And as you know, theres a rule in place, it gives those cops some anonymity when it comes to disclosing what they did wrong. I read through it, but to be honest, I cant memorize it line by line. [2][7][8][9][10] Until 2019 he was the campaign treasurer for U.S. In the long run, when we fully build out transit-oriented development at every rail station, it will result in millions and millions of dollars in real property tax revenue for the city, so we cant wait any longer, and we need to do what we can. What would you look at cutting, what city services? They tout the wrong kind of experience. Who planned it badly? At least two of your competitors say that they dont need training wheels to be mayor. While they taught me how to be generous, compassionate and loving, they also showed me the value of hard work and that I could do things on my own.. We cant afford to pay back over $800,000,000 in federal subsidies that weve already received for the rail project, and we also need to ensure that rail is completed, so that we can proceed with transit oriented development. And put all hands on deck. Well, to the point we discussed earlier, giving more teeth to the police commission may help, and that in turn will give more confidence in the public. Tourism is one of our economic life-bloods, and we need to do what we can to work with these hotels to address the rising sea levels. We just lost Loretta Sheehan, we just lost Steve Levinson, highly critical about the commission not really having oversight over (the Honolulu Police Department). So that, number one, will create more efficiency. I dont wanna say somethings gonna be cut until we know the true situation in terms of the citys finances a year from now. The mailer also claims Amemiya illegally purchased an apartment meant for low-income buyers at the 801 South Street condominiums. The ethics commission should have more enforcement powers. Not me. This pandemic has been horrible for many, many reasons, but if theres any by-product of it, its proven we can communicate pretty effectively without being face-to-face. Their first date was dinner at a nondescript sports bar in Honolulu. Can I ask, you talk about this failure of government. from the William S. Richardson School of Law. How do you answer those two questions? Telephone: 808-529-4747, Big Island mayor remembers Hilo couple fatally stabbed, Ron Menor, longtime Hawaii politician, dies at 67, Girl, 17, critically injured in vehicle crash in Hawaii Kai, Passengers video captures last moments before Nepal crash, Police search for suspects after visitor robbed in Kaneohe, Ascending Spyros Chakas named National Player of the Week, Hawaiian Home Lands seeks extension to spending deadline, Community contest announced to resolve name beef, Jan. 13, 2018: Hawaii officials send out false alert about incoming missile. First up, we need to tackle our affordable housing crisis. You got two plum endorsements recently: HGEA, the white collar public workers union, and UPW, the blue collar public workers unions. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I saw firsthand the food insecurity that was caused when the schools shut down, and many families went without meals. As one of Amemiyas first actions as Executive Director, CPB Foundation awarded The Salvation Army's Hawaiian & Pacific Islands Division a $100,000 grant to support their Addiction Treatment Services (ATS) program located in Nuuanu. he is one of famous business executive and politician with the age 55 years old group. You say that you want to restore trust in government. I am sure that you heard from those developers though, that, Yes, we were reaching out to neighborhood boards, we were following the process, we were communicating with communities. But all of a sudden the conflict rises. Right now, my favorite song is Mama Mia, cause. Like it or not, Im forewarning you, we have a campaign song that is sung to that tune. MARK GALACGAC PHOTO. Again, you need to enforce the vacation rental laws. After graduating from Punahou in 1983, Amemiya studied finance and law at the University of Hawaii at Mnoa, where he earned his degrees. I think hes very gifted in that way. Make state lands available for low or no cost for affordable housing to be developed, where appropriate and where sufficient infrastructure exists. Check us out any time for great content and great community. Everywhere I go, people say that we need change. The real property tax assessments in the upcoming year, we cant assume or shouldnt assume that theyre gonna go down significantly. You know for some reason, I thought I might be asked that today, and I have the answer. However, the Thirty Meter Telescope has seemingly become the tipping point for Native Hawaiian issues and concerns that have been ignored for far too long, and an example of how difficult it is to come back to the table once trust has been broken. Thats my intent. Access to food, housing costs, small business needs, unemployment benefits, and clear communication to the public are my top priorities when dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. And unless you provide specifics, I dont remember any major controversies at the time involving the police chief or the police department. Keith, nobody puts no experience on their resume. During his 12 years with HHSAA, for example, he successfully persuaded many risk-averse principals and athletic directors to launch a second state championship division for the so-called smaller schools. It was a move that not only brought in more money for the state, but also increased the level of excitement for prep sports exponentially. Amemiya is a member of a number of boards, including the Aloha Stadium Authority, Marcus Mariotas Motiv8 Foundation, and Assets School. Theres no road map or playbook as to how to deal with this, so Im open to any and all ideas, and I dont wanna be so steadfast to say that we absolutely wont work with the hotels. But if not, were gonna have to look at making changes, whether its alterations to the rail station or the like. There are far more resources available to the homeless in the Iwilei area, which is fairly close by, and we need to do what we can to divert them to that area. Therefore, following graduation from Punahou School, he would be