EDITOR’S NOTE: The Maui News will be featuring the profiles and platforms of candidates in the lead-up to the Nov. 3 general election. Today’s story focuses on the race for the state Senate 5th District seat. Final stories on other races will be published in the coming days with a special general election issue in today’s issue.

Republican and Aloha ‘Aina Party candidates are seeking to unseat Democratic incumbent Gil Keith-Agaran for the state Senate District 5 seat, which includes Wailuku, Waihee and Kahului.

All three candidates ran unopposed in the primary with Keith-Agaran receiving 8,749 Democratic votes or nearly 75 percent; Christy Kajiwara-Gusman, 1,207 of Republican votes or nearly 51 percent; and Rynette Ipo Keen, 217 of Aloha ‘Aina votes or nearly 69 percent.

Keith-Agaran, a Wailuku attorney, has held the seat since 2013.

Keen was unable to participate in an interview for this piece prior to publication deadline.

Gil Keith-Agaran

So what’s in a name?

Gil Keith-Agaran was adopted and raised by his grandparents when he was 2 or 3 years old, because his maternal grandfather wanted someone to carry on the Agaran name. His mother was an only child and had married.

He spent two years on Oahu with his grandparents and moved back to Maui when he completed kindergarten. Keith-Agaran and his grandparents lived in Paia for most of his youth, and eventually they all went to live with his parents in Kahului, when Keith-Agaran entered Maui High School.

Since Keith-Agaran’s mother did not have another son, he added his father’s last name, Coloma, to his own. Coloma is included in his name on his college diploma.

The “Keith” in Keith-Agaran, is from his wife, Kallie, whose maiden name is Keith.

Keith-Agaran, 58, has lived across the country and state. He attended Yale College in Connecticut and the University of California, Berkeley. He also worked on Oahu.

“I decided a long time ago, this is where I want to live,” he said. “My roots are all here. Being away actually has shaped a lot of my thinking.

“I think, after a while, you realize there is certain things you value more. I think I value my family and a place where there is not so much a goal of all the commercialization. Honolulu in a lot of ways was like any other city all over the country.”

As to what affects his decision-making and leadership style, Keith-Agaran said: “It’s really based on the values that you have.”

“I grew up in a time Maui was still small enough you kind of knew your neighbors and your neighbors knew you,” he said. “Your neighbors sometimes did the disciplining, if your parents were working.”

When he turned 15, Keith-Agaran’s first job was at the old Dairy Queen along Lono Avenue. He then worked at the Maui Pineapple Co. cannery in Kahului.

All those experiences helped shape Keith-Agaran as he seeks reelection to the state Senate.

As to why voters should send him back, he said: “Right now, I’m in pretty good position to help in a lot of ways as the vice chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. I think (my) colleagues respect me and like me, they have given me a lot of responsibility.”

The Senate Ways and Means Committee is considered the Senate’s most powerful panel, through which all major bills pass. He has also served as chairman of the judiciary committees in both the House and Senate, which he calls one of the “top three committees.”

More than 200 bills that he has sponsored or co-sponsored have been passed, he said. And he has worked with key Maui County lawmakers to bring in $1.8 billion in capital improvement funds to Central Maui. He has garnered funds for public schools, University of Hawaii Maui College and Maui County airports and harbors.

As for getting Hawaii’s economy back on its feet, Keith-Agaran said the state government is not the driver of the economy, “but what we can do is make sure that we are providing the services that people need that are out of work, maintaining the social safety net is important.”

The place where the legislators can have direct influence is approving public works projects, such as maintaining buildings and constructing new schools.

Keith-Agaran said moves were being made, prior to the onset of the pandemic, to be more self-sufficient in Maui County. He hopes support for those programs can continue.

This includes having Maui Health System hiring nursing graduates right out of the UH system, the possibility of having local medical students getting their training at Maui Memorial Medical Center, along with developing technology for the use of alternative energy, such as wind, solar and geothermal.

If residents want to be agriculturally self-sufficient, there are things that should be ensured, he said.

“You can’t farm with just land, you are going to need water. You got to make sure there is a way to market and allow those farms to make some money,” he said.

On Hawaii island, he said the state put in funding to help the breadfruit cooperative find a place where they could develop value added products.

He pointed to Mahi Pono’s land and said there is a need to ensure there is a market for their products.

“We have to make sure they have a market for what they are growing, otherwise we are going to see the Central Plain developed as housing in all likelihood, or something else.”

As for the top issue for his district, the state senator said the cost of living is a large issue, especially for housing.

While government entities have subsidized affordable rentals, not much has been done in direct subsidies for homes for sale, he said. He is supporting a move by the Legislature that put in $50 million for the counties outside of Honolulu to assist with infrastructure costs for housing. This could help keep costs down for developers creating affordable housing as well as market priced homes sold to recoup the affordable housing costs.

