 and welcome to Talk Story with John Weijhe. We have another interesting guest for you this afternoon. I have with me the candidate who is running for the at-large seat at the office of Hawaiian Affairs. And why is that important? Well, it's important because the office of Hawaiian Affairs was created as the vehicle to represent Hawaiians and their aspirations in the state of Hawaii. And so my guest this afternoon is Mr. Keoni Sousa. Keoni Sousa, like that. Keoni, welcome, welcome. Welcome to my show. So tell us a little bit about the office you're running for. It's the at-large seat, right? It's correct, Governor. First of all, thank you so much for having me this afternoon. I appreciate the opportunity. So I'm running for the trustee at-large position. So basically at-large, people don't know, we're representing the state of Hawaii as a whole. So not only the island of Oahu, we represent the other islands as well, the neighboring islands. And this position, you know, for me, it's very, very important. The reason why I'm seeking this position is because, you know, we definitely have roots on all of the major neighboring islands and we spend a lot of time there as well, you know, our family. Oh, you are going to represent, so the at-large seat represents the entire state of Hawaii. But as I understand it, every seat on the board of trustees for Oahu gets elected statewide. It's just that your focus as the trustee may be broader for the at-large seat. Absolutely. And also, the island seats that are up that candidates are running for. You must be a resident of that island. The at-large seat, you know, gonna focus on everything. But no matter what, every island can vote for each trustee seat, no matter if it's from a particular island or not. Everyone in the state can vote. No, you live on Oahu. On Oahu, correct. Okay. Did you grow up on Oahu? Yes, I did. So I grew up originally in Liliha. Really? Right over the hill from Liliha, Bakery, Panui Street. Oh, the street right below is actually Kunawai and Kunawai Puan and everything over there. So we grew up down there. Up till I was five years old, we actually moved out to Kapolei. My parents were. Really? Yeah, we're actually... So you're actually a long time Kapolei before the villages of Kapolei? Right, correct. And so we consider like, you know, the fine years of Kapolei, my parents were actually one of the first five to actually move out to Kapolei. We still had sugarcane yet, you know, going to Waipahu, Franklin Highway, no shopping centers. So we've seen this, this place really develop and grow. And where did you go to school? Kamehameha Schools, class of 2002. Oh, yeah, 2002. That might make you my grandson or something. I'm just kidding. But, you know, well, actually, we were, when we, when I was in the 78 Constitutional Convention, and we were developing, creating the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, it was our dream that young people like yourself would take up the mantle. So you went to Kamehameha Schools. Tell us a little bit about what you do now. How did you get there? You know, just your family, all of this so that people get to know who you are. Right on. Absolutely. Thank you. Yeah. So I, right now, I'm currently a realtor with Kodwa Becker, realty. I'm a day job. I'm also an entertainer with the Grammy-nominated Nahuku Hanoa Award winning group Nahua. I'm a proud father of three Kiki, Bentley, who's nine years old. She's a fourth grader at Pune Home School. My son is six years old. He attends St. Louis School. And my beautiful baby girl, Presley, she's one. Right to my wife, Mahina. My beautiful wife, Mahina. We reside only a couple of years, like we talked about. And one of them, we get to go to Kamehameha Schools, right? You know, that's what we're trying for, but, you know, they're getting really good education, you know, at the, you know, institutions they're at now. So we're really proud of them. So. Did you, where did you go to college? I did Kapiolani Community College, went to liberal arts, and then I started working. Oh, terrific. You know, my son, my son, who is the, who is the trustee now. He's a large trustee. He's not running in this election, but he also went to Kapiolani Community College. Awesome. And yeah, so you're going to have some, if you get elected, you'll have a fellow alumnus on the board with you. Interestingly enough, boy, I tell you, this is not supposed to turn out this way, but it's sort of leading there. Not only did I play a small role with the creation of the Office of Foreign Affairs, I also built the campus, Kapiolani Community College campus that was built during my tenure as governor. So you know, you're like a product of kind of a life's work. So you got three children and you live on it a couple of days too, I guess so. Now, what made you decide to run for the Office of Foreign Affairs? Why is that? You know, governor, I'm running for my community, like I said, my family, my children, most of all, all husband beneficiaries. The Office of Foreign Affairs beneficiaries are Native Hawaiians. That is the focus of this organization. And you know, I know you were a big part of starting OHA and the run from the very beginning, 1978, the Kankan Constitutional Convention, very, very important. And I know you've seen this organization grow. Even though OHA has a lot of great qualities, we still can be doing more to support its beneficiaries, who of course is going back to Native Hawaiians. Right. And so when you go out and oh boy, I have so many things, how do we get there? You know, let's start by continuing this particular conversation. Now, when you go out and you meet people, I'm assuming that you talk at least somewhat to Native Hawaiian community, what are some of their concerns? I mean, one of the issues that they particularly care about, especially doing this, not these