 Think Tech Away, civil engagement lives here. Happy Aloha Friday and welcome to a brand new episode of Perspectives on Global Justice Think Tech Hawaii. This is your host, Beatrice Cantelmo. This is Election Year for America, and we have an important invitation and responsibility as constituents, which are to choose our representatives, remain civically engaged and to hold our candidates accountable. Being a public servant is one of the biggest kuleanas one can hold in life. Their main responsibility is to reserve and protect their best interests of all constituents. But what happens when only a select group is served and when lobbyists' best interests come first? Dona is in a refreshing dialogue with Tune James, who is running for a seat at the City County District 2. Tune is a well-known person in our community. She is the host of a country story and a passionate community leader and organizer. She believes that all city powers shall be used to serve and advance the general welfare, safety and aspirations of its residents in a sustainable manner that can protect and preserve natural resources in the present and also for future generations. So let's learn more about Tune's political platform and discuss some of the plans that she has in mind to address housing, education, land development, budget, fiscal responsibility and accountability, ethics, real-world development and much more. On that note, welcome to our program, Tune. How are you doing? Hello, Bill. Hello. It's a long list of laundry issues, but we'll get through it. Absolutely. And you are the right person to address these issues. So let's give our viewers a little background about who Tune is. So if you can give us a little blurb about where you were born and raised and how did you become civically engaged and also what prompted you to run for position at the city county district as a representative? Yes, I am. Actually, I was born in Singapore, a tiny island. And my name is Tune. And Tune is actually Chinese for spring, but I was actually born in the summer. And I come from a big family. I have seven brothers and two sisters. And so it's a big family. And we were very poor, but we never knew that we were poor. And so we had a lot of fun. And I came to Hawaii for school in 1975. That's a very long time ago. That was only three years old. Yeah. I've always been interested in civic affairs and especially social and economic justice. I can't explain why it catches my attention, but it just did. One incident would be when I was really young and there was a traveling circus coming to town. Family was too poor to pay for the tickets. And so obviously we didn't go. But later we heard that the trapezii lady who was performing had fell to her death. And I had this thought that she, you know, it's not right for us people to pay someone to put another person at risk. So it's things like that, you know, that I feel that we shouldn't exploit other people, but instead we should help each other out. Absolutely. How old were you when you had this epiphany? Probably like maybe about eight years old. And, you know, and so in Singapore at that time there was a lot of unrest, you know, disruptions between the Chinese and the Malays and the Muslims. And I felt like, gee, why are we at each other's children? We all be good neighbors. In fact, in fact, some of my best friends are Muslims, you know, and we got along just fine. And we couldn't understand why the adults were quarreling. So you have a very broad multicultural background in exposure and experience, not only from your country of origin, but also by living in Hawaii, you know, which is also a melting pot in itself. So that brings a lot of texture and a very rich perspective, I think, on not only civic engagement, but how can we coexist with more respect and more harmony in a more sustainable way, perhaps. And one of the things that caught my attention when I first met you was your passion and how feisty you are in war as a constituent and as a civically engaged individual. You know, I've seen many of your city, you know, county testimonies and, you know, accompanying a lot of things where most people don't want to talk about it. And I just really fell in love with you because you're quite genuine. And I think, you know, it comes from a good place in your heart. But I think most importantly, what has transpired to me is this desire to work in conjunction with other community members, you know, to have a more holistic and a more functional government. So I want to ask you, what was asked you to say, OK, I'm going to run for a seat at the city county, you know, in Honolulu, through my district. What happened there? I'm half crazy. We have been involved in the city issues for quite a while. You know, whether it was Ho'opili or Coa Ridge or keep the country country. There's just a whole bunch of issues. And the very interesting thing is that even though the city county has only nine members, it controls the whole island. And so the decision making is has powerful impacts on all of us, you know, land use issues, you know, agriculture, zoning. And so as we were involved, I felt like it's my responsibility and it's my kooliana to help as much as I can. And I suppose you could blame the outspokenness on my brothers. I have seven brothers and I'm number seven. I thought to survive in that family. You're a five-star lady. There's nobody who's going to stop you. That's for sure. But it's nice to know that you had to find your ground and fight for it among seven brothers from Singapore on top of it. Yeah. And the wonderful thing about this whole thing is that, you know, we all express our feelings and our opinions. But we always base it on the merits or the demerits. I, well, actually, in my family, I have a Catholic in my family. I have a Methodist in my family. I have a Buddhist. I have an atheist. I, you know, we're just a really choppy family. But it doesn't matter whether we agree or not agree. At the end of the day, we know that we're family and we're all good. And I think that politics ought to be that way too. You know, I sometimes are really concerned that we get