 This is Think Tech Hawaii. Community matters here. I'm Marcia Joyner, and we are navigating the journey. And you know, those of you that have been with us, we have talked about all kinds of things, but mainly about the opportunity to discuss the end of life and the care we want. However, today we are on another journey, a different journey with a dear friend of mine, and you all know that I only talk to dear friends. Dear friend of mine, Sharon Morioki. Now, Sharon. Yes, nice to be here. Nice to be here, Marcia. I first met Sharon. You're way back. You know, so we are, you know, like I said, she's a dear friend. Sharon went to work for Governor John Whitehead. So when was that? That was in 1986, 82, thereabouts. Somewhere in the 80s. What did you do? At first, I was the deputy director for the Department of Labor. So I handled all the legislation for the department and worked with mostly internally with the staff. And then in the second term, I was a personnel director for the state. Wow. So moved from employment to employment of the state employees. Now you are doctor. I am. Yes. Even though we tend to slide over this. So that, but I think it ought to be, you ought to call attention to that. Okay. Okay. And you were also, I think in the 80s, it was in the 80s, that you were the director of the coordinated campaign for the Democratic Party. It was with the, actually it was an interesting time because we had both the coordinated campaign and the presidential campaign with the Dukakis. Yes. So the two melded. So I was really focusing on the Dukakis campaign while Joe Lim, who was a co-worker with me on that coordinator, was working on the coordinated campaign. And together we were in the office working on both campaigns. That is the first coordinated campaign that I remember. Me too. I was like, I don't want to talk about this. I didn't tell the audience about my one little bit. So I was elected that the elector, one of the four electors from Hawaii, and due to you and your work, we were the only state that went for the Dukakis. The only state that went for the Dukakis. And big time. Big time. Yeah. So I said, well, as an elector, I wanted to go to D.C. Now the electors don't go to D.C. The Electoral College happens at the capital of your state. But I said, I want to go to D.C. and see an inauguration. And so I collected from the state, from Hawaii, you know, pineapple, lay. The state gave us all of these wonderful things to take to D.C. So when I get there and unloaded with all of this stuff, so I got to the capital because I had RSVP that I was, you know, all the things. So this young, young Hawaii kid is sitting there and I go to check in with all the other people for my seat and everything. And I told him my name. And he said, funny, you don't look like a Republican. Oh, no! Really? I said, well, I'm not. And he looked at me. Poor baby. You know, he didn't know what to do. Anyway, it's sad. That is funny! So here I am loaded with all of the boxes. You know how they pack the lay and everything. So somebody came and said, well, the vice president is here. Would you like to see him? So this was before Bush was inaugurated to be president, right? So I went to his office and he was sitting there alone. Oh! And as the movers were taking stuff out of his office, right? And he was so charming and so sweet. And we talked about Hawaii and, you know, about him being in the Navy and being shot down and all. Just gentle. So he gave me the souvenir book and autographed it. But that, and then Senator Noy said to me when I got, he said, you don't want to sit outside. You come and watch the inauguration of my, I said, I did not come this far to sit in your office and watch on television. You know, I'm going to sit in the cold and I am going to be miserable. If I wanted to watch it on television, I would have stayed home. But it was, you know, that was my little caucus and memory. We're the only ones. It was. It was a very interesting time. Since, you know, we really thought we were going for a win, but it was not meant to be. We were the only state. That's right. The only state. Oh, no, I think Massachusetts. Massachusetts is Boston, right? Yeah. I think we were one of two. Two, yeah. His state and our state. But it was, you know, I will always remember that young man. That's funny. I'm sure after he said that he was trying to. So tell us, now, all about you since that time. Wow. It's been a long journey. All of my, my whole career has been in public service. So from the day of the being in the governor, in Governor White Hayes' cabinet all the way through. So once I left the cabinet, I did take a short stint with the judiciary. I was the chief of staff for C.J. Moon. And after a year, I left that and went to the university. So I've been at the university now for about 20 years, I think. I was first in administration, then in the College of Social Sciences. In the College of Social Sciences, we created what's called the Public Policy Center. And at that center, it was meant to enhance the community life and the collaboration between town and gown, which really doesn't happen too often at the university. So it was moving the university to the community, community to the university. So a number of programs were meant to pull together. Like the Energy Policy