Maui County legislators are in consultations with Maui County Mayor Michael Victorino and some council members, he said. Lawmakers hope the infrastructure, such as water and wastewater systems, could be built in an area where a public school and a housing project could be developed.

Christy Kajiwara-Gusman

Christy Kajiwara-Gusman was born and raised on Kauai but has old roots on Maui.

Her grandfather is originally from Paia but moved to Kauai to work at Amfac Kekaha Sugar. Her father also worked at the Kauai plantation.

This was Kajiwara-Gusman’s segue into the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, which represented the sugar workers. She assisted with ILWU conventions and other activities, as well as community activities like senior baseball league events her family was participating in. 

“My whole life kind of revolved around community service kine stuff,” the 44-year-old said.

On Kauai she worked at her uncle’s Makaweli Poi company, learning farming.

And after meeting her husband, Kyle “Kimo” Gusman of Maui, she moved to the Valley Isle in 2003.

She also found herself immersed in the community and politics.

The couple has a farm and a ranch and raises livestock and honeybees. She and her husband also founded the Hawaii Youth Livestock Association, a nonprofit aiming to teach children food sustainability.

After first arriving on Maui, she worked with the ILWU, which was assisting the late Maui County State Rep. Bob Nakasone’s campaign. She has since been active in 4-H programs; Maui County Council Boy Scouts of America and Maui Filipino Chamber of Commerce. 

No one was stepping up in various positions so she said she did. “It was like time to step up and do it,” she said.

She is stepping up to run again for the Senate District 5 seat, now as a Republican. She ran unsuccessfully in 2014 as a Democrat.

As to why she changed parties, she said at one point she got “ridiculed by party leaders” for her religious beliefs and support of the Constitution.

“I had noticed the party taking a swing far left from what I had grew up,” she said. 

She pulled papers to run for the District 5 Senate seat again and got push back from several elected and former elected officials, who asked her what she was doing. 

She also found a lot of “red tape” in permitting and easement requirements for a waste-to-energy project she was assisting on, with leaders not supporting the project in public while doing so in face-to-face meetings in private. The community and the environment were the “losers,” she said.

At that time, Kajiwara-Gusman said she was approached by people in the community to run for office.

“One of my dear friends and fellow farmer told me ‘we stay under the same leadership for our district 20 years, no can, time for change.’ ”

As for helping the economy back up from the pandemic, Kajiwara-Gusman will seek ways the state can make things easier for businesses, especially small businesses that have been hurt.

For example, the state was able to give people more time to renew their driver’s licenses and safety inspections. On the other hand, government agencies were not able to provide her and others an exemption from having to renew a certification to continue to conduct hazardous waste  removal.

She owns an environmental services company, which conducts cleanups, including mold and asbestos. The certification is done yearly on Oahu. Kajiwara-Gusman was required to fly to Oahu for the certification at her own expense and deal with possible quarantine due to COVID-19.

With her full-time job at Hale Makua as environmental services director where she is in charge of housekeeping and maintenance, she didn’t want to risk getting kupuna sick and couldn’t quarantine for 14 days.

So she had to forgo the certification for now. Although she completed some parts of the process, she will probably need to go through a whole new application process rather than a recertification because she let her certification lapse.

Instead of paying $75 for a renewal, she may have to pay $400 for the process to start up again.

But Kajiwara-Gusman said she is fortunate that she still had her full-time job and her husband continues to work at Hawaiian Electric on Maui.

She wondered what would happen if she and her husband were both out of work, like many others in the community, or if her business was the sole income generator. She said she is not alone and knows of other businesses that have had issues with enforcement of rules and regulations, which have impacted their business negatively. 

As for the top issue in her district, Kajiwara-Gusman said, “it would have to go back to putting people back to work” so they can afford rent and to pay bills.

As a parishioner at King’s Cathedral, she knows of several families at the church who are looking for a place to stay since they lost their jobs and cannot afford current rents.

Even though the state has placed a moratorium on evictions throughout the pandemic, she said landlords are already getting court documents ready for evictions.

“The state is not preparing for what is going to happen to these families and a lot of it are local families,” she said.

She added that more education needs to be done and even property owners can assist in letting renters know there is rental assistance available.

Kajiwara-Gusman also feels there is still a need for affordable rentals. “A lot of young families, are not ready to purchase a home,” she said. 

Costs could be brought down if some regulations are eased, she said. The government at times requires maximum regulations for safety or energy efficiency that don’t necessarily make sense in Hawaii. For example, insulation for a home is not necessary.

“Take out some of that expense, some of that cost,” she said.

* Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com.

