Name on ballot:

Keani Rawlins-Fernandez

Running for:

Maui county council – Molokai

Political party:

No answer submitted

Campaign website:

votekeani.com/

Current occupation:

Councilmember

Age:

41

Previous job history:

Maui County Councilmember, County of Maui, 2019-present
Executive Assistant, Office of Councilmember Elle Cochran, 2017-2018
Administrative Director, Molokai Community Service Council, 2016-2018
Graduate Assistant, Office of Civil Rights, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2013-2016

Previous elected office, if any:

Maui County Councilmember

Please describe your qualifications to represent the people of Maui County.

The job of a councilmember is to enact laws, to deliver fiscal oversight of taxpayer dollars, provide an open forum to ensure transparency and accountability in county operations, and to help facilitate public initiatives that improve our overall quality of life.

My work experience includes five years of public service, including four years as Council Vice-Chair and Chair of the Budget, Finance, and Economic Development Committee, where I overhauled the budget review process to build in transparency, equality, and collaboration to better serve our community. In that time, I also served as Chair of the Tax Reform Investigative Committee which successfully reformed our property tax structure, generating increased revenue from the tourism industry, while providing those in need with additional tax relief. This term I served as Chair of the Efficiency Solutions and Circular Systems Committee, where I focused on education surrounding systemic inequality and mitigating negative community impacts through responsible and introspective legislative solutions.

I’m a graduate of Molokai High and Intermediate School, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Relations, a Master’s Degree in Business Administration, and a law degree with certificates specializing in Environmental Law and Native Hawaiian Law. My legal training has enabled me to research and draft legislation independently, which is less common in elected government positions, while my MBA has taught me to understand finances and economics, making it possible to think analytically and critically during the annual budget review to offer creative fiscal solutions.

Most importantly, I am of this community, born and raised, and intimately understand our people and our core values. At heart, I will always be a community organizer, lifting people to have their voices heard has been one of my greatest strengths.

Finally, I am driven and effective. This job can often lead to a lot of talking. We need less talking and more doing. I pride myself as being someone that goes to work every day with a proactive plan, ready to move decisions forward in the most effective and efficient way possible, and to do the work we were elected to do and not waste a moment of taxpayer’s time or money.

What is your one best proposal to help the residents of Maui recover from the devastating Aug. 8 wildfires?

I fully agree with the Lahaina community that it is the people that made Lahaina special. The most critical issue facing Lahaina residents is who gets to determine the future of their hometown, so therefore strongly support the community’s call to let Lahaina lead the way and to assist only in providing them the tools they need in order to do so. We do that first by ensuring the residents are supported to live in the town that raised them,where they have kuleana, preserving the culture and community cohesion.

As we have all witnessed, disaster capitalism is real. With investment vultures circling immediately in the days after the fire, intending to exploit our people, while they were experiencing severe emotional trauma and financial desperation. Concerned community members quickly stood up the Lahaina Community Land Trust (“LCLT”) to work with property owners experiencing varying challenges and provide them with the gifts of time, compassion and guidance to make the best informed choice for their families future.

The LCLT is helping Lahaina property owners understand their mortgage options after the Lahaina wildfires, how to respond to unexpected foreclosure notices while in forbearance, and to provide owners an option that will allow the LCLT to hold properties in trust, for future occupation by local residents.

How would you like to see Lahaina rebuilt and what can the County Council do to make that happen?

I would like to see Lahaina rebuilt using direction from the Lahaina community, considering the safety of its residents at the forefront. Roadways may need to be widened for emergency vehicle access and provide for safe evacuation routes. Utility lines, such as water and sewer lines may need to be relocated out of the sea level rise inundation area, and power lines should be considered for underground placement.

As a historic town, most of the buildings were constructed before zoning policies and design standards were in place. Since that time, there were policies adopted to protect the town’s nostalgic and historic appeal, for the most part post-European contact. There is much for Lahaina residents to consider when formulating the long-term vision for Lahaina Town.

Sea level rise and building within the special management area will further complicate those conversations, however, exciting visioning by longtime Lahaina residents have already begun, such as the restoration of the private residence of King Kamehameha III, Moku’ula and Loko o Mokuhinia, the spring-fed wetland pond that surrounded the island of Moku’ula. This restoration project will complement and ensure that the future of Lahaina Town will be rich with cultural, land-based abundance and the true history of Maui.

Do you support or oppose a ban on short-term vacation rentals on Maui? Please explain.

I’ll first respond to the question as it is posed. There is no current proposal to ban short term vacation rentals on Maui.

Vacation rental activity is permissible in different zoning districts. There isn’t an effort to ban STRs in hotel and resort zones. In residential zoned districts, “short term rental homes” are allowed with a permit within the maximum allowed limits for each district. On Molokai, the maximum STRHs allowed is zero, in Maui Meadows, it’s 5, and in the other areas, around 60-80.