days, doesn't necessarily have to do only with COVID, but especially doing 2020. What are Native Hawaiian people interested in? So, you know, there was a recent survey that OHA conducted. You know, in the top three, you know, from Native Hawaiian voters, of course, the top three things that they wanted to see for the future of Hawaiians. They wanted to see improved anyway. Number one, affordable housing. Number two, more representation in state government, more Native Hawaiian representation. And number three, better management of land and natural resources. So those are the three priorities. If we're going to go to, you know, the top one, we'll take the top one, for example, affordable housing. You know, my background, one of my top priorities anyway, mortgage education, I have a background in real estate. And the thing is, it's very, very important for OHA to step up to the plate and make sure that, you know, when Hawaiians get called, for example, for the HHL, Hawaiian homelands, and they finally get called, they're on the list, they finally get called. How do we support them, you know, in becoming that first-time home buyer, or supporting them financially in order for them to obtain the home? You know, if we're going to touch on the HHS and start brought it up, you know, they're two separate public trusts. And why don't you explain to people who may not know what they are, what the two trusts do and how they're different, right? Okay, how they're like, you know, what in other words, what their functions, right? Okay. Yeah. So basically, so if we're going to touch on OHA first, so OHA, you know, I know was set up in 1978 to basically get the seeded lands revenues, right? That's for the betterment of Native Hawaiians, that was the whole point. And, you know, this is going back, dating from the lands that was, you know, to kind of right the wrongs of Native Hawaiians going back to the overthrow of the Hawaiian kingdom in 1893. So this organization was set up. And, you know, I knew you were part of that. And basically, you guys set this up to get those seeded lands monies and kind of funnel it through programs and different things that can support Native Hawaiians. So that's what OHA is there for, the gist of it, why OHA is there. The HHL is another public trust. And they're basically set up, you know, the Hawaiian homeland, they provide housing. That is the housing for Native Hawaiians, specifically for Native Hawaiians. The thing is right now, currently, OHA does support the HHL. There's an agreement, $3 million a year for 30 years. So total of $90 million that OHA does, they have an agreement with the HHL to support housing. So somehow, one of your aspirations, obviously, is to somehow improve or become part of that, to create more affordable housing on Hawaiian homelands for beneficiaries. Absolutely. Absolutely. You have a background in housing and real estate. Now, tell me outside of supporting Hawaiian homelands, which is for 50% Hawaiians or more on the blood quantum. There are a lot of Hawaiians that maybe don't make that threshold. So if you were going to get elected into OHA, and you, how would, as you see it, based on your experience, what could OHA do to make housing affordable? Right. So, you know, one of the most rewarding things for me as a real estate agent is I get to help first-time homebuyers. And it's not only helping them get qualified, you know, through a lender or anything like that, if they don't have one, but basically giving them the confidence to move forward. Letting them know that this is the right thing to do. Showing them examples. I'm fortunate to be able to invest as well. You know, my parents taught me how to kind of, how to go about doing it. But if you don't have somebody, you know, close to you that can express those kind of things to you and show you how to do it. You know, it's going to be hard. And at that point, you know, the easiest thing for some situations is to keep renting. You know, and as a real estate agent, I definitely encourage everybody buy versus rent. That's definitely the right thing to do. And so, you know, giving them the confidence from the beginning, first-time homebuyers, and I'm going to basically apply the same strategy towards all husband beneficiaries. Show them the process, basically holding their hand. There's nothing wrong with that. You know, holding their hand all the way to the process and making them, you know, feel like they are doing the right thing and showing them examples of other Hawaiians and other young Hawaiians, especially who have invested and who, you know, it's as simple as telling them, keep a job. You have to keep a job for two years. We need to show steady income, you know, and basically, like I said, holding their hands and giving them. You have any specific kind of how would you create something that Native Hawaiians could buy? Right. So right now, I mean, when they bring up the term affordable housing, you know, I don't really like that term, but if we're going to go affordable housing, DHL is definitely the Hawaiian, you know, affordable housing instead of to help Native Hawaiians. But like you mentioned earlier, the blood quantum. So if you do, we're going to take a small break. And when we're going to take a short break now, we'll be back in a minute, folks. And when we come back, we'll hear from Keoni as to some of his ideas for housing that people can buy. Welcome back to Talk Story with John Wahee and our guest this afternoon, Keoni Suza. And Keoni is running, as we mentioned earlier, for the large seat with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. Now, Keoni, you were right in the middle of telling us about one of the best, the greatest, I guess, the greatest priority for Native Hawaiians, according to a survey that's been taken, is for affordable housing. And part of the deal