Hanabusa: Elect Me and I Will Build Massive Festering Homeless Tent Cities Everywhere
Star-Adv Jan 8, 2018: …U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa today launched her campaign for governor by criticizing the incumbent for a lack of leadership and saying the state should consider establishing safe zones for homeless people….
On homelessness, Hanabusa told reporters that politicians must consider solutions that may not be “politically correct,” including safe zones. She said social services (lots of meth) could be offered at designated homeless camping areas (if they have enough copper to trade)….
Ige has opposed state-sanctioned homeless encampments, saying they’re unsafe. He has said they contradict federal housing recommendations, putting federal housing funds at risk.
His campaign spokeswoman, Glenna Wong, said legalized homeless camps could exacerbate the problem and allow people to live in camps longer than anticipated. She said Ige believes it’s more effective to focus on stable, permanent housing for the homeless.
Former governors Ben Cayetano and George Ariyoshi attended the rally to lend Hanabusa their support…..
read … Tent Cities
Hanabusa: Build Homeless Tent Cities instead of Single Family Homes
Maui News Jan 14, 2018: …Hanabusa doesn’t mind keeping a controversial idea on the table. Take safe zones, for example — government-sanctioned encampments for homeless people to sleep in, use the restroom and find social services. Last year, Hawaii County experimented with a safe zone, and Mayor Alan Arakawa has expressed interest in creating one on Maui. But Ige has said the concept would be the opposite of safe and could put federal housing funds at risk.
Hanabusa said safe zones can be “a critical component” by addressing the immediate needs of the homeless before helping them find more permanent shelter.
A few years ago, a proposal similar to safe zones ran up against opposition on Maui. The Kauaula Campgrounds project called for providing campsites on 2 acres in Lahaina for both commercial campers and transients, who would have to pass screening to get a space and would only be able to stay for a fixed term. But residents were concerned the camp would be unsafe, discourage tourism and reduce property values.
Hanabusa said that, in Waianae, many of homeless people live in the kiawe brush where it’s easy for some to forget they exist. But hoping “that they would just go away doesn’t address the fundamental issues,” she said.
“Nobody wants it in their backyard,” Hanabusa said. “But the problem is that it’s going to be somewhere. So if we work together and find some place that maybe people can all accept, then that’s a resolution.”
Hanabusa also is concerned about housing and on “how do we bring the young people home?” She said it comes down to understanding what type of housing the next generation envisions.
“We cannot continue, in my opinion, to build single-family houses, and though a lot of people do aspire to that, I don’t believe everyone does,”Hanabusa said.
“We have to start asking the question as to, ‘(Does) everyone want a house with the yard or are people looking at a different type of living?'”…
read … A Festering Homeless Tent City is Your Future
RELATED:
Ige Statement:
"The people of Hawai'i are always served by choices in leadership. I welcome Colleen's entrance into the race.
It is one thing to criticize, and it is another to get the people's business done. I am proud of our record during the last three years. We have made hard decisions, sometimes unpopular decisions, because it was the right thing to do and in the best interests of the people of this state.
Our team has improved our financial standing saving the state hundreds of millions in interest payments and rekindled long-stalled infrastructure projects. I kept my promise to cool schools, protected over 40,000 acres of watershed forests on four islands, and ended favoritism and pay to play cronyism in state government, opening up more contracts to our local small businesses. I am also proud of how my administration has taken on the Trump Administration when they have put Hawai'i's and the nation's values and rights in jeopardy, doing more than most other governors to fight unfair and discriminatory policies coming out of Congress and the White House.
I may not be the typical politician, but what we need today is less politics and more hard work. The historic firsts coming out of my administration and things I have done since taking office reflects this effort. That is the kind of leadership I believe Hawaii deserves."
Hanabusa Statement:
Aloha.
Today, I formally announced my candidacy to run for governor of Hawai‘i. My reasons for choosing to run for this office are simple and heartfelt.
I am running for governor because I believe the people of Hawai‘i deserve better.
The challenges facing our state and go unanswered day after day. In fact, the issues grow worse, through inattention, through indecision and through inaction.
At the highest level of state government today there is a deeply troubling lack of leadership and vision. There is a profound sense that we're adrift, rudderless, with decisions made by a small circle of people with no indication of who's really in charge.
We cannot wait another four years for leadership in the governor’s office.
We cannot wait as more and more of our young people, discouraged by the future they see for themselves here, leave Hawai‘i in hopes of better opportunities on the mainland.
We cannot wait while our highways and harbors crumble before our eyes, while inefficiency and poor management cripple state operations and capital improvements, while millions of taxpayer dollars are wasted and precious time is lost with no accountability at any level.
We cannot wait while our parks are occupied and vandalized and the response from state government is to close them down and post armed guards to turn families away from the public places that belong to our children.
We cannot wait while, little by little, we lose the Hawai‘i we know and love.
How can this happen at a time when our economy is booming, tourism is at record highs and unemployment is at near zero? This is the time when we should be investing in our future, not hiding from it.
It’s time to step up, take action and move ahead.
Yes, we face big challenges. And there are no easy solutions. But by doing nothing – or by doing the same things over and over again while expecting different results – our problems will only worsen. Hawai‘i deserves better. And we’re capable of so much more.
Here in Hawai‘i, we pride ourselves on our homegrown solutions. Our commitment to public education, our near universal health care, our treatment of women in the work place, and our support of the rights of those from every background, all stand as testament to our ability to work together to solve challenges that confound others.
I believe it is time – as generations before us have done – to rise again to face the challenge. That requires leadership, a strong vision and, most of all, action. I pledge to you my tireless efforts to protect, serve and improve this very special place we all call home.
There is much to do. And in the months ahead I look forward to listening to your concerns, sharing my vision and forging a way forward together.
For all of us. For our Hawai‘i.
Mahalo!
Colleen Hanabusa