Name on ballot:

Mitch McPeek

Running for:

Kauai Mayor

Political party:

No answer submitted

Campaign website:

mitch4mayor.org

Current occupation:

self employed

Age:

61

Previous job history:

No answer submitted

Previous elected office, if any:

No answer submitted

Please describe your qualifications to represent the voters of your county.

education in the Us Constitution its Bill of Rights and intent of the founding fathers

What is the most pressing need for the people you seek to represent, and what will you do to address that need?

immediately the most pressing issue on Kauai is the housing crisis there is a severe lack of housing yet a surplus of land being developed. We need to revisit the zoning ordinances to turn these lands into affordable homes for the locals here and not wealthy foreigners. the policy in development should be “Kauians first!” The second issue will be the next pandemic thrown at us and we need a mayor who just doesnt do what “they” say. We are perfectly capable of making our own decisions in how we conduct our lives. This will take a mayor who has the backbone to stand up and refuse to enforce unlawful mandates and policies . As we see from the last two years we dont now have that person in office.

Rising inflation has significantly worsened Hawaii’s already high cost of living. What can be done at the county level to help residents cope with high consumer prices?

community gardens , home gardens, grow food. thats a start. If we eat what we grow and wont have to rely on imported food communities working together to pool our resources and share our talents and resources. This island can support us and we need to become more reliant upon ourselves. As mayor I can create and support communities to achieve sustainability by looking to the Kanaka Maoli . They been doing this for thousands of years and possess such valuable knowledge it is shamefully negligent to ignore them.

What specific solutions do you propose to combat homelessness and to make housing more affordable to residents?

There are quite a few development projects going on right now that noone knows about These are big acre lots selling for millions of dollars. These lots should be turned into 1 acre or half acre lots creating a couple thousand affordable lots for local people here instead of 100 lots for wealthy off island vacation homes . The county can buy lots that the mega wealthy are buying. We can enlist Habitat for Humanity and like organizations to get local people into their own homes. ‘This will NOT increase the islands density as these lots will be sold to locals who already live here. We need to revisit the zoning ordinances as they are antiquated and dont best serve the needs of Kauai. As it it now the system encourages and supports off island haole to move here definitely increasing the population of Kauai.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, what more should county government do to protect residents’ health?

Tell the truth! Knowledge is power and the county government should be more active in telling the truth about things and let the people decide for themselves what actions they should take. There were more suicides and alcoholism during covid . All because we weren’ allowed to carry on with our lives. The collateral damage from all this nonsense was far worse than the fabricated supposed horror of covid 19 . I will ensure the county will do everything it can to protect the residents’ health but NOT at the expense of their individual rights. The county should educate the residents on how to boost their immune system and NOT demand them to line up to take a shot in the arm.

What should county government do to help residents who have been economically affected by the pandemic?

The county should do everything ! The county caused this by locking everyone down and buying into all these unlawful mandates. The county should first accept responsibility in the way they overreacted to this global plandemic. And they should ask for forgiveness. This will go along way towards healing the county . The county was not responsible for this episode but they are for how they responded to it. One good way of helping businesses to recover is to ease all the regulations required just to have a business. Remove all the government intervention from the businesses and let them operate freely.

What reforms, if any, would you propose to make county government more transparent to the public?

Reforms? You just a need a mayor who is open and available to the public. A mayor who is honest and has integrity. We dont need reforms. We need public servants with integrity who are held accountable for their decision making. Without accountability this is what we get; a need for reforming our politicians. The mayor should meet with the communities on a regular basis and face them ,their questions and concerns. The mayor should not hide in an office and talk to noone. He needs to be present, accountable and available to the community . And if he isnt then i propose one reform: Fire him.

Do you think more needs to be done at the county level to manage tourism? If so, what would you propose?  

STOP ADVERTISING! we spend millions trying to get visitors here. This IS America and we cannot stop people from visiting Kauai but we can do things to keep them from overrunning the island as it is now. The first and most important thing to change is the mindset that we need the tourists. we DONT! Not at the level it is now. Change this mindset and watch magic happen. Granted they are a big revenue resource and they definitely are taking up all our resources here. They leave and we wind up worse off than ever. We need to literally manage them by way of more buses like in haena , tourist parking lots , locals only lots, and locals first mentality .

What would you propose to help diversify the county’s economy beyond tourism?

Well one can sound like a politician and come up with all these wonderful sounding plans and programs to “diversify the economy”. But the truth be told: people here dont want to work. There has been so much money given away noone works Everywhere are help wanted signs and long waits everywhere because businesses cant get enough employees to run their businesses efficiently. So why diversify into other areas when there is nobody there to operate such diversification. Kauai has the highest unemployment rate of all the islands. We just need to get people back to working.

What can county government do to mitigate the affects of sea-level rise?

Absolutely nothing.. We aren’t God. You think driving and electric car gonna save this island from sinking? if the island sinks its an act of God and there is nothing we can do about it. Best thing to do is make peace with Him and you wont have to worry about it. OR you can let these politicians scare you into believing their manure so they can milk more money out of you.

Is there anything more that you would like voters to know about you?

i am NOT a politician. I owe noone. I am a blue collar guy just like all of you. i know your struggles and issues. I stand on the word of the Lord God Almighty which means I stand for protecting your God given right to live free. I have children born and raised here . I have five grandchildren on Kauai and i want to leave them with an opportunity to live and prosper on this island.