Name on ballot:

Tamara Akiko Maile Paltin

Running for:

Maui county council – West Maui

Political party:

No answer submitted

Campaign website:

TamaraPaltin.com (under construction for a bit longer)

Current occupation:

Maui County Councilmember

Age:

46

Previous job history:

Maui County Department of Fire and Public Safety, Ocean Safety Lieutenant

Previous elected office, if any:

Maui County Councilmember

Please describe your qualifications to represent the people of Maui County.

My qualifications to represent the people of Maui County include two decades of experience as a First Responder and on the job experience navigating the role of Councilmember through the onset of COVID as well as through the August 8 Maui fires. My educational background includes a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics/Education, which has enabled me to better explain complex situations and having a background in Mathematics has been helpful through our annual budget processes.

What is your one best proposal to help the residents of Maui recover from the devastating Aug. 8 wildfires?

As a councilmember of the affected district, I feel most useful as a conduit of information for my community. Any information I receive from various agencies, the state or federal government I share through social media with my constituents and do my best to follow up on their questions. If there are trends of questions or issues, I communicate to the administration and help brainstorm how we could address the situation. In short constant communication of the most up to date information going both ways and then acting on it. For example when the temporary structure guidelines came out, many folks felt 180 days was too short a duration. On 7/19, I expect an ordinance I introduced, to allow temporary structures to be allowed for up to five years, to pass second and final reading.

How would you like to see Lahaina rebuilt and what can the County Council do to make that happen?

I would like to see Lahaina rebuilt safer and more resilient, with respect to our cultural heritage and history. The Lahaina I envision is a livable, walkable, workable oceanside town that retains the character of the community. The county council needs to listen to all sides of the issues, from the residents, lineal descendants, administration, various agencies, government entities and take a balanced approach that emphasizes safety, resilience, culture and environment. We are considering a number of ordinances right now from the administration like Bill 105, we need to ensure that people are aware of what is being proposed and get input from all sides.

Do you support or oppose a ban on short-term vacation rentals on Maui? Please explain.

I support short term vacation rentals in resort areas, and I support the phasing out of vacation rentals in areas that families have traditionally lived. Like all things there needs to be a better balance between housing for people and options for visitors. Short term rentals in Maui County apartment districts (A1/A2) are being proposed to be phased out as a non-conforming use. I would support doing this in the most legal way by giving an adequate time frame and treating all units the same in the phase out, then if it makes sense for a property in a resort area to continue to do short term rental I would propose a change in zoning and community plan amendment property by property, including those properties in the sea level rise exposure area if there is a plan for managed retreat which could be triggered as the sea level rises and becomes more destructive along the shoreline.

What can the county government do to help protect Maui, Lanai and Molokai from future wildfires?

I think we need to start with education about best practices for defensible spaces around homes, continue with education about what are and what are not violations of the fire code and if things are missing as a violation of the fire code, we need to add it. To that end we have added much more staff this fiscal year budget for fire prevention and we are working with Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization to update plans. We need to build out our R1 recycled wastewater lines to be able to provide green buffers and stay on top of the maintenance of firebreaks close to housing. We need to insist on more than one way in and one way out for future developments and work towards the undergrounding of power lines.

How prepared is Maui County to deal with the next major natural disaster and what would you do to improve preparedness and responsiveness?

Maui County as a whole is getting better at emergency preparedness, responsiveness and working together with the private and public entities but there is still more to do. We need plans and back up plans for the multitude of disasters that could occur (hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunami, fire, etc), evacuation routes and back up evacuation routes, more shelters and community driven, government supported resilience hubs. Prior to COVID my office had been planning a camp NO disaster event like a dry run if there had been a major hurricane and we had to camp out without electricity and cook from our food reserves but we had to move it online because of COVID and we did not get the real effect; but then in the aftermath of the fire my neighborhood really came together to set up a hub to serve the community and its still going. I think we need to share those experiences how folks came together and pitched in to be an inspiration in times of disaster and think on how we can do it better next time.

What idea would you propose to improve traffic congestion on the island of Maui?

Traffic congestion in various areas of Maui County are really site specific, for traffic coming in and out of Lahaina right now we only have Keawe street and there is major construction going on next to that major roadway, but it is temporary with the announcement of the opening of Lahainaluna Road and Highway 30 (Honoapiilani Hwy) in August, that could alleviate some of the traffic and when Front St opens that will be another route. In other areas, adjustment of the traffic lights to synchronize red/green so cars don’t back up could help. We are also trying to increase ridership on public transportation with more fare free options. In some areas road extensions and alternate routes are needed, however, funding/permitting are the biggest issues in that solution.

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

The county should do all it can, starting with preventing homelessness from occurring, through rent subsidies, pursuing rent stabilization and building more housing of every type and increasing the duration of affordability, especially for projects funded in part by the county. Once homelessness occurs, outreach to enroll folks in government services and subsidies and beyond that I would like to see a pilot program to partner with unsheltered people to better manage public lands to stop illegal activity/dumping and take care of historically abused public properties.

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

Keep resident fees and taxes low, provide support through non-profits/grants and provide opportunities for education to get higher paying jobs where the work done locally is sorely needed.

What more needs to be done to reduce crime on Maui County?

We need more police officers, it is difficult to reduce crime with a 25% vacancy rate with majority of the vacancies in the police detective class. I am proposing a deferred retirement option program to our Maui County legislative package and Hawaii State Association of Counties package to help retain our more qualified senior police force.

What will be your top priority if elected?

The recovery of Lahaina and our people.

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

If elected, I will do my best to listen to all sides and make the best decision in the various tough decisions we face.