Name on ballot:

Ikaika Rodenhurst

Running for:

Hawaii county council – District 5

Political party:

No answer submitted

Campaign website:

ikaikarodenhurst.com

Current occupation:

Civil Engineer

Age:

36

Previous job history:

Civil Engineer, 2022-Present
Director of Public Works, County of Hawaii, 2020-2022
Civil Engineer, 2011-2020

Previous elected office, if any:

N/A

Please describe your qualifications to represent the voters of your county.

I am a father of three. My wife and I are raising our children in Puna.
I am a coach, coaching high school football since 2019 and have been a health coach for the past two years.
I am a civil engineer. I graduated from Kamehameha Kapalama, played college football and studied engineering at Oregon State University, and played football and earned my bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. I have worked as a consultant for county and state infrastructure projects for over 12 years.
I am a leader. I previously served as the Director of Public Works for the County of Hawaii and have taken on active roles in various community and professional organizations, including the Royal Order of Kamehameha I, the Hawaii Society of Professional Engineers, and Sure Foundation Puna.

What is the most pressing issue facing the voters you seek to represent, and how would you address the problem?

The most pressing issue facing the Puna community is the high cost of living. This impacts our ability to put a roof over our heads, put food on the table, and provide a future for our keiki. I will address this by building community resiliency, enhancing public safety, and improving infrastructure. Reducing our housing costs starts by reducing bureaucracy in the permitting process. In the May 2024 UHERO report, it indicated that 58% of new housing costs in Hawaii are driven by regulation. Changes to our county permitting laws can directly reduce the cost of building. Education for our keiki and community in agriculture will reduce food costs. By connecting our farmers with grants and programs we can expand their capacity to provide. Promoting and providing opportunities for our local farmers to mentor keiki will increase food sustainability in Puna. Finally, we need to address the transportation needs of Puna. As the bedroom community of Hawaii island, many people live in Puna and work throughout the rest of Hawaii County. We need to hold our government accountable to push alternate access, both mauka and makai, to Puna. We also need to work together to improve the roads of our subdivisions, which impact our ability to access basic needs and services.

Do you support or oppose the development of the Thirty Meter Telescope? Please explain.

TMT needs to mend bridges and earn the trust of the community before moving forward with development. I do support astronomy and its continued presence on Mauna Kea. We can and need to find a way forward that honors our Hawaiian culture and benefits our people. The scientific discoveries have a multitude of benefits, including health, medicine, transportation, energy and environment, information technology, and industrial productivity. The astronomy industry also has multiple fields of job opportunities, ranging from scientific and technical positions to maintenance, education, and more.

What are the best ways for county government to alleviate homelessness on the island and to increase the availability of affordable housing?

Three steps to address homelessness are common to other issues. Reducing building and permitting costs by reducing bureaucracy will help make it more affordable to house our people. Providing food hubs will help reduce food costs for our local families. Third, improving infrastructure by making our mass transit hub and spoke system a reality will provide an ease of access to transportation and get our people to where they need to go (school, medical services, work, etc.). Finally, increasing district access to medical services, both physical and mental, will help our people in dire need.

What can the county do to help island residents cope with the overall high cost of living in Hawaii?

As previously mentioned, this is one of the biggest issues we are facing in the community. We need to take action to reduce the cost of living by reducing housing costs, increasing our food sustainability, and improving our transportation infrastructure. The county can achieve this by reducing bureaucracy in the building permitting process, providing agricultural education, mentorship, and grants, providing alternative access to Puna both mauka and makai, and improving our Puna roads. We need to help our families afford to put a roof over our heads, put food on the table, and get our people, goods, and services where they need to be.

How prepared is the county to deal with a major natural disaster and what would you do to improve preparedness and responsiveness?

Our county needs to improve preparedness and responsiveness for major natural disasters, including lava, hurricanes, and flooding. The CERT program is a great way to educate and prepare our community and needs our continued support and involvement. The greatest need for preparedness is improving and connecting our Puna roads so that our first responders can get to where they need to be when they need to be there.. This has been a topic of discussion for years and we need to take action now before it’s too late.

What measures, if any, should county government take to regulate short-term vacation rentals?

Regulation of the unhosted short term vacation rentals and rental services is long overdue. We need to work with experts and our communities to make a path forward that prevents unhosted short term vacation rentals, while not penalizing local families supplementing their income to afford to live here. We need to free up long term housing for our local families without kicking out other local families struggling to get by.

What more needs to be done to reduce crime on Hawaii island?

A lot can be done to reduce crime. Reducing the cost of living, reducing the cost of housing, and increasing food availability will help our community thrive. Providing youth mentorship and coaching in sports, agriculture, arts, and culture will help our community to succeed. Improving our transportation infrastructure will provide easier access to education, jobs, and services. Educating our community to be proactive and work together with law enforcement through programs and community groups such as neighborhood watch will provide much needed support to law enforcement.

What will be your top priority if elected?

My top priority is to reduce the cost of housing by reducing the bureaucracy in the building permitting code.

Is there anything more that you would like voters to know about you?

Puna needs hope, it needs change. Puna needs leadership that will fight for our community’s needs and our keiki’s future. I am willing to work with anyone and everyone to get the job done. Any council member, mayor, state or federal representative or agency, any community member. We all need to move forward together as a community. When paddling in a canoe, everyone inside needs to put aside their differences and paddle as one to achieve a common goal. He wa’a he moku, he moku he wa’a. The canoe is an island, the island is a canoe. Let’s move forward. Imua!