_______________

Christy Kajiwara-Gusman

Age: 44

Residence: Waihee

Political Party: Republican

Current occupation: Director of Environmental Services, Hale Makua Health Systems

Volunteer/community organization experience: Founder of Hawaii Youth Livestock Association; Maui board member, Hawaii Hunting Farming Fishing Association; Maui board member, Hawaii Rifle Association; member, Maui Chapter-Hawaii III%; member, National Rifle Association; member, Central Maui Sport Shooters; former vice president, Maui County 4-H Livestock Association; former den leader, Maui County Boy Scouts of America Pack 87; former commissioner, Maui County Cultural Resources Commission; former board member, Waihee Community Association; Maui Masters of Business Association; NFIB National Federation of Independent Businesses; King’s Cathedral & Chapels Youth Ministries.

Military service: None

Political experience: Former Democratic Party positions: District chair (Wailuku), State Central Committee female representative, district secretary, precinct president, campaign committee member for House Rep. Bob Nakasone, campaign committee member for House Rep. Joe Souki, 2018 campaign co-chair for Hanabusa for Hawaii-Maui, campaign co-chair for Maui for Bernard Carvalho-Lt. Gov., campaign co-chair of executive committee for Michael Victorino, executive assistant to Mayor Michael Victorino. Hawaii Republican Party, March 2020-present.

Family: Married 14 years, four children

_______________

Rynette Ipo Keen

Age: 61

Residence: Honokoawai

Political Party: Aloha ‘Aina

Current occupation: Full-time

student UH-Manoa, Myron B. Thompson School of Social Work

Volunteer/community organization experience: Former president for Mount Dora Little League, Mt. Dora, Fla.; former secretary for Protestant Women of the Chapel, Mannheim, Germany; treasurer for Enlisted Members/Noncommissioned Officer Wives Club; former president, Mt. Dora High School Baseball; former member, Hui Haumana, UH-MC; former member, SOS Club, UH-MC; member, Kekahi Coalition; member, Share Your Mana; member, Maui Native Hawaiian Club; life member, Nu Sigma Hawaii Chapter of Phi Alpha Honor Society; member, Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society; member, National Association of Social Workers; member, NSAW-Hawaii Chapter; member, Oahu Oral Health Coalition; member/outreach, Maui Oral Health Coalition; founder, Malama Aloha in Action.

Military service: None

Political experience: None

Family: Single, three children, three grandchildren

_______________

Gil S. Coloma Keith-Agaran

Age: 58

Residence: Kahului

Political Party: Democratic

Current occupation: State senator; partner, Takitani Agaran Jorgensen & Wildman LLLP

Volunteer/community organization experience: Board member, Friends of Maui Waena Intermediate School, 2012-present; Hawaii State Board of Bar Examiners, 2007-present; Yale Club of Hawaii; Yale Alumni Fund; member, Good Shepherd Episcopal Church; hearing officer, Hawaii Office of Disciplinary Counsel; Hawaii State Bar Association; Yale Alumni Schools Committee; Maui County Bar Association; Hawaii Filipino Lawyers Association; National Asian Pacific Bar Association-Hawaii Chapter; State Bar of California (inactive); Kahului Filipino Community Association; United Sons and Daughters of the Ilocano Regions.

Former board member, Maui Food Bank; Maui High School Foundation, 2011-12; Maui Leadership Council, Hawaii Community Foundation; Maui Coastal Lands Trust board president, 2008, and Lands Committee chair, 2006-07; Maui High School Community Council, president, 2006-09; Maui Memorial Medical Center Foundation, 2008-09; Vestry of the Good Shepherd Episcopal Church, 2005-08; Community Clinic of Maui; Boalt Hall Alumni Association; A Keiki’s Dream, Fun Day Foundation secretary, 2006-07; Maui County Bar Association; Legal Aid Society of Hawaii; Maui Young Business Roundtable; Hawaii Justice Foundation; Hawaii Filipino Lawyers Association; National Asian Pacific Bar Association; National Asian Pacific Bar Association-Hawaii Chapter; Kiwanis Club of the Valley Isle; Hope Chapel Kapolei International Four Square Gospel Church; Maui County Democratic Party; Rainbow Coalition of Hawaii; Filipino Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii; Honolulu Japanese Junior Chamber of Commerce; Maui Japanese Junior Chamber of Commerce; contributor, Fil-Am Voice (on leave till after election); Episcopal Church Diocese of Hawaii-Bishop Search Committee, 2006.

Military service: None

Political experience: Elected to state Senate District 5, 2014-present; appointed to state Senate District 5, 2013; elected to state House District 9, 2010-12; appointed to House District 9, 2009; Democratic Party National Convention alternate delegate, 2008; appointed director of Maui County Department of Public Works and Environmental Management, 2002-05; appointed chairman of Hawaii Board of Land and Natural Resources, 2000-02; appointed director of Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, 2000; appointed deputy director of Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, 1999-2000; appointed first deputy director of Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, 1995-98.

Family: Married, one hanai daughter, one hanai grandchild