The current legislative proposal to phase out STR’s pertains to the apartment district only. Since the 1980s, the Council has tried to legislatively correct the use within apartment zoning to provide a better balance between long-term and short-term use. I support the initiative from the 80s to finally achieve that balance.

Maui is not alone in this fight to preserve residential quality of life, by seeking a balanced tourist economy through management and capacity controls. Places like Barcelona and New York City that share our issues by being reduced to tourist destinations are also taking action to correct the overconsumption of their homes by visitors. For additional perspective, Barcelona has 10,000 STRs in a population of 10,000,000 people, compared to our more than 13,700 STRs in Maui’s 155,000 population!

Unfortunately, technological advancements, like vacation rental platforms, tend to evolve faster than governments are able to regulate negative impacts. Residents seeking housing for shelter will never be able to compete with speculators commodifying our housing stock for profit. Investments are rarely 100% safe from the changing times, and policymakers are required to consider actions that protect the greater good; to direct policy for the health and safety of its residents. Not only does our county have the authority to ensure that land use follows the spirit of community planning, its obligated to carry it forth. That is what this legislation aims to do.

What can the county government do to help protect Maui, Lanai and Molokai from future wildfires?

As the climate changes, it’s imperative we – as a society – change with it. Drought conditions have become more frequent and rain bombs create mud floods of the likes we have never experienced in our lifetime.

We continue to suffer the consequences of poor planning decisions and inaction of past economic industries that failed to adequately consider natural ecosystem services. Sugar plantations that diverted streams until they were dry transformed food forests to barren pasture land covered with invasive, fast-growing grass for the cattle industry. Housing developments built in wetlands and flood zones, and fenced hunters out from properly managing wild ungulate populations.

Better management of our open spaces are sorely needed and enforce larger buffer zones around the wildland urban interface, the area where human development and undeveloped wildland meet.

We must keep more water in streams and in aquifers so they can recharge and flow. We must shift our perspective from how much water we can extract without collapsing the system, to a perspective of how we can work together to increase water source through reuse, conservation, atmospheric systems, and other growing technologies that support a responsible water use future for our next generations that follow.

We should shift to using less water for pools and artificially lush lawns in dry and arid areas, and instead design landscaping as food forests with more trees and ground cover that hold water and maximize aquifer recharge.

How prepared is Maui County to deal with the next major natural disaster and what would you do to improve preparedness and responsiveness?

Maui County recently fought a nearly 500-acre fire Upcountry, demonstrating the lessons learned through early and consistent information out to the public, immediately communicating with the appropriate government agencies, and having private partnerships in place to support our emergency responders with personnel and equipment.

Since Aug 8, Maui County has identified through after action reports and hazard mitigation efforts where our systems can and should be improved to better respond to disasters, including strengthening our Maui Emergency Management Agency by filling existing positions with more experienced professionals, and creating new positions to execute the various strategies.

There are efforts underway to plan for more extreme situations, like having our resources spread thin. Preparing to have contracts in place before disaster strikes to enlist support from the private sector, evacuation plans for each district, working with HECO to conduct planned power downs, and having enough radios in the event cell towers stop working.

The County continues to work with the community to have resilience hubs in the different districts, to maintain relationships with organizational leaders to better service senior citizens, people of varying abilities, and folks needing translators.

What idea would you propose to improve traffic congestion on the island of Maui?

The main problem with Maui Island’s transportation system is that the built environment is one that is heavily automobile-dependent. Ideally, a more robust public transportation system could increase ridership in residents and get more rental cars off the road. Mass transit is challenging on Maui because of the geographic distance between places to see.

Commuter traffic is then exacerbated by the amount of tourists also in their own vehicles heading toward hotspots promoted on social media. During the pandemic, we learned that there are 22,000 rental cars on the island, so when the lots are near empty – that’s the impact on the roads. The Maui Island Plan called for daily tourist population not to exceed one-third of the resident population, of which we far surpassed years ago. Getting as many tourists and visitors out of individual vehicles and off the road will improve traffic congestion.

Resorts should be more responsible for working with their guests on developing their vacation plans that will minimize their impact on the roads. Places with high vehicular impact, like Zion National Park, established a robust shuttle system that eliminated 80% of vehicles. The Park Maui program is also intended to encourage tourists to choose mass transportation by instituting parking fees, making it less attractive to drive.

To improve traffic flow and provide more evacuation routes, West Maui, South Maui, and Pā’ia bypasses need to be prioritized for completion.

What are the best ways for county government to alleviate homelessness and to increase the availability of affordable housing?

There are a variety of reasons for individuals experiencing challenges in securing shelter, each with different needs. An affordable, residential housing shortage is often a key contributor.

A big problem is how housing is used. The increase in economic disparity, those who have the means, have bought up many housing units to use as investments or to sit vacant for seasonal use. As islands with limited land and water, we cannot support the high amount of housing used for these purposes.

We also need to consider the size of the population of Maui. Population growth closely followed the rate of construction from the 1960s. Recognizing O‘ahu still has a residential housing shortage, we will not be able to build our way out of this problem when the ever-growing demand for investing in a slice of paradise takes precedence over the negative impact it has on existing communities.

