Bo Kahui

Full name: Craig Valentine Kahui

Name on ballot: Bo Kahui

District: Hawaii

Age: 62

Email address: bokahui@yahoo.com

Current job: Executive director, Laiopua 2020

Place of birth: Honolulu

Campaign website: None

Job history past 10 years:

Laiopua 2020, executive director, nine years

State Judiciary, 3rd Circuit Court bailiff, six years

Aloha Airlines, ramp services, three years

Commercial fishing, crewman

Ever run for public office? If so, when? Outcome?

Yes, OHA, lost my bid for at-large OHA seat

Other civic experience or community service?

2003-present: Villages of La‘i‘opua Homestead Association, president; director, Hawaiian Homestead Community Association; management of association

2006-present: La‘i‘opua 2020, president/executive director, founder, Community Facilities Development; develop multipurpose facilities

2010-2011: County of Hawaii Reapportionment Commission commissioner, appointed by Mayor Kenoi; set electorate boundaries

2010-2014: Kona Community Development Plan county commissioner, County of Hawaii – Kona Community “Urban Planning Commission”

2010-present: Hawaii Island Habitat for Humanity director, board director; building affordable housing

2012-present: West Hawaii Parks and Athletic Corp. president

Founder, Establishing Parks in West Hawaii

Anything else you’d like voters to know about you?

I envisioned the value of self-help housing program and began to serve on the Habitat for Humanity board four years ago. Self-help housing programs provide Native Hawaiians an option to become a homeowner and build a home that most Hawaiians can afford.

What makes you qualified to be a trustee of OHA?

As a Native Hawaiian and homestead leader serving the Villages of La‘i‘opua Homestead Association and broader community, I can offer new leadership that focuses on the needs of the Native Hawaiian community, in particular, housing, homelessness, economic development and cultural preservation.

What are your top five priorities for OHA?

Building Homestead Association’s capacity to address priority needs. Provide Hawaiian homestead leaders with capacity and operating funding to ensure their success to address their community needs from community development to enterprise and commercial developments.

What is your one big idea?

Provide direct “set-asides” (capital) to homestead communities conducting community and economic development that fosters economic independence and self-sufficiency.

Why are you running for trustee?

I hope to provide changes to OHA’s direction and strategic model to have and provide homestead communities more access to programs that lead to their self-reliance.

Gov. David Ige has said residential development should not be allowed on the Kakaako Makai lands that were turned over to OHA by the state. How do you believe those lands should be used or developed?

This is a question that should be presented to our Native Hawaiian people via a plebiscite. To assume that the nine member-trustees can make this decision would only exacerbate the Native Hawaiian community’s mistrust of OHA and its role in the management of Native Hawaiian assets.