 This is Think Tech Hawaii, Community Matters here. Good afternoon. Welcome to Think Tech Hawaii, Movers, Shakers, and Reformers, Politics in Hawaii series. I'm your host, Carl Kempanyi. Today my guest will be Representative Tom Brower from House District 22, which is the, I guess, Waikiki and beyond area. So we're going to learn a bit more about that area and the issues revolving around that area. But we're going to begin the conversation by learning about Representative Tom Brower. And so with that, let me welcome to the show. Please tell us a bit about yourself, what you have been doing before you became Representative, and what got you to that position. Can we start that? Real briefly, you know, I'm born in the 60s in Honolulu, but I grew up on the mainland. I went to a Catholic grammar school in high school in New Jersey. Then I returned in 1983 to attend college, and since then I've been living continuously in Waikiki. In college I was really interested in radio. I worked at a number of radio stations in Honolulu and worked a little bit in the nonprofit field. Then eventually got interested in government. And my pal from college, Representative Martakai, I worked in his office at the Capitol, 1998. And regardless of politics, Democrats and Republicans, I really enjoyed the experience at the Capitol and always thought about maybe one day coming back. So in 2006, I was elected as the Representative for Waikiki. Excellent. Well, again, congratulations for that. And for being there now, we're looking on 12 years now. Yes. So congratulations for that. So okay, when you ran, was it an open seat? Was it a, or was it, was there a talent to an incumbent at the time? It was not an open seat. Galen Fox was the Representative for maybe almost 10 years in Waikiki. And he left office and the governor appointed a woman to fill that vacancy. And she was in the seat for about eight months. And then in 2006, I ran for office. With the lingual? Yes. Okay. So lingual is the governor. And you know, sometimes people, they have this issue, they call it carpet bagging and people move into different districts and position themselves. And for me, that was, you know, never a possibility. I just am very attached to Waikiki. So I was on the Waikiki Neighborhood Board for eight years prior to getting elected. Okay. So involved in the community that you live in? Yeah. I think for me, I like to be near the center as close to the big city as possible. Yeah. So I'm very comfortable in Waikiki. That's the New Jersey part. Yes, exactly. It's the time in New Jersey where you like to be where actually just have more energy. Very much so. So I really feel comfortable there and, you know, just love the Waikiki neighborhood and the surrounding communities. Yeah. Waikiki is beautiful. We all know, and the world knows, which actually puts a lot of pressure on you, I would think, to a certain extent. You're representing an area that the world knows. You're representing a district that is highly, I guess, developed and active with tourists. So when people talk about Hawaii, when people talk about our tourist economy, a lot of it is centered around your district. Yeah. The welcome map to the world, it's how we put our best foot forward. And I say, you know, a lot of things, and one of those is that Hawaii, Waikiki is like the living room, right? So we have to have a certain impression when we welcome our guests, and it has a lot of the same issues that a big city has. So we just need to continue to do our best to take care of those issues. Yeah. And that's actually an interesting perspective to understand and to realize. When you live in a big city, you get to see the difference of that. What is entailed there, which includes the police, and homeless, and crime, and tourists, and a lot of people coming and going, a lot of action from all different sides and angles. So there's a lot to be concerned with. What, let's expand out from just Waikiki. What total area, what can you tell us about the neighborhoods surrounding it that are part of your district? How far out of Waikiki do you go? Okay, well, one of 51 house districts is what I represent. So it includes all of Waikiki from the ocean to the Alawai Canal, from Kapahulu Avenue. And then it goes to the west end of Waikiki. It continues with the convention center. And then it goes to about the IBM building in Kakaako. So the district's kind of like a rectangle. So that's like near Kamakah, or not quite that far. Right. Kamakah is right there. Is that okay? And that's where, you know, some of the border is. And what I like about the area, it's where I spend like 90% of my time, from Waikiki to downtown, either driving through or walking through or visiting places to shop or go out to eat. Yeah. Well, there's quite a lot there. We go there quite often. In fact, my family likes to drive through and do vacations. Oh, is that what you do? Okay, well, we wave at people and say, Aloha. Yeah, yeah. That's cool. Photo mom people. We do that too. But what I find exciting is, a lot of the surrounding neighborhoods, I'm sometimes jealous of those neighborhoods because, you know, sometimes the action is on the fringes of a neighborhood. Yeah. Kakaako has a lot of new development, a lot of local people opening restaurants that maybe they couldn't afford the rent in Waikiki. So in Kapahulu and Kakaako, I spend a lot of time because that's where the exciting shopping is, the exciting visitor destinations and the exciting restaurants. Sure. Okay. All right. So now we have an understanding of what encompasses the district. So that's great. As far as, so what you've got is, there's a huge tourism push. There's also business and people who live, there are residencies there. So there's a, I would imagine there's some potential conflict that arises for there. So what have been over the years, soon to be 12 years, what are some of the challenges that you have encountered within your district? When I read the Neighborhood Board minutes from 10 or 20 years ago, a lot of the challenges, the problems, the complaints are very similar. So today homelessness and, you know, we can talk about that. We had the Waikiki Neighborhood Board meet last night and Mark Alexander from the city was there to talk about the issue of homelessness, congestion, development, construction, traffic