bike to work, walk to work, catch the bus to work. 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. So it is with Keith Amemiya, who, thanks to the lessons taught by his hnai parents and his years of public service, has grown into the next possible mayor of Honolulu. So just how does Amemiya plan on curing the citys ills? I got to meet a lot of people. When you type Amemiya into an iPhone, it comes out, Mama Mia.. I go back to just the federal subsidy, we received a loan thats $800,000,000. You know, I dont know if its the citys role to tell them what to do, but I do know the hotels are already planning for climate change and sea level rise. So in the meantime, would you continue sweeps? Thats no longer gonna happen. We are grateful for their assistance., Homelessness is a crisis affecting every community in the state, and substance abuse is one of the leading causes, said Amemiya. Keith Amemiya: Moral Leader - YouTube A 1st time Candidate.Keith Amemiya is running for Mayor!Keith is committed to Moral Leadership! At the time, he was a young civil litigation attorney and Bonny (formerly Suzui) was the CFO of a local fast food chain. What have they done wrong? Government in general, whether its federal, state or city, fair or not. Keith Amemiya (born September 1, 1965)[2][3][4] is an American business executive and politician who ran in the 2020 Honolulu mayoral election,[5][6] and in 2022 for lieutenant governor of Hawaii. Its pretty powerful people that are very well connected, and very entrenched, you might even say, Are you really your own man, or are other people pushing you to take this job? And the general public as well. Many of them had to make hard choices, whether its to pay the rent or pay their car bill, whether its pay their medical bill or food on the table or even choose to stay here and struggle or move away from family and friends to the mainland to find lower cost of living. Yes, I do, its happened to me many times. Thats a huge amount. Speaking of fairness, what about for the hotels that have been essentially not able to operate for months what about giving them a tax break on property taxes? Most importantly, we need to be pau with the reasons why no can and start getting it done. Quality education is one of the keys to opening a future of hope and opportunity for our youth. Kahauiki Village is a perfect, perfect example. Being able to house our families is at the heart of our responsibility to ensure a basic quality of life for our communities. It wouldnt make sense to force a $20 an hour minimum wage when companies will shut down because they cant afford to pay their workers, but I do favor a serious look at increasing wages for our front line workers. Are you the candidate thats going to end homelessness on Oahu once and for all? And as you know, theres a rule in place, it gives those cops some anonymity when it comes to disclosing what they did wrong. Okay, youre from the police commission. Not me. Amemiya earned his BBA from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and received his J.D. Sure, there were issues, there always are, but none to the magnitude that occurred during Chief Kealohas tenure. Everyone has some relative or friend who has mental illness, and its its like any other illness. And the unions are aware, Ive spoken to HGEA in particular and they know that change needs to be made. Theres a case where that issue, the development put in the ball field and the parking lot and tear down all the trees had actually been in the works for years and years and years. Keith we wanted to change a little bit of direction and get to know a little bit more personal side, a side that a lot of people don't know about. Most people, most politicians are saying they want to bring back a lower level of tourism. Prior to this pandemic crisis, the city was in pretty good financial shape. But if not, were gonna have to look at making changes, whether its alterations to the rail station or the like. We need to do all of that, because housing is in short supply on the island. 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. 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. 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. Is this the green visitor fuel youre talking about? With the pandemic, we have a lot of people unemployed, and its not just housing thats a problem. Yes, I did, and thats one of my proudest achievements. And we need to end that. Thats the way we can get out of this. As a teenager, it must have been particularly difficult, you know, cause we all have difficult relationships with our moms, and I just wondered, did it take a long time to forgive her? That is a big reason we have a higher cost of living. Its a comprehensive plan that seeks to aggressively reduce the housing vacancy or housing inventory shortage that we have right now. 