Peter Wu responds to meeting

Hi Susan,Thanks again for being initiating the meeting to discuss whether or not to split the County. While I feel that is a good idea, I do not doubt that those on the East Side would use whatever trick, dirty or not, to prevent that from happening becaus they realize, it would cut off 73% of their operating funds if the County were split. I also feel that the estimate of 5 years is extremely optimistic given how long it has taken to implement the Alii Drive passthru. Something like over 20 years on the drawing boards
Something like a media event, say a re-enactment of the Boston Tea Party to make the point that we are being taxed without representation (especially if we could get national coverage) would be more effective than years of effort to split the County. This might embarrass the council members in Hilo and pressure them into spending more on the West Side. Short of that, incorporating Kailua-Kona would be easier than splitting the County.
The most important observations and suggestions made were by Pete Hoffman and Jeff Turner. Pete mentioned that he was elected with 2/3rds of the vote in his district and that only something like 39% of the voters turned out. That meant about 15% of the eligible voters got him into office. That means an organized group, that could get out 15% of the voters on one issue or to back a single candidate would be a force to be reckoned with. And, as Jeff Turner pointed out, it comes down to getting organized, supporting the candidates that are sympathetic to our needs, giving them money and getting them voted into office. Of course, we are up against well-funded campaigns from those who are paid for by developers but that is NOT insurmountable, given the small turnout in local elections. We can make a difference if we are organized and support a common agenda.
Unlike what one gentleman said, who used to be a mayor and said that we can never please everyone, I feel that we can find a few common causes and rally around them. The two main themes that need immediate attention are the lack of roads and lack of spending on infrastructure on the West Side. We can all agree on that and push for a budget that spends at least 50% of the County budget on roads and infrastructure in West Hawaii.
Looking forward to the next meeting and identifying the candidates that support our needs. Hell, we could probably generate our own candidate from the people in attendance and come up with our own organization or politcal party. Something with a catchy acronym like West Hawai Action Committee (WHAC) or Kona Renters and Voters (KRAV).
A hui ho, Peter Wu