labored and we get pigeonholed into certain labels and names. And I hope that with this city council seat that we would, you know, discuss the issues. One reason why I felt compelled to run was that one of the candidates is Mr. Robert Bunda. And me and him couldn't be further opposite of each other. In what way? When Mr. Bunda was on the PLDC board and there's Public Land Development Corporation. And that was, that was the board that really greated everybody throughout the whole, all of Hawaii, all of the islands. You know, essentially when they say public land development, there's already something wrong there, right? Because public lands should be kept in public hands and not be given to private developers or corporations. And so, yeah, so basically that was it. And then also he also sits on the heart board, which is the Honolulu Rail. I'm not against, you know, rapid transit. But I'm certainly expecting the city to be so fiscally responsible because it's us residents who are going to be bailing out these expenses. And go ahead, go ahead. No, no, no, go ahead. That I'm running is that I know of so many kupuna. And I believe this is part of a social and economic justice issue. We have a lot of kupuna who have lived in their home for a very long time. And for some of them, their homes are passed down from generations. And now they're beginning to see and beginning to have a really severe concern that they may be priced out of their home. You know, you could be living on the street that kupuna or family has no intention to sell at all. And they just want to live out their golden years. But because the property values are increasing so fast, you know, property taxes also increased too fast. And the kupuna is still quite fixed and they're on fixed income. So that fear of being priced out, not being able to pay property taxes and the sewer fees and the insurance fees and the maintenance is very, very real. And so because of that, I've actually been saying that we really need to focus on our residents. We really need to focus on our residents first. And we could actually property tax cap on those who have lived in their own home for more than 15 years. And on top of that, we could also help give incentives to property owner who rent to long term renters, because our renters are having a really hard time too. So these are some of the issues that I believe that is the foundation of Oahu, you know, family's home is the foundation of our family, our community, our city. So if I have the fortunate privilege of getting into the city council, I will certainly work very hard with the other eight council members to champion this, because I think this is very important for our residents. Oh, absolutely. And I, you know, I'm not from Hawaii or from Honolulu. I've been here for only four years. And I think that the points that you have touched on land development and housing and being able to really have a way to survive in Hawaii and... Yeah. It's tough. It's really tough. You know, I'm older now, but I see my children and the millennials. I mean, it's just really tough, because everything is so expensive. I have actually seen a young couple exchange babysitting in a parking lot. How did we get here when, you know, families, mom and dad has to work two, three jobs to survive? Exactly. But I mean, B, I really feel that this is not foreign, because the city, you may have read, you know, recently there was a 200 rental unit in Honolulu. And that developer offered affordable housing just for two years. And now that developer wants to convert that affordable rental into condominiums. Yeah, that's unacceptable. Let's take a one-minute break, too. I have to take a quick break. We'll be right back, okay? I'm Ethan Allen, host on Think Tech Hawaii of Pacific Partnerships in Education. Every other Tuesday afternoon at 3 p.m., I hope you'll join us as we explore the value, the accomplishments, and the challenges of education here in the Pacific Islands. Hey, baby, that's you. I want to know, will you watch my show? I hope you do. It's on Tuesdays at 1 o'clock, and it's out of the comfort zone. And I'll be your host, R.E. Kelly. See you there. I know how. Welcome back to Prospectors' Own Global Justice, Think Tech Hawaii. This is your host, Beatrice Contambo, and we are back with James. So, too, let's continue our dialogue before break. Yeah, and talking about the 200 conversions on rentals to condominium, we also did research and we found that the city offered about 160,000 worth of property taxes retrieved for the developer, and they only paid 300 a year for property taxes. So those guys are getting a really good tax breaks. So it really bothers me, and I have severe concern about this, that developers can enjoy that kind of huge tax breaks, and then turn around and push our residents out. I'm not too enthused about that, and you know, go ahead, Beatrice. One of the things I was going to say to you is that the perception that I had of Hawaii before I came here was a display of aloha, where the local residents and people who became part of Hawaii would coexist in more harmony and would not struggle so much. I think the idea of paradise that's sold to the rest of the world is very elusive and in many ways deceitful, because, I mean, here's a state where it's like the most expensive place in the nation to live. You'd have to make $39 an hour to be able to afford a two-bedroom unit anywhere in the island. And there is no jobs, really, that will pay that much. It's very, very limited, and the other thing that really shocks me is this idea of, like, I feel like we live in a twilight zone from an outsider where I go, oh my gosh, and it's like the far, far west, and those who have access to power are really not thinking or planning for the well-being of all residents. I'm seeing more and more interest groups and lobbyists being served at the expense of the majority of the constituents, and that's not right. We agree with you, and I believe we still have a lot of people feel with Aloha where we help each other out and we know each other and we are polite and we give and take even though we