is for a lot of people is not knowing how to get that, you know, how to take advantage of what it's offered. And so we had just discussed the fact that you have the knowledge to help them in that process. But in addition to that, are there any ideas that you might have that could result in affordable housing? I mean, should the state, should OHA, what kind of things can be done to make housing more affordable for a family, for your family? You know, like, what would it take for a family like yours, which, you know, one husband and wife and three young children struggling to get the best education you can pay for them? What would it take to make housing affordable for families like yours, outside of Hawaiian home? Right, absolutely. So, I know we talked about the blood quantum earlier, Governor. And, you know, if you don't have that 50 percent, and you don't have the 25 percent, even for the let's see to pass it down, who is 50 percent? You know, there has to be other opportunities created. And, you know, in Hawaii already, it's very, very expensive. And it's hard to survive. I have a lot of friends and family who move off island because they go other opportunities, you know, Vegas. And now I hear of different guys going to Tennessee and Georgia, different places where you can get a brand new home for $250,000. Right. So, you know, the thing is, we are affordable housing, for example, Kakaako. We're going to bring on Kakaako, affordable housing. With the affordable housing guidelines, there's a percentage of each condo, you know, structure that's developed on there that needs to be affordable. And they start off about 450 to 500,000. Now, on top of that, there's maintenance fees. And so you have to be able to qualify, you know, in this day and age and this economy and especially during the COVID and everything went on, people losing jobs. It's not possible. So how do we help them at that point? You know, we definitely need to, it goes back to the education part. It's holding a job for two years. It's gathering the down payment. The down payment I want to touch on because that's very, very important. Even though people qualify and they can qualify for affordable housing within the guidelines, they sometimes don't have the down payment. There is the opportunity to get gift letters from your parents or, you know, a loved one or a friend who can support you at that point to help you with the process. We always explore the options with our buyers. But, you know, if you don't have that, you know, how do you see, how do you go along the process? So, oh, huh, you know, they're, they should be spending more money. Like I said, they have a lot of great qualities. They do support a lot of programs, but they should be putting more money towards the mortgage education, letting them know what to do. Basically, like I said, teaming them, teaming the buyers up with past, you know, homeowners and people who are very successful in investing. And, you know, basically bringing people to the table who can support the cause. And that's why that's what I want to do. Well, I'll tell you, you know, you mentioned also something else, which I found very interesting. And that's the fact that your parents from very early on taught you how to invest and how to do that. Now, one of the things that I don't know if many people know is that OHA has a trust fund. It's not as large as Kamehameha Schools, but it is substantial. I mean, it's in the hundreds of millions of dollars. And so part of the job of a trustee is managing investments. So tell me what you contribute to that aspect of the trustee's job, because that's not something that you would normally hear about at a community meeting, but something we can bring to people's attention, you know, in this afternoon. Right. No, no, definitely. And you know, like I said, the money's in those trust funds. Definitely. So we, as OHA, there is investment, our investment portfolio consists of investing elsewhere. We have different investments out of state. And so one solution to that, bringing it back home, investing here, supporting businesses down here, using that money's where it counts. The return on investment can be greater. Like I said, even opportunities to develop the land that OHA oversees. Kakaako Makai, one great example since OHA had possession of since 2012. Kakaako Makai does a lot of groundwork that needed to be done, you know, in order for it to be ready to build. And so that is one. And my recommendation is Kakaako Makai cannot be developed anytime soon. Let's work on doing a land swap. Let's work on doing something that makes sense right now so that we can create revenue for our beneficiaries. And we don't have to say this is all we can give you. You know, we have to stop funding this program. You know, I'm going to go into the, you know, the point of OHA is supposed to be, you know, funding the 20% basically of seeded lands revenues. That was the agreement. I think right now, give or take, it's about 3%, which we get every year. And do you feel any, you feel a burden to go after that? Or how does, what are some of your thoughts about how, what we should do about that? You know, the fact that the OHA doesn't get what it's entitled to by law. Absolutely. Absolutely. So I definitely feel going after that money is a priority. It's one of my top priorities. I guess it in the meantime, we are still going to be working on creating our own revenue. You know, I guess it developing commercial, creating commercial properties to support native Hawaiian businesses. We can do something like flex homes in Kakako, where, you know, two, three story building, two stories on the top is housing. The bottom floor is actually a business. You can run your business. Opili out in Ewa, they have those, Kapolei, Mehana, they have a flex home. So that is definitely something that we should