Full Name: Arryl Kaneshiro

Name on Ballot: Arryl Kaneshiro

Age: 35

District: Kauai

Email Address: arrylkaneshiro@gmail.com

Current Job: Councilmember – County of Kauai; project manager, Grove Farm Co.

Place of birth: Honolulu

Campaign website: www.votekaneshiro.com

Job history past 10 years:

2014 – present: Councilmember, County of Kauai

2007 – present: Project manager, Grove Farm Co.

2004 – 2007: Senior accountant, Schwindt & Co., Portland, Ore.

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

Yes, I ran for Kauai County Council in the 2014 election and was successful in obtaining a spot on the Council.

Other civic experience or community service?

Kiwanis of Kauai, past president and current board member

Koloa Plantation Days, board member

Koloa Plantation Days, parade coordinator

Kauai Economic Development Board Food and Agriculture Committee, member

Kauai Watershed Alliance, chairman elect

East Kauai Soil & Water Conservation, director

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

My family has a long history of doing agriculture. Aside from my work as a project manager and councilmember, I also run a 600-head sheep farm.

What makes you qualified to be a Council member?

I’m the product of Kauai and want to contribute to its present and future. My core values were shaped by this community through family, teachers, and coaches. This upbringing drove me to pursue a business degree and career in accounting. I bring this knowledge and homegrown sensibility to the Council.

What is your one big idea?

Fiscal responsibility is an utmost priority. I will strive to work on creating sound financial policies that will guide county decision making and ensure financial stability for future generations.

What steps can the Council take to reduce the county’s backlog of road repairs?

Our county needs to do a better job of implementing a routine road maintenance program. We spend too much money rebuilding roads because we have not taken care of them. Simple attention to road care, like sealing cracks and potholes, can save money in the long run.

The Kekaha Landfill has about 10 years of life left. What alternative waste disposal methods should the county take up?

The county has several programs in place to extend the life of the landfill and divert trash. However, everyone needs to pitch in to help solve our waste management problem. For recycling, composting, and reuse programs to work, we each need to do our part and pitch in.

What should the county do to help house the homeless on Kauai?

We need to build on our public private partnerships with organizations like Kauai Economic Opportunity to provide additional shelter space. However, emergency shelters are only a short-term solution. We and the State need to explore long-term housing opportunities, provide job training and placement, mental health care, and drug rehabilitation.