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Crouse cites two years of ‘contention,’ calls for change on council

King defends record as freshman member

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story examining the race for the County Council’s South Maui residency seat is part of The Maui News’ coverage of key Maui County races in Tuesday’s general election. The stories will conclude Sunday. The Maui News election guide was published in last Sunday’s newspaper.

Two years after she was voted into office as an ‘Ohana Coalition-backed candidate, South Maui County Council Member Kelly King is running for re-election against Kihei real estate broker Zandra Amaral Crouse, who touts the need for change on the council.

“I have seen two years of contention on the council, which has really stood in the way of doing the people’s business, which is what they were elected to do,” Crouse said. “I think Maui nui deserves a candidate such as myself who puts the needs of people first — one who will be present at the council meetings.”

King said she wants to see the council focus on issues.

“My candidacy is about collaboration and also about civility and reason,” she said. “I don’t agree with everybody all the time. I don’t agree with some people that are on the ‘Ohana Coalition sometimes. But I’m able to express myself without anger. I don’t have any personal issues about somebody disagreeing with me unless they use arguments that aren’t factual.” 

King

King is vice president of Pacific Biodiesel and was an elected Board of Education member from 1994 to 1998. She said she was a “reluctant candidate” in 2016 when she challenged incumbent Don Couch for the South Maui residency seat on the council.

In the general election, she received 23,641 votes to 22,589 for Couch.

The election resulted in a 5-to-4 split on the council, with ‘Ohana Coalition-backed members in the minority.

A January 2017 council organizational meeting went on for more than 13 hours before Mike White was selected as council chairman.

Asked if that was likely to occur again, King said, “I hope it’s not.”

Crouse

“I also don’t want to take ownership of what happened,” she said. “I think a lot of that happened because of the unhappiness of the public. We had five hours of public testimony. That’s 80-plus people that came out to have their three minutes. That’s not something that we can control. People have a right to come out and testify and if they’re not happy, they’ll come out en masse. That’s why it became contentious because the public was not happy.

“I think we can have the kind of council that works together with these different attitudes as long as people come with an open mind and haven’t made pre-agreed agreements.”

“I’ve had people ask me if I want to be council chair,” she said. “I said I’m thinking about it, but I would never come to the first meeting, even if I thought I had support as chair, with a slate of committees.”

Both King and Crouse said providing affordable housing is a priority.

King, who is chairwoman of the council Planning Committee, said she was working with Ka Hale A Ke Ola Homeless Resource Centers on plans for $1.5 million that developers put into a workforce housing development fund to address homelessness in South Maui.

“That money was sitting there for almost eight years,” she said. “No one was actively pursuing these opportunities.”

She said one proposal is for a mobile hygiene unit to provide showers and bathrooms for homeless people.

“We need to be able to build that trust so we can assess reasons for homelessness — who has mental health issues, who has drug issues, who are people out of a job and need counseling,” she said.

King said she supports the Kaiwahine Village affordable housing project of 120 two- and three-bedroom rentals for families earning 30 percent to 60 percent of median income.

Another developer’s proposal would place nine or 10 tiny homes on 1 acre, she said.

“I have been able to work with a couple of developers who really have their heart and soul in affordable housing,” King said.

“I feel like we’re on a good track, bringing people together, enabling people in the community to help solve the problems and not telling people what to do,” King said. “That’s what I think this position should be — helping the community to feel empowered to solve their own problems.”

Crouse said affordable housing is her “passion.”

She proposes identifying county or state land near infrastructure and offering developers an incentive to build affordable housing.

If elected, she said she would “work collaboratively with my fellow council members and work with the community, developers.”

“It is only all of us together that will make it happen,” she said.

Crouse said she knows from her own experience the struggles of residents trying to find homes. “I know what it’s like,” she said.

She was born in Iao Valley and raised in Paukukalo on a pig and cow farm.

After her husband died, Crouse said she returned home in 1987 and was living with her mother when a county housing specialist helped her through the process so she could buy a home through a county affordable housing program. “It was a county lottery,” said Crouse, who bought her house in Kihei in 1991.

“I look at it as a gift from God. Through the grace of God, I am here today. I know the fear. I know how it is to be scared when you have lost everything.

“And now it’s my turn.”

In her business, Crouse said she works only with first-time homebuyers and local families looking for homes.

“I sit daily listening to these young men and women struggling with not being able to purchase a home,” she said. “We sit and design a plan for them.

“I don’t make the money that other Realtors do, but I get paid in other ways.”