be doing on that Kakako property. That's a very interesting, very interesting point. You know, one of the things about the Office of Hawaiian Affairs is that ever since 2000 with the infamous, I call it infamous Rice v. Kaitano, U.S. Supreme Court decision, that non-Hawaiians can vote in the Ohio election. So I am sure that you have talked to non-Hawaiians and they are interested in what the Office of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs are. And how do you persuade them? How do you persuade a non-Hawaiian about the importance of OHA to Hawaiian to the Hawaiian people and vice versa to the state of Hawaii? Right. Just, yeah. No, no, definitely. That's a big, important issue. A lot of people don't vote. See, if they're not Hawaiian, they choose not to vote. And people can respect that. But when they do participate... Right, yeah. So when they do participate, first of all, a lot of them are not educated on the candidates, number one. Second, they're not educated on what the Office of Hawaiian Affairs actually does. Unfortunately, a lot of publicity that the Office of Hawaiian Affairs has to deal with, especially the trustees in the past, is negative attention on the news and in the newspaper. And so people, they kind of lose faith in the organization. They say, I don't want to have anything to do with it. But they have to understand that this organization, going back to 1978, the goal is to support Native Hawaiian beneficiaries. And everyone voting out there needs to know that that is the main goal. But how does it affect non-Hawaiian voters? By OHA supporting a Native Hawaiian business, for example, thriving Native Hawaiian business, they do well. It actually creates more tax revenue for the state, which we are all taxpayers. We are all taxpayers, exactly, for everyone. And so that's one big way. A Native Hawaiian off the streets into homes, we help them along in the home buying process. We don't have to access public resources. That also relieves the strain on taxpayers. And that's just two examples that... And I like to talk about because we can expand on that as far as non-Native Hawaiian voters. And most of the time, they don't vote because it's out of respect, like you said. Hawaiians also, they're not educated on what OHA does. And I think OHA, kind of bringing out the good in what OHA does, restoring the voice, restoring the confidence in the organization is what we need to do moving forward as OHA trustees. Very good. Now, I'm going to pivot again one more time because I am totally interested in getting to know you. And you're part of the music. Tell us a little bit about your music side. Right. This is, you know, like every other... Well, it can't be anytime Hawaiians talk that you can only stay so long on the serious subject. Although music is a serious subject, I'll tell you, you know, but let's hear... Tell me about your music side of your life. You know, I started playing music from a very young age. My grandmother, Monoha Ka'apana Madaris, she played music. And of course, you know, her family, the Ka'apana, the later Ka'apana, that's cousins to her. They were all musicians. She wasn't a professional musician. That's all your family is from Puna, then? Yeah. So they all connect to all the same family. Ka'apana is from Puna. Yeah. So then it's Ka'apana. And then... So my grandma actually grew up on Monoha Ka'i. Oh, Monoha Ka'i? Yeah. Yeah. So every Abraham Ka'apana of Kahlua Acha Church is actually my... So great grandfather. And so my grandma, she started playing music from a young age. So all the family parties used to have out in Lanikai and everything like that every summer. And you know, I always thought, you know, I looked at her as, wow, she's a musical genius. She's a god. And not knowing that she never had an album, she never had... She wasn't ever female vocalist of the year or anything like that. But she was my grandma. And that's how my music career, basically my music foundation started. And of course, in respect to Kamehameha schools from a very young age, Kamehameha Children's Chorus, went up into Concert Glee, up in high school. And just the opportunities that stem from that, you know, being able to play outside with the old-timers. We're talking about the old-timer musicians, 40 years at Alriga Kanu Club and the Halecoa Sunday branch, Halecoa Inslee, Hale Manu and the Tevises. And Kiko Fernandez, who passed on the gig for Halecoa Inslee. And, you know, Uncle Kavai Cocket, who many of us know, he had that wicked strum on that ukulele. And so just, you know, the foundation is very, very important. That led to us being able to travel the world, you know, outside even the U.S. and then traveling to Japan internationally. And, you know, we get to explore different cultures. We see how they handle things and their approach on different issues that we are facing as well. You know, so the music has taken me everywhere. Even took us, like I said earlier, with Grammy nominated, took us to the Grammys. And, you know, we're just, you know, local boys. I think that's fantastic that you have the experience of, and people ought to know that, that you would, one of the nominations, people nominated for the, the Grammys. I mean, how much bigger can you get? You know? Well, you got the, and I don't, I think anyway, that being in that kind of a discipline really molds you for life. So one of the good things is you've got to know the kupuna. You got to know your, your genealogy. So I, you know, Keone, I do want to thank you. I was hoping we'd have a chance to talk more about what the difficulties of running an Ohio election. But our time is up and I, and I wanted people to get to know you and hopefully people will tune in to this show and they will see you for who you are. So thank you. Aloha everybody. We'll see you again in two weeks. Aloha Governor. Thank you.