service; implement traffic management systems that use real-time data to optimize traffic flow and reduce congestion; utilize technology to provide real-time traffic updates and alternative route suggestions to drivers, helping them avoid congested areas; expand road capacity in high-traffic areas and improving signage and lighting; promote alternative modes of transportation by creating greenways and pedestrian paths.

For West Maui, we need to continue to lobby the state to move the road to Lahaina inland and complete the northern terminus of the bypass; as residential streets reopen after the fire, it will greatly help with congestion issues, currently the roads where debris removal is occurring have limited access.