expected to fend for himself. Sure, there were issues, there always are, but none to the magnitude that occurred during Chief Kealohas tenure. We wanted to get to climate change and its impact on infrastructure, Chad, did you wanna start off with that? Again, when it comes to experience, theres different types of experience, and they have the wrong kind of experience. There are hardly any services in Chinatown. Additionally, Amemiya was the one who, despite early opposition from school administrators, fought to expand the number of girls sports programs, and won. We have heard in the middle of this pandemic from behavioral health specialists that they are deeply concerned that depression will get worse, domestic violence, all of these other issues will get worse because of the pandemic. I also think we need to enforce and make a stronger ethics commission. Would you continue that practice. If he fails to receive an outright majority of votes but still finishes among the top two candidates in the primary election, hell then have one more opportunity to sell the public on his message of change before the Nov. 3 general election runoff. But on the other hand, I also think of a mom and her child on a stroller walking along a sidewalk and being afraid or having to navigate around a homeless person. Keith, but some of the complaints that have come out of that, I think of Campbell High School in particular, where there may be a sports team for the girls, but they may not have locker rooms like the boys do that would be very fundamentally unfair. Utilizing creative tax credits to incentivize companies to relocate to Hawaii, we can generate much needed revenue. Keith Amemiya, thank you so much for your time. Why cant we have online submittal, or registering for testimony? Well, by all accounts, they rushed it. Theres only a few hundred shelter beds available at any one time, so in the meantime, when there is this immediate situation, would you continue enforcement? Its a comprehensive plan that seeks to aggressively reduce the housing vacancy or housing inventory shortage that we have right now. Whoever was involved in the beginning of the project before construction. We need to contemplate innovative revenue generation opportunities, including potential green taxes, to create more funding. Copyright 2021, Central Pacific Bank. A huge shot in the arm for your campaign, but also it seems to it also comes with strings attached. We still own the unit, were renting it out to a local family who cant afford to buy a unit of their own in town, but wanted to live in town and are renting from us. Do you support that, given what you just said about the hotel industry, and what mechanisms do you think there is there within the power of a mayor to actually control the flow, the number and the type of tourists? Keith Amemiya is 56 years old today because Keith's birthday is on 09/01/1965. Why cant we testify via Skype, like I said, or Facetime? I suspect that if Im elected mayor, our lives are all going to change, he says. I got to meet a lot of working-class people, and I got to learn about their issues and their challenges first-hand. We also need to dedicate a team to pursue ongoing federal funding, as we know that we are leaving billions of dollars on the table every year. Colin Moore, Hawaii News Now Political Analyst: But speaking of cutting, whoever wins this election is going to take charge of the city at a time of financial crisis. Well, Plan A is what I hope happens, that we have a viable option that works out for the city. Well, we need to get out of our cars and car pool. I go back to just the federal subsidy, we received a loan thats $800,000,000. The prices of housing, gas, food, and other essentials are skyrocketing. When I served on the commission, Chief Kealoha wasnt the chief and I wasnt involved in the selection of Chief Kealoha. We bought a unit in the open market, we bought it for our son, we paid market rate in the hopes, hes in college now, we bought it in the hopes that when hes done with college, he comes back home and has a place to stay. There were no sparks during their initial encounter, in which they initially found themselves working on opposite sides of a lawsuit. The Jazz said Hundley died at his home in the Phoenix area. His leadership is proving invaluable to hit the ground running, forging a bright path forward beyond the current pandemic and continuing our mission of supporting Hawaii communities.. Im not just gonna work with Democrats because Im a Democrat, but I do believe and stand by Democratic ideals. What was your connection to that project? You need to be proactive and you need to get out there constantly. In 2018, the ACLU had to sue the state of Hawaii to get equal treatment for women, for girl athletes. The next mayor needs to work with the state, the City Council, the legislature, the federal government to attack climate change. We need to sharpen our pencil. Obviously, I cant speak for the current administration, and what theyre gonna do from now to the end of the year, but we need to have a balance, like in all things in life, and if the hotels need a tax break, and the city can make it work on their end, and we should look at it. They married in 1996 and have a son. Im also in favor of looking at maybe real property tax deferral, where they dont have to pay it now, but they can pay it later. Whats your Plan B for the rail system? Its not good to have a homeless person living on the sidewalk, but the solution to that is more affordable housing, more mental health treatment, more drug abuse treatment. HONOLULU, Hawaii (HawaiiNewsNow) - Keith Amemiya knows a lack of political experience could be his biggest weakness. Right, well, I have a lot of broad-based experience, especially for the job of mayor. What would a future generation of Hawaii say about you in three words? We need them to succeed. We talk with Keith about the reasons why he's running for lieutenan. We need to allow to submit testimony on line, whether it be a Skype or FaceTime or Zoom. Keith Amemiya has a new round of television commercials out this month for his Honolulu mayoral campaign and, in addition to being effective, they each close by declaring on screen that the. What did that experience teach you about