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. What makes you the leader that voters should trust to lead Oahu out of this pandemic crisis? But I also think we can do things like focusing on higher end tourists, higher quality tourists, tourists that spend more money, as opposed to the bargain basement tourists that weve had that havent really added to our bottom line, so to speak, in terms of quality of life and revenue to our hotel workers. A huge shot in the arm for your campaign, but also it seems to it also comes with strings attached. And I have a lot of support on the grassroots. These days, Amemiya is working harder than ever, pushing himself as if the future of the city is at stake. Instead, with each passing day he grew more resilient when faced with challenges. He also intends to push for more affordable housing projects around Oahu, and lobby the private sector to develop additional residences within the urban core. The ethics commission should have more enforcement powers. Like they went to a neighborhood board, had it on the agenda, three people showed up, it got approved and they moved on. Id like to talk about homelessness a little bit, because it was cited as the number one issue of concern among residents in the latest National Community Survey, and the recent Point In Time count shows that numbers are virtually unchanged from last year. And they have a lottery system, if Im not mistaken, where not everyone can get a car even if they want to. We need their workers back on the payroll. And I dont know if those two are fully being utilized under the current constraints of the commission. I felt it was important to take a stand to show what party I belong to. Let me say this: When I see homeless on the sidewalk, I feel sad. I worked with high school principals, local businesses, and community leaders, including Carissa Moore and Marcus Mariota, to distribute over 20,000 meals at schools to ensure our keiki and their families were fed. They had four children of their own, and I was a fifth child, so to speak to them, and I learned a lot about giving back, compassion, selflessness, and just doing good when you dont expect anything in return. So, I empathize with other families who have to deal with that, and I think we need to do more as a society to address it and not just sweep it under the rug. Keith, nobody puts no experience on their resume. Submit your coronavirus news tip. The next mayor needs to do something about it. We also need to improve our resiliency as a community so we dont suffer the fallout from another economic shutdown. People need jobs, theyre gonna need money when the federal money starts running out. Were currently 22,000 units short on Oahu. We have talented local producers and compelling stories to tell that can be part of a regenerative economy. Keith, Mayor (Kirk) Caldwell just signed the latest city budget. Keith, I wanted to go back on the mental health issue. Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the world more open and connected. And thats one of the first priorities that I want to take. Keith, one of the major contributors here to the carbon, to our carbon footprint, is road transportation. And Im proud to say that weve had multiple Olympians from Hawaii because of girls wrestling being a high school sport. We need new leadership. Whoever was involved in the beginning of the project before construction. Prior to his candidacy for Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu, Amemiya was Senior Vice President of Island Holdings, Inc. the parent company of Island Insurance, Atlas Insurance Agency, Tradewind Capital Group, IC International, and Pacxa. HONOLULU, HI | February 25, 2021 Central Pacific Bank Foundation (CPB Foundation) announces the appointment of Keith Amemiya as its Executive Director. You need to get input, and when you get input early on from everybody, you hear the different viewpoints, you modify the proposal. Im always optimistic, and I truly believe in my heart that we can get through this economic crisis and be better than ever.. Hes appointed me to a couple of state boards and commissions. Can I ask, what was your involvement with the 801 South project? Anyone who lives in those areas have an expectation that there will be tourist as their neighbors. We have to get away from fuel dependency by continuing to invest in green infrastructure and multi-modal transportation. Let me ask one more question, and along those lines, you were on the commission, there were problems with the police department when you were on the commission too. I dont know, I have to think about it. Lack of political will. 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. Access and information to ensure that peoples basic needs are met, such as food and housing. Ive always believed that in order to move forward, you have to be willing to take calculated risks, he says, adding that hard work and perseverance have often won over his biggest critics. Its focused on three areas: number one, focus on housing for Oahu residents and not out-of-state residents; number two, eliminating the variables that increase the cost of housing in Hawaii, like about 8,000 illegal vacation rentals that are still in existence on the island; and then third, we need to take steps to make it easier to develop affordable housing in the urban core, whether thats the city creating more sewage infrastructure, more water infrastructure, allowing more density, you know, speeding up the building permit process. 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. Are you the most liberal candidate running from mayor? It is important that we come from a place in these discussions of knowing and respecting that wahi pana. 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