congestion. These are all big as well as noise. Noise is a really big complaint in these areas. And then in addition to that, you have the visitors and the congestion from people who come to Hawaii and they consume all the amenities and infrastructure. Okay. So it's how to keep everybody as happy as possible. It's a delicate balance. It is never going to go perfectly. But when you come home at night and think about what you did during the day, you say like, I love it. But at the same time, you always have complaints. It's one of the reasons why those of us who get themselves involved in politics in any way. One of the reasons we, most of us anyway, are involved or try to be involved is because we like to come home saying, you know what? I did something today. I helped people today. I accomplished a goal today for my district and for the state sort of thing. So that, yeah, most people I think approach it from that perspective and we hope, frankly, that our legislators come with that perspective as well. And that being said, I think what's really important is that your efforts to help need to be very open-ended. So we should have a goal, whether it's to keep our streets clean or to create a safer environment or a better future. Like, that's what our goal is, but we have to be very open-ended on how that'll be accomplished. I think part of the problem with politics is when people become entrenched in their ideas and then they only want it their way. So we have to be very open-minded on that future. And that actually, that's a local and a national and a global issue. We've got one of our biggest challenges that we have at the moment from a political perspective is the widening gap and division between the sides when that is the exact opposite of the intention. The way that our democracy is set up is to force compromise and collaboration. We are not in Hawaii so much, maybe in some issues. But nationally, that's one of our biggest challenges, is we're having fewer and fewer areas where we are choosing common ground. Yeah, and I think in addition to that, the best thing I think people can do regarding the economy is to work hard and not become so concerned about what others have, but just providing for yourself and your family. I think that would go a long way because sometimes it seems the more people start to become, it's almost like some people are interested in politics as a way to get out of running the rest of their life or making themselves successful. So like this program and your friends in the tech industry, what I respect about them is their number one goal is to provide a new type of technology and provide work for themselves and others. And the less time in a way they spend at the legislature, I think the better off because sometimes we have a lot of people coming to the legislature who it's more like a hobby for them than trying to provide. And I've just noticed that some of the most successful people career wise are the ones who spend less time in government and more time in the field working hard. I think there's definitely a point to that. I think that though there's a difference between, you know, I work hard at my job all day long and I provide for my family, but you know what, I also take on more of a desire to support my community, support my district or my island from an advocate perspective. So many of us who have been involved don't get involved because we want to run for office. Many of us want just to be that advocate because you know what I'm recognizing that something isn't quite right and I would like to be a part of that solution. Doesn't mean I need to be in office. It just means I need to make sure that those who are in office are hearing us. And what I would say is myself and others, I truly believe we're hearing from the community. We may not be able to turn this large ship around really quickly, but that being said, I meticulously look at emails and correspondence and reread things. I'm always thinking about that and in a lot of ways I feel very sad that I can't create more change that I want to. But no matter who you are, any contact you have with the legislature, I would encourage you to think that that it's not gone to waste, but you can expect a change overnight. Right, and I think it depends on the number of things. First of all, someone who's new to it doesn't understand how it works, doesn't understand how to engage, and that's one of the things that we've actually covered throughout the time of this show. We've covered this as kind of how to. You have the realistic expectations on this. Right, knowing how the legislative cycle works, when to begin engaging with legislators with a particular issue. If you've got a bill idea or a resolution idea, even if you've written one, when to begin that process. And then what to do once someone has said, yes, okay, I'll champion that. I'll introduce that for you. I'll get it introduced. Then what do you do? And just having to go through that process and understanding, oh, by the way, it isn't just you have an idea and you email it and then that's that. No, if you really want something to happen, that's what ends up that these advocates who spend a lot of time around the building are there because they're trying to make sure that the issue that they're trying to with the many issues that they are advocating for are the conversation has continued. Yes, and what this reminds me of, especially in the technology industry, on how it's changed for the better or worse. Sometimes we have group think. Some of the best change, it doesn't come from creating laws and laws are only as good as they are enforced, but the best change comes by changing or adjusting people's thinking. That creates the most positive change and that's what the internet community has promoted. But on the negative side, sometimes group think has a tendency to bully people. So it's a very delicate balance and I think we're going through the growing pains of this process, but I'm looking forward to the future once we get through these growing pains. Yeah, absolutely. And I think there's, well, it's going to be an interesting year this next year and then I think in the coming years, there's going to be a lot of challenges, but I think a lot of opportunities coming is what I'm hoping for. But it's time for a