mental illness that other people could learn from, and how will it affect your ability to deal with the terrible mental illness problems we have in this city? Corruption scandals at the Capitol have shaken our trust in Hawaiis elected officials. One of the more difficult parts was during my high school years. Yeah, maybe because of COVID and less revenue and so forth, but they havent even found that (public-private partnership), that P3 person to take on or company to take on those last couple of miles to Ala Moana, as well as the 30-year operating. We met, we first met when I was running high school sports, and weve kept in contact since. Well, first, they were breaking the law, and thats not right. Well, its clear that the higher the wage for hotel workers and the like, the better their quality of life. We need to provide more services. Ban fundraising during the legislative session Everyone on Oahu thinks they need their own car, and that everyone else should ride the bus or walk, and we need to all do our part. In the primary, former U.S. representative for Hawaii's 1st congressional district Colleen Hanabusa, former state senator John Carroll, and former mayor of Honolulu Mufi Hannemann were eliminated along with many other candidates. Theres no perfect police department, theres no perfect organization, so anything we can do to further instill trust in the public, is something that Im in favor of. Reviews. So I dont think we need to cut any other departments while were improving the quality of service at DPP. The state needs to also improve the quality of womens wellness and LGBTQIA+ healthcare services on the neighbor islands. The green passport, I believe Ive heard that term used. I mean, why not? Thats the way we can get out of this. Well, we need to look at overhauling through the department. That I care about the community, Thats four. Hillary Clinton got the other two-thirds, but you basically told one-third of the voters out there, Republican who did not vote Democrat, you know, These are the guys Im going with, cause by the way, David Ige and Scott Saiki and Ron Kouchi, and all of the members of the delegation in Congress, are Democrats too. [20][21], American business executive and politician, 2022 Hawaii lieutenant gubernatorial election, "New TV Spots Promote Keith Amemiya's Democratic Roots", "Keith Amemiya: Political Outsider Or Establishment Insider? Ill answer the resistance to change part first. Now, of course, we have to balance it with the needs and the capability of the employer, and especially with COVID hitting us, we need to look at whats fair. Given that youre a first time candidate, have you read through it and familiarized yourself with city finances? We need new leadership. Eliminating taxes on food, medicine, diapers, and other essential products. So the rail project right now, its a major step. But thats part of the deal and Im OK with it.. Essentially, they told him that although they had welcomed him into their home and raised him since his early teenage years, he the childhood buddy of their son Christopher and someone whom Bert had frequently coached in youth sports leagues needed to learn to stand on his own. So I dont wanna speculate. You need to get input, and when you get input early on from everybody, you hear the different viewpoints, you modify the proposal. Its doable, but let me add that another area where we can greatly increase housing inventory is through public-private partnerships. What we need now, more than ever, is not another career politician or lobbyist, but a true leader, who knows how to bring people together to get things done. Remember, one-third of the people in this state actually voted for President Trump. Well, theres no good place for homeless people to stay, but Chinatown is not one of the places we should focus on. I dont like it, when people say that things cant be done. So to be clear, I wasn't there in 2018, and I don't think any of you are suggesting I was, so during my tenure, there were a lot of improvements to female athlete facilities. We would like to show you a description here but the site won't allow us. Good fruit always comes from good trees. Its worked in other cities, and I can;t see why it wont work in urban Honolulu. Father and Mother in Heaven, and is the "elder brother" of all men and spirit beings. While critics like to point out his lack of political experience, Amemiya takes pride in his outsider status, viewing it as an argument against the status quo. Now, in terms of the project, you are talking about, transit-oriented development is one area where we can utilize to build more housing. Yes, its a non-partisan race, but almost everybody I come across asks me what party I belong to. I support resuming tourism, but not at the 10 million visitors a year amount. When they say he brings people together, its true.. The stories found here discuss the Financial issues and challenges unique to our island home. So my wife and I built, bought a unit in 801 South Street, and to be clear, there was a certain percentage of units made available through the open public or general public. Chief Ballard said that HPD cant be compared to police departments on the mainland, that she doesnt believe theres a systemic problem particularly involving racism, perhaps violence and misconduct. We do a lot of chores and we do a lot of takeout, notes Bonny, adding that the couple often passes its weekends watching documentaries and, prior to COVID-19, attending numerous sporting events together. But theres three other areas that I think should be, or know should be, reviewed as part of police reform, if you will. They had a lot of engagement in the community that said, We dont want it. And the developer said, Well, too bad. Amemiya donated thousands to Mayor Kirk Caldwell's political campaigns. Lack of collaboration, partisan divide, pettiness, you name it. I know theres a federal investigation ongoing, and lets see where it takes us. Whoever was involved in the project before the construction started. That may change by the time this interview airs, but I think people are crying out for restoring trust, for seeing in the George Floyd marches across the country. Does that influence you that, Oh, Ive gotta make sure UPW and HGEA are happy?'