Forum, on which Jay sits, it was to create a more collaborative way of operating and for state government to come up with policies that were much more meaningful to the community. Say that again, gown to community, community. Town and gown. It was like downtown and gown is like the gown in the academics and coming together with that. Because too often they say ivory tower, you know, you stick at the gown level. And this idea was really generated from my previous dean, Dick Dumanowski, who really wanted to create something that the university would be a real present member of the community and improve the community. Does that include legislation? It does. So a lot of work that I've done has been with the legislature. So I go to session each year looking at, well, my area of interest has been sustainability, clean energy. And so that's where my space is when I go to the legislature, although community development is important. And what do you mean community development? What else? So we work with communities, for example, one of my, so we develop projects. So I will write a grant or I will bring communities together and see what they need. And if we have university resources that I can tap for free, I'll try to do that. But it's really creating empowering communities to do what they need to do to get what they need to have done. So one project, for example, way back was trying to get students to learn about the environment. So I got a small grant from Hawaii Community Foundation to teach students about the streams and clean the streams and water quality and worked with teachers at two elementary schools, a middle school and a high school. And we got money enough to take students all the way up to the Ahupua and come down and teach the teachers the kind of resources we had at the Water Water Supply. The Department of Water Supply. Water Water Supply, yes. That's all it takes me. And the Department of Health and really teach them how to test for water quality. And we took 200 students up to the top of Punch Bowl and they could see the whole Ahupua. And when we took them up, this was the thing they had never been outside their little Makiki stream area. Of course. And you could hear it pin drop. They were so in awe of what they could see down the valley into the ocean. Not just them, but anybody that goes up there. And it goes up there. And it is. It is just incredible. It's breathtaking. It is. And this is what I'm running to because I want to keep it that way and not have us forget that this is paradise. This is something that we really should be protecting. It should be. Yeah. Now you are running for what office? Senate District 12 that covers, it's a big district. It covers Waikiki, Aung Moana, Makali, Mo'ili'ili and Kaka'ako. That is big. It's a whole urban expanse. Yes. So tell me, what do you think of this new Kaka'ako? How much does he fund this show? When you drive through it as an old timer, this change and change and change. And it's like, oh. Well, you know, it all started in Kaka'ako for me. I've been there for about 10 years. When we first moved in, it really was not developed. And it could have been done. We have a plan. Governor Ariyoshi actually during his term created what was called the Community Development District. So Kaka'ako is one of those 600 acres in the downtown area that was to be meeting the highest and best needs of our people. So helping to develop affordable housing so that people working downtown, people working in Waikiki would have a house or at least a condo or an apartment building to live in. And it would be mixed use, mixed density. So it would be a community, parks and open space. Well, that plan existed. And during the Abercrombie administration, I guess they wanted to push building. So a lot of the development came up. And that's when I got involved was that they were building, but they weren't building according to the rules. They were getting what was called modifications. And it was going through. And the community was kind of left in the dust. And that's when we said, you know, we've got to make changes here because it's not kind of Hawaii we want. So. Well, now, wait, wait, you know, Lillian Hong. Yeah. The little people. Yes. One day I saw her. I was over at another station. I saw her in the corner. She was mad as a hornet. And she's just little people. And I said, well, what is the problem? I am going to get that Mayor Harris. I am going to do this. What happened? Well, the street that she had the jewelry store on. Is that the bull boats? No, this was long before that. This was during the Harris administration. And they had taken that street that she had her jewelry store on and got rid of all those little vendors. And she was so mad. So I said, well, would you come on my show and talk about it? Because I knew nothing about what was going on in Kaka. She said, oh, yes. And she was just going to get the Mayor for the little people. They are tearing up Kaka Ako. And he doesn't know. And she went on and on. Well, she's run for mayor every year since then. But that was the beginning of the change of Kaka Ako. And because of her, I have really paid attention and watched as it has changed and changed and changed. And of course, on the news, we see people watching and testifying before the development. But