By redesigning the property tax structure to incentivize long-term rentals with an exemption off the property valuation and a lower tax rate, the County can encourage the desired use with maximum benefit, and discourage uses that carry more taxpayer burdens. While it is true that vacation rental use can generate revenue for housing, allowing long-term housing to continue to be converted to vacation rentals is self-defeating.

The Council recently initiated a grant program to make it easier for residents to construct accessory dwelling units on their properties, prohibiting vacation rental use. Another successful idea circulating is a program for homeowners to voluntarily extend their property’s deed restriction on affordability and elevate the program to a deed restriction for owner occupied use, in perpetuity. Once an individual cashes in on the government subsidy that made the house affordable, flipping it out of the deed-restricted affordability.

Finally, the County has provided support to the Department of Hawaiian Homelands to streamline and expedite housing construction and invest in infrastructure that will mutually benefit homesteaders and the general public.

What can the county do to help residents cope with the overall high cost of living in Hawaii?

The biggest expense is housing, followed by the high cost of food, childcare, transportation, and utilities.

Maui County recently bifurcated the Department of Housing and Human Concerns so that we can have one fully staffed department each really tackling each of the two important topics of housing, and human concerns. A new division within the department of housing will be a development arm. This is a new initiative of the County, whereas up until now, we have mostly been at the mercy of for-profit developers.

Creating a County platform, like San Francisco, where the county connects buyers and sellers, reducing the need for realtors who are incentivized to sell properties as high as possible, to maximize their commission has also impacted housing prices.

Increasing housing inventory within community land trusts, like the Lahaina Community Land Trust, Na Hale o Maui, and PARUS can help to keep housing more affordable.

The county continues to support local food production and distribution networks to increase access to fresh, affordable produce, like through the wildly successful Maui Food Hub, Sustainable Molokai Mobile Market, and to promote energy-efficient technologies and practices in buildings and homes to reduce energy costs for residents.

Supporting renewable energy initiatives, like Ho’ahu Energy Coop Molokai and the Clean Energy Hui, that seeks to provide opportunities for cost-savings and a smaller carbon footprint for residents with low-to-moderate income.

Finally, unfaltering efforts should persist at both the state and county levels to finally successfully support increasing the minimum wage to help manage the consistently rising cost of living, where we can and work toward livable wages for all.

What more needs to be done to reduce crime on Maui County?

The answer to any problem is community. A strong, cohesive community is the best prevention of crime. Educational programs, including drunk driving and sexual abuse education. Mental health and drug counseling programs, as well as treatment center expansion efforts need to be better funded to assist with healing our community from the inside out. Pae‘aina-wide, we need to do better to offer mental health resources to prevent substance abuse. The County has supported Aloha House in increasing their capacity to help those suffering from addiction.

Enforcement of existing laws is important. We have excellent leadership in the Maui Police Department that has invested in equipment to identify patterns and target specific areas for intervention and implemented data-driven policing strategies.

While the crime rate in Maui County is lower than the national average, the more common infractions being vehicular crimes, thefts, vandalism, drug trafficking, the County continues to partner with the university and private sector to provide career and job opportunities within reach.

Holistic initiatives that support individuals’ entire well-being, and supporting our nonprofits that support our community, have been instrumental.

What will be your top priority if elected?

My priority is to ensure the people with kuleana to protect our ecology and perpetuate the culture of our home continue to have a home here. Without our environment and culture, there is no economy. The economy relies on a healthy watershed, an ocean teeming with life, sandy beaches, and a healthy, happy, well-cared-for local community.

As a council member, I’ve learned that properly and purposefully investing our finances can enable us to incorporate invaluable programs that contribute to our livelihood in vastly valuable ways, but this reality is limited by the people in leadership positions and their willingness to advance initiatives that continue to promote the cohesive community we strive to be.

We need to return to our more foundational values like leaving a place better than you found it. Not taking more than you need. Never arriving with your hands empty. Helping a stranger, friend, or a neighbor without expecting anything in return.

These principles speak to who we are as a community. The pride we feel when our fellow community members immediately come to the aid of our neighbors after a disaster.

It’s in these pivotal moments that define who we were, who we are, and who we profess we want to be for the future of Hawai‘i.

This is the community I want my children to raise their children in, and if this is what you want for your family, I want to work together to preserve that vision.

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

I believe in servant leadership, and leadership implies that there is a team. It requires all of us working together to solve our collective issues and development systems that benefit everyone more equally.

Civic education and engagement is more important now than ever, as is leadership that is approachable and inclusive. I host a monthly town hall meeting in-person, that is also live-streamed on social media, to keep our community informed about what the County is doing.

It also ensures our community members have regular access to me, as their councilmember. It establishes a two-way dialogue, early and routinely, so that we can identify areas for improvement before the Council makes any final decisions.

While it is a lot of work, the return on investment is well worth it.