disagree, but you are so right. When anybody is struggling, whether it's mentally or physically or economically, that person is really stressed out, and so it makes it harder, I think, to live Aloha when you're suffering. And I see that among a lot of our people, unfortunately, that they have to worry about rent, they have to worry about the mortgages, they have to worry about the cost of living, and so much of their efforts and their time is spent on trying to make enough money, work the two jobs, work the three jobs, and to try to survive. And so you hear that right on the spot that even though it's like, okay, Hawaii is a paradise, but for the residents here, for the 99%, I should say, it is a big struggle. You were talking about jobs. I've noticed too that there is an oligarchy, that there are people who will always get a job because they're well connected, because they know somebody and somebody knows somebody, and another person who is equally qualified will never have the opportunity. But there are a lot. But I believe in equality, and I believe in social and economic equality, and this is why I put my campaign theme as residents first. And you know, it's how it should be. And not only Hawaii, but anywhere that claims to be a civilized society. You know, like we are one of the worst states in the nation when it comes to education, public education is, you know, and also depending on the district where you're at, you know, and the budget that's allocated, I mean, the kids really so far, you see basic infrastructure that's lacking, but more importantly, a lack of vision and plan on how to address it and how to recover, you know, the deficits that we have and how to plan to empower our citizens and also our youth so that we're not stuck over here. You know, I might be too idealistic, but I believe that we can help each other out. You know, whether we're young or old, you know, black or white, rich or poor, you know, union or not or military or civilian, I really believe that we should and we have to, because we all share the same dreams and hopes. Exactly. And, you know, I remember the first time I met you in person. And we were talking about the development of a new fire department, which is completely unnecessary, not only from the standpoint of that there was like another brand new fire department, not even like six miles away from Ha'ula, but the price that would cost it to build a new fire department and also at the expense of those who in services, you know, that were much more urgent and needed in the community. And I, you know, I was very moved to see so many kupunas and you and say, okay, we have no idea how we're going to get this point across, but we're going to fight against it because this is just not okay. And I do believe that you do believe, you know, you do live what you dream. And I think that that is contagious. I know that a lot of times it comes around very controversial manners, you know, and then you have fast, many hot buttons, but that's what we need. I mean, you can't pretend this kind of stuff is not happening, you know. And you know, I want to say that we are not against any new facilities. And what the local firemen don't even have to say, my husband's grandfather was buried in his fireman's uniform, and they come from a line of firefighters. But what was really concerning to us was that again, the city did not listen to the residents. The residents wanted a recycling. They wanted the recycling because even the poor and the homeless recycle their every day so that they can buy a hot meal. So, you know, with that all episode, and that's $13 million, you know, dollars when the typical fire station costs $5 million. Yeah, there's a little discrepancy there with budget, doesn't it? And it's spreading across with railroad and with projects that are budgeted at one price and then it's being 10 times more, you know, and it comes at the expense of, you know, the constituents are the one who have to absorb the impact financially, and they are the ones who are sacrificed. And I think it's important that especially like everything is so Honolulu-centric, where a lot of the decisions are made downtown at the city, you know, county hall, and then, you know, to have people from other districts, you know, having a strong voice and more civic involvement and engagement and presence, it's very important to keep that balance. Yeah, yes, exactly. And so what's happening now is we have this, you know, fire station being built by a known contractor, and the homeless people, now this is funny, but it's not funny. Now we have people complaining that, gee, the homeless are stealing my coconuts to sell. And in my mind, I'm thinking, what the heck? You know, they were so willing to help themselves by collecting cans and bottles to recycle. And you take that away. What else can they do except sell, I mean, steal coconuts and sell them? Right. And, you know, this is a big issue. And I know that you are very aware of homelessness and the issues. We have lots of them here. And I've seen it. And I know that a lot of people, you know, are from, you know, that region, but also that come from other areas where SILI are enforced. So we have gentrification and reorganization of gentrification throughout the entire island. And, you know, I really hope to continue this dialogue with you. I really want our viewers to learn more about what your values are, what you see in your community, and how you engage the community you are, you know, as a candidate. But even if you don't get a seat, you've been doing this for quite a few decades already. Absolutely. You know, it comes from the heart. And that's what we need. And we need to inspire our current leaders to take a look back at why they have chosen the privilege of solving their constituents and be held accountable on that. So I'm so sorry we're out of time soon. But really, let's come back and give continuity to this conversation a couple of months from now. I wish you the best of luck. Okay, thank you. You too, my darling. Aloha. This concludes our episode of Today. And thank you very much for watching us. A hui hou.