Both she and King said they support a proposed county charter amendment that would increase the penalty for operating an illegal vacation rental from the current $1,000 to a civil fine of up to $20,000, plus $10,000 per day for each day the illegal operation persists.

King compared the potential penalty to the implementation of fines for approaching endangered humpback whales decades ago. “Sometimes it takes a big stick, but you only have to wield it once or twice,” King said. “It’s sort of like parking a cop car at an intersection where people are speeding.”

Crouse said she hoped visitors renting the illegal accommodations also would check more closely before booking stays.

“It would assist in turning short-term rentals into long-term rentals for our families,” she said.

King said her backing by the ‘Ohana Coalition, which has circulated flyers asking for votes for all nine council candidates it supports, is “no different than any other endorsement.”

“You do an interview, and they pick who they want,” she said. “I accept all endorsements.”

She said, “I think we need more focus on transparency” on the council.

“I was actually appalled when I proposed $50,000 to redesign the Council Chambers so council members face the public,” King said. “I couldn’t get enough support on the council. It was the whole division of five against four. I wish someone would ask those five why they’re against facing the public.”

According to minutes of the Budget and Finance Committee meeting when King made the proposal April 27, Council Chairman Mike White said that four to six years ago, the estimate to make those changes was $400,000. He said the current cost probably would be $500,000 to $600,000.

Committee Chairman Riki Hokama said $100,000 already had been set aside for Council Chambers improvements, which could include considering reconfiguration.

Some have criticized King for her role in having Mayor Alan Arakawa’s proposed 0.230-cent tax on biodiesel fuel removed, given her connection to Pacific Biodiesel, which she and her husband founded.

King said she recused herself from voting on a motion to eliminate the tax on biodiesel fuel. “I recused myself, and I told the chair I wouldn’t vote,” she said. “I didn’t vote when it went to the full council.”

According to minutes of the Budget and Finance Committee meeting on April 27, King asked that the committee review the proposed biodiesel fuel tax, saying, “I think we need to move biodiesel back to zero, so we can follow our state’s goal of working towards 100 percent renewable.”

While the county projected revenue of $88,000 from the tax, King said that, “in fact, it would be zero dollars from biodiesel. That probably would change most of it back to fossil fuel because this would cause Pacific Biodiesel to close their pump down.”

She said adding 0.5 cent to gas and diesel oil taxes would generate $367,000.

When committee Chairman Hokama said King could participate in the discussion but couldn’t vote, make motions or second motions about the biodiesel fuel tax, she asked Hokama to “explain your ruling about the conflict.”

Hokama said King needed to disclose her potential conflict.

“I guess everybody knows that I work for Pacific Biodiesel . . .” she said, according to the minutes.

She questioned how it was different from White voting on the hotel tax for the Maui Visitors Bureau.

White, who is general manager of Ka’anapali Beach Hotel, said he isn’t an owner or board member of MVB or the hotel company. Addressing the difference between his situation and King’s, he said “my compensation at the hotel does not change at all based on any change in our occupancy or revenues.”

Council Member Alika Atay made a motion to keep the biodiesel tax rate at zero, and it was approved by eight council members, with King abstaining, the minutes show.

King voted yes along with the other eight council members on a resolution adopting county fuel tax rates, including the zero rate for biodiesel, according to council records.

* Lila Fujimoto can be reached at lfujimoto@mauinews.com.

_______________

Zandra Amaral Crouse

Age: 66

Birthplace: Maui

Residence: Kihei

Occupation: Real estate broker

Political experience: President and vice president of Democratic Party South Maui District

Education: Attended Baldwin High School; St. Anthony High School graduate; University of Hawaii graduate

Community service: Chorister and choir member, Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2000-present; supporter of Little League, football and other sport teams, 1999-2018

Family: Married, two children, eight grandchildren, four great-grandchildren

_______________

Kelly Takaya King

Age: 58

Birthplace: Gardena, Calif.

Residence: Kihei

Occupation: Pacific Biodiesel, vice president, communications; Maui County Council member

Political experience: Elected as a member of the state Board of Education

Education: Graduated from high school with top honors; college coursework at Santa Barbara City College (journalism, graphic design) and Maui Community College (now University of Hawaii Maui College)

Community service: Sustainable Biodiesel Alliance, founder/board president, 2007-17; Share Your Mana, founding board member, 2017- present; High Tech Development Corp. board of directors, 2014-18; UH-MC Sustainable Sciences Management Program Advisory Committee, 2013-17; Maui Farmers Union board of directors, 2012-14

Family: Married, two children

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