Opponents for Kauai House seat split on GMOs

Three candidates vying for Kauai’s 15th House District seat have varying views on the controversial issue of county oversight of the use of pesticides and growth of genetically engineered crops by large agribusinesses.

First-time candidate Dylan Hooser is running against incumbent Rep. James Tokioka in the Democratic primary for the district seat that covers Wailua Homesteads, Lihue and Hanamaulu. Tokioka, who served as House majority whip in 2010, ran unopposed in the 2012 election. The winner will face Republican Steve Yoder, also a first-time candidate.

All shared their positions on the new pesticides-and-GMO law that has sparked an anti-GMO movement on the neighbor islands.

Tokioka supports the Kauai Agricultural Good Neighbor Program established by the state, saying it strikes a balance between large-scale commercial agribusinesses and residents concerned with pesticide exposure. Hooser strongly favors mandatory disclosure of pesticides and GMOs while Yoder contends regulation on the county level is not logical because Kauai County lacks funding to enforce it.

Implementation of Ordinance 960, which requires large agriculture companies to disclose the type of pesticides sprayed on their fields, disclose the growth of GMOs and establish buffer zones, has been pushed back to Oct. 1 from Aug. 16 due to a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court. Four seed companies — Syngenta Hawaii, DuPont Pioneer, Agrigenetics doing business as Dow AgroSciences, and BASF — sued the county seeking to block the implementation of the new law, claiming it’s invalid.

Tokioka, 52, of Lihue, who is seeking a fifth two-year term in the district seat, maintains that addressing health concerns raised by the community is equally important to holding on to an economics-related balance between the community and seed companies. "There’s some people in the community who don’t want the GMO companies on Kauai, period," he said. "Their goal is to get all the GMO companies off Kauai. I don’t think that’s responsible," said Tokioka, adding that the companies have provided numerous jobs for residents.

Hooser, 32, said the new law addresses health concerns presented by residents who have claimed they have been directly affected by exposure to pesticides. "It’s basic buffer zones and minimal disclosure, which is a good thing," Hooser said, saying he questions why seed companies are battling the new law that protects the community.

Yoder, 59, criticized anti-GMO groups, contending that they have spread misinformation, by way of scare tactics, pertaining to the effects of pesticides on human health. Far more pesticides are used by residents on their properties, golf courses and by the county, Yoder said. He added, "It’s already labeled. If they want to eat organic, eat organic. It’s much ado about nothing."

Tokioka said that if re-elected, he plans to continue efforts aimed at improving the state’s education system and economy. Parents on Kauai have scrambled to find available spots for their children at a limited number of preschools after the elimination of the Department of Education’s junior kindergarten program.

The state has expanded a program to provide $6 million in subsidies for needy families to send their children to preschool. Schools participating in the program were chosen based on community needs.

"We have to start some place," Tokioka said. "I’ve been supportive of the administrative policy on early education because I think by allowing children who wouldn’t have the resources to go to preschool get into preschools can only help the system at large, in my opinion."

To sustain the state’s economy, Tokioka said, support for the Hawaii Tourism Authority, which helps maintain a base of visitors to the state, is necessary.

Supporting capital improvement projects is also a priority for the incumbent. Yoder noted that he and other area lawmakers successfully lobbied to secure funding to improve parts of Kauai’s infrastructure with efforts such as the Kaumualii Highway widening project.

Hooser, business owner of Sunrise Shells of Kauai, said the opportunity to give back to the community as a state lawmaker prompted him to run for election. "I just really believe strongly about putting people first," he said.

Born and raised on Kauai, Hooser said he would bring youthful passion on issues constituents face.

Following in the footsteps of his father, Kauai County Councilman Gary Hooser, who formerly served as a state senator, the younger Hooser supports a livable wage for residents to help struggling families working multiple jobs.

Last legislative session, Gov. Neil Abercrombie signed a bill into law to increase the minimum wage, but Hooser said it’s only a Band-Aid solution.

Hooser vowed to support a universal pre-kindergarten program and to protect retirees’ pensions if elected.

While Tokioka and Hooser are Democrats, Hooser pointed out they have vastly different views on certain issues and said voters deserve a choice after Tokioka ran unopposed in 2012.

Yoder said his decision to run stemmed from frustration with the state’s handling of the budget.

"We don’t have a budget problem. We have an overspending problem, and I’m tired of it," he said, adding he pledges to address spending issues and push for taxation rollback, if elected. While state government has good intentions, it has made too few accomplishments, he said. "It’s like running the same football play but it doesn’t work."

Finding ways to support small businesses and improve Kauai’s infrastructure are issues Yoder also wants to focus on. Regarding early education, Yoder said parents, not the state, should pay tuition for their children to attend pre-kindergarten.

Yoder, of Wailua Homesteads, who has worked as a tour guide for Kauai North Shore & Limousine Tours for almost 20 years, moved to Hawaii in 1970 from California. After graduating from Kapaa High School in 1972, he moved to Texas to attend Arlington Baptist College. His love for Hawaii prompted his return to the islands 15 years later. "Once you live in Hawaii, it’s hard to live anywhere else," he said.