break. So that's how quick this show goes. So thank you for joining us again and we'll be back in one minute and thank you for joining us. This is Think Tech Hawaii's Movers, Shakers and Reformers, Politics and Hawaii Series. I'm your host Carl Campania and today my guest has been is and will be for another 14 minutes, Representative Tom Brower from District 22. See you in one minute. Thanks. This is Think Tech Hawaii raising public awareness. Freedom. Is it a feeling? Is it a place? Is it an idea? At Dive Heart, we believe freedom is all of these and more regardless of your ability. Dive Heart wants to help you escape the bonds of this world and defy gravity. Since 2001, Dive Heart has helped children, adults, and veterans of all abilities go where they have never gone before. Dive Heart has helped them transition to their new normal. Search diveheart.org and share our mission with others and in the process help people of all abilities imagine the possibilities in their lives. Welcome back to Think Tech Hawaii's Movers, Shakers and Reformers, Politics and Hawaii Series. Again, I'm your host Carl Campania and our guest today is Representative Tom Brower of District 22. That's the Waikiki and surrounding areas. So, again, thank you for joining us and we're talking about District 22. Some of the issues and some of the concerns and the challenges and what Representative Brower has been doing to try to affect a positive change in those areas. So, okay, let's go back. Thanks again for joining the show. Appreciate you being here. Let's go back to your district. One of the things you mentioned, one of the issues, the first issue you mentioned when I asked you about some of the challenges was homelessness. Now, I'll tie that together with the first comment you made which is it's the welcome center certainly of Hawaii for most people. It's the place where we want to have our best face forward as far as the tourists are concerned. And yet homelessness is such a huge issue and that area is such a wonderful area to be that there's a convergence of tourists and homeless people that come to that area and that can be a problem for some people. So, tell us about some of the challenges and some of the problems that you hear whether it's from a business or from a residence and what some of the and I don't know some of the let's just start there some of the challenges and problems with regards to homelessness and businesses and residences. One of the problems and challenges that's created by homelessness is we have a lot of public areas that are not clean and government really needs to enforce the law and keep areas public areas open for everyone not just a few people that monopolize those areas. What the challenge is is that government is sometimes afraid to act. They're afraid to employ tough love. They're afraid to afraid to be the bad guy let's say. So, we sort of have this community now where it's not as clean as it once was and there is litter then the graffiti comes then the criminal element comes and we see this in the parking lots of Ala Moana of Walmart. We see it in stores and we see it on the sidewalks in streets. Something that the city says is they say the the only way to overcome homelessness is affordable housing and no one argues that but we need state and city leaders to say statements like this. We've never had enough affordable housing. It's very possible we may never have enough affordable housing in the future therefore what can we do now what are some solutions to help out with homelessness and we see on the big island the safe zone that was created and I think that would go a long way here. We know where we don't want people to camp. Now we have to tell those people where they may camp until we can find them more permanent shelter. So we've seen in national news the hurricanes in Houston and Florida. We have if a natural disaster started government would act fast to create temporary housing and what about a financial disaster government then acts very slow or lets people stay on the streets. Okay I want to tease apart a little bit there. Something that you mentioned I don't want it to be glossed over too much you said okay homeless start to come into an area it's an open area it's a public area everyone is there. Homeless person will come in and then you mentioned that followed by some graffiti and then the criminal element. Something I think to be clear is one does not mean the other and in my opinion. I don't think that a homeless person or people coming into any area necessarily means graffiti is going to happen or necessarily means crime will happen. It can oftentimes go hand in hand and sometimes it will be the same but I think it's important to try to understand the differences there. Do you agree with that or and and and if you agree what have you seen in that regard or if you disagree I'd like to hear that. Well anecdotal evidence is once we have a homeless camp develop then we see people there doing or selling drugs we see profanity we see frightened visitors who are walking through these areas then we often see the graffiti now it doesn't mean that homeless people are making graffiti but once you have a camp there the graffiti comes through some activity someone is doing in that area and then we get the complaints of the stolen bicycles and then by coincidence we begin to see bicycle parts piling up. Yeah I've actually recently because I'm a neighborhood board in my area where I live and we were talking about underneath the couple of the bridges there are bicycle chop shops. Yes. So I'm sure that they exist in multiple places throughout the island. Yes we have we have moped shop shops in Waikiki they spring up and then the public tries to you know make the phone calls and get government to react and then at some point government reacts but we have the people living under the bridges we have the bicycle chop shops we've seen the moped chop shops you know we've seen all this activity. Yeah yeah yeah okay so it's a one of the things I think that has been done is are the sweeps that come through and will pick people up and move them out of the way. Now there are a lot of factors that go into it I my wife and I have run a non-profit for years where we help foster kids were aging out of the system not become a statistic not become homeless