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Have you ever wondered why after over 60 years of popularly elected "strong" mayors in charge of Maui County government we find ourselves in the situation we are in today?
Is Maui's dependence on (over) tourism, lack of affordable housing and continuous development of hotel and resort properties, such as $10 million condos now under construction in Makena, just unfortunate and unavoidable?
Is Hawaiian culture simply a commodity to be monetized?
Could it be that our outmoded form of government designed in the plantation era has anything to do with the way things are and with the kinds of people who populate leadership positions in the executive branch?
Must we just accept the recent failure of Maui's Emergency Management Agency head and the county's blind eye to wildfire risk as a given, not to mention multiple other unacceptable outcomes leaving us wanting and even desperate?
Is it time to redesign local government to be more professional, efficient and responsive to the needs of residents as opposed to serving monied and mainland business interests which, based on what you see with your own two eyes, have been driving Maui's development for decades as one county administration after another comes and goes?
Can we expect that by electing the next mayor all our problems will go away, or is there something deeper here that needs change?
Mark Hyde
Wailea