no one pays attention to them. Well, this new board, I must say, I have to give a plug for this new board. They're wonderful. It is one of the best boards I keep saying in the state. And all boards should be like that. They have professional people on the board. People committed to the community. So when we testify now, unlike the old board, we can actually be heard. And they ask questions and they deliberate. And when they make decisions, and this is what I love, when they make decisions, each person will stand up for their decision. They'll say, I'm voting for this because. I'm voting against this because. Or I have reservations because. And so it's very transparent. And I say, why can't we have a law? It says all boards should do this. Everybody should be working this way. Well, you know, we have to take a break. And when we come back, let's talk about you and where you want to go from here. We talked about yesterday. Let's talk about tomorrow. OK? OK. Sounds good. We'll be right back. Think Tech Hawaii, raising public awareness. Imagine the possibilities in their lives. Aloha, welcome to Hawaii. This is Prince Dykes, your host of The Prince of Investing. Coming to you guys each and every Tuesday at 11 a.m. Right here on Think Tech Hawaii. Don't forget to come by and check out some of the great information on stocks, investings, your money, all the other great stuff. And I'll be here in a couple of days. We're back. I'm Marcia. And we are visiting with my dear friend. Sharon for Senate. Correct. Yes. So tell us, Sharon, where do you see going from here? Why is it that you, after all these years, have decided to run for Senate? Where do you see this going? Well, you know, as I said earlier, my whole career has been in public service. It's been in administration. It's been at the university studying policies and putting policies together. And relying on people in the policymaking arena to take it forward. And quite frankly, over the last 10 years, I haven't seen it. It's not improving to my liking. Right. So I've asked young people to please think about running. But everybody has a family. They have a job. They have their careers. And couldn't find really anybody to run for this office. But I felt there was time for a change because we had not been represented in the last 10 years. Because we see the growth of all these condos without thinking about what's the spaces between the condos. Where are the parks? Where is the open space? What's protecting our shoreline? What's protecting our kupuna? And I didn't see enough happening that when I walk and I see people struggling and they can't make a living or they're afraid to go outside because of the wholeness or because of crime or being burgled, then something is wrong with that picture. That government is really not doing its job. And they need to start representing the people who pay their salaries. Well, just a couple of days ago, driving down Alamoana Boulevard, it does not look like Hawaii. It's true. All of those million-dollar condos along there, it is just like any other major American city. It does not look like Hawaii. And that was one of the things, the variances. I call them variances because they're hard to get, but they call them modifications, which are easier to get. That was supposed to be... The majority of the building was supposed to be commercial. So it was... You could have diversity in heights and in the kinds of activities that would happen. But it is now 90% residential because that's where you make your money. Of course, over top of Bertoff Goodman. Can you imagine living over top? Yeah. And it's blocking views of people, the local people being squeezed out. It really is building for offshore investors and not building for housing. So you have high-rise, 1.5 million is the average price of a unit. And then on the streets, you have the homeless. Yes. And that disconnect should not be happening. I think that we will rue the day when that happened because we are growing a generation of terrorists. When you have Hawaiians living on the beach and they look across the street at these $2 million places that are displacing them, their homeland, we have to know that we are growing a generation of terrorists. This will come back to us. The anger is just boiling. It's ready to erupt. Yes. It will come back to bite us in the butt. So back to you. Okay. So what I'd like to see is that funds actually go to serve the people now instead of, okay, I believe in rail. I think that there was a way in which we couldn't just get more and more cars and be so congested that they needed to connect our whole island. But it's been so mismatched. And from $4 billion, you go to $10 billion and climbing, something's wrong with that picture. And it's actually sucking all of the funds, whatever funds we've given to the common coffers, and not taking care of the kupuna, not taking care of infrastructure, not taking care of our shoreline, not taking care of affordable housing that people need for our own residents. And all of that, and education, and all of that is not happening because all of these funds are being sucked up and we don't know who's budgeting what. And I think it has to be much more transparent and people have to wake up and see what's happening. Okay. Now, the plans for the rail were originally to the university. So, for my little ordinary brain, how are we going to get the train, the rail, through all of those $2 million condos out to... Good question. Good question. And if I had one of those and you're going to run a train in my view plane, how does that work? Now, the people that built these knew that the rail was planned. So, how did they get around that? Well, because part of that, there was this plan and kept on replanning the plan. But they had this... The way they operated is, okay, we're going to come through and we're going to have eminent domain and we're going to come through your property. And it's going through people, especially in the urban area. If they had started earlier, they could have planned it much better when nothing was built. But now you're disrupting all of these businesses. These are small business people that they're going through their property. So, you have these little small business people protesting and they're not being heard. And again, it's big developers that are taking stock and saying, oh, I can build here. I can leave my property fellow. And then when rail comes along, I'll make up because it's a passive investment. So, all of this is happening when people are struggling to even make a living in those properties. So, I think this is why I think it's very important for people to be aware and not say, oh, because when I talk to people, oh, cannot help, you know, that's the way it is. It's not. You can make a difference. A small group of committed people can make a difference and make change. And I think that's what we have to do is start waking people up in the community. If your legislator is not really representing you and not taking care that you are, your interests are being heard and something's being done about. Change them. Change them, right? I have to give you my stump speech, right? Because I'm out registering people to vote. I have my stump speech. I said, when you go to the Capitol, you look up at all of those offices and all of them are filled, but they didn't get filled. The only way they got filled is on a low turnout. And if you want to change that, it's got to be a large turnout. That's right. They, and last election, 51 House members, 30 ran unopposed. So you... That's right. Yep. So the only way to make change, because they figure they can do anything they want because there's no price to pay for it. There's no penalty. And democracy is made up of competition. It's made up of the competition of ideas, of people representing different groups and having that conversation, that dialogue to turn it all up and say, what's the best thing for the majority? Yes. Yeah. And so we had, people have to understand that it is, we need a large turnout. They say, oh, Hawaii doesn't turn out. Well, of course not. If there's nothing to vote for. That's right. We have to give them something to vote for. Right. Right. And it's got to make them understand that it's not who you vote for. It's getting people to feel that they can make a difference. That they have a stake in this. They have a stake in this. Yes. It's not, oh, okay. Well, let them do that. Well, let them do that is why we're complaining about what's happening, right? Yes. So you've got to connect the dots and say, we've got to do something about it and vote, vote, vote. And one last thing to all of those people out there, that it is not enough. Now, I tell everybody I'm a political junkie, so this is nothing new. It is not enough to vote for someone. Okay. Now that you voted for them, you've got to put your foot in that button. That's right. Let them know. That's right. I own you. That's right. I donated to you. I voted for you. I held signs for you. That's right. This is this from you. That's right. That's right. And I think that that's what's not happening is that we're not being held accountable. Yes. No. Yes. And we have to. When we watch the legislature, you know they are not being held accountable. Yeah. That's very important. Yes. Yeah. And to reach a point where they said, oh, God, here she comes. You know. Yeah. Oh, that's good. Because I'll tell you one example. I've been walking and this one, he's a retired police in the district. And I said, you know, I'm giving you a choice. He said, oh, that's right. That's really a gift. But he said, oh, you're going to be like everybody else. He says, once I give you my vote, you're never going to come back. I said, oh, no, no, no. Don't be sorry. I'll be back. So yeah, I think it's got to be all the relationships within the community so that they feel that I have, I have a phone call away to you. Yes. And I have complaints and I want to see some action. And you report back. Yes. You know? Yeah. I saw one young man, honestly, he's running for office. And I was so pleased when he said to the lady, you used to go and door to door. And he said, you pay my salary. I want to know. She said, what are you going to do? And he said, no, you pay my salary. I want to know what you want me to do. That's great. And I thought, that's a great young man. We should train more of those young people. Well, we are out of time. You will come back and visit with us again. I know, my dear friend. We will see you again soon. Aloha. Thank you. Aloha. Thank you for inviting me, Marsha. Thank you.