not become you name it across the board and possibilities sometimes we're successful other times we're not sure but as a result of that we learn more about these communities and what they're going through and what they're trying to accomplish then a lot of other people because you don't because you can't unless you're paying attention. Right. So what I what we have seen is with regards to some of these sweeps some of the people who are there yeah I get certainly when we want to have something with pristine and clean and wonderful having a homeless family or community in an area is not great imagery but some of the challenges that exist and this is just that we can have a good conversation about some of the challenges that exist are you just picked up some people and moved them and they probably lost their stuff whatever stuff they had they probably lost and have no way of getting it back. Right. So you've disrupted whatever little situation they have and is that that's not helping them in the long run it's helping how things look from an aesthetic perspective for that moment until people till someone else or they come back is that right. It's partially correct where government should do more is they should provide different lodging options for different people until they get more permanent housing so right now the city's policy seems to be you can live on the sidewalk or you can be in housing first there's not much in the middle we need the shelters in the middle I think we need campsites in the middle. Okay. So that being said where government I think needs to come to the table is provide some economical reasonable options on where people can stay the sweeps aren't intended to solve homelessness the sweeps are intended to remove people from areas they should not be the problem is government isn't telling them where they should be if the shelters aren't working provide some quasi type of shelter there where people will go to now okay I your point is I think exactly correct heading in the direction that we need to do we need transition options not just you can't be here but you can't be there either or where you can end up it's not a lot of places aren't enough places for people to be right so what are we trying to do from within the legislature or from with from communities or from business entities or whatever what are we trying to do right now to create more opportunities more transitional opportunities whether it be camps that are somewhere that are approved or whether it be if we talk about affordable housing what about rent control and trying to deal with situations giving people opportunities to have someplace to live that they otherwise couldn't afford in a rent control situation or one of the ideas that was mentioned to me is let's take one of these one one park and let's turn it into a community center for homeless whether we have micro homes or one person that I know mentioned that they have a a bicycle trailer type home so that they're at least not sleeping on the ground and and create sort of a hub a hub location where they can show up there they can maybe plug an electronic in if they happen to have it many of these people actually do work so they just need an opportunity to be able to plug in sometimes to check on this that are the other or or just you know whatever get to keep their phone charged but also have some some form of security so that they're not being broken into and here these are just a bunch of thoughts I'm throwing at you but what is actually being talked about with regards to addressing this within the legislature and how that would impact your district so what is being talked about on one hand what you're seeing on how government handles homelessness is how our top government leaders want to handle homelessness and I think there's some deficiencies I would say that the state and city are doing a lot of things correct and it is working but that doesn't mean that things are falling apart in other areas so I think the number one thing we need to do we need to enforce the laws that we have regarding cleanliness and no camping areas number two we need to provide more reasonable options on where people will go so whether it's shelters or prototype shelters campsites whatever works campsites whatever works we know where we don't want people to be camping we have to provide some areas where they should be is that being talked about or is that just an idea you have it's not really being talked about because the governors and mayors administration do not believe in that right now they've just got their perspective and that's why it seems like you're either on the sidewalk or you're in housing first and we haven't even gotten into and there's no work work as you mentioned we don't have enough housing we may never have enough housing for a lot of factors but that's where you start to come up with other ideas and the fact that government isn't telling you that I think that's what the problem is so whenever we talk to government officials regarding use of homelessness we hear about all the great things that they're doing and they are doing great things but they need to be able to adapt to the homeless situation as quickly as new challenges arise and they're not willing to do that why do you think that is and that's the obvious next question is why are they not willing well one is they may be there may be tunnel vision on what they think the correct solution is and the other is that they may not care as much as they say they care and they may just want to maybe say that look at what I'm doing on this they may not want to admit the reality do you think that they're being provided with enough options who the the leaders the ones who are you know from the governor's office and the mayor's office and they can create any option that they want to are they being presented with enough are they being told like you know what I know that we're not supposed to have mobile homes we're not going to be but mobile homes are not allowed we don't have mobile home camps or or or or anything along those lines is someone suggesting well well why why can we is maybe time to change that well all of these ideas that you had and and things that have been suggested by a lot of people are are these ideas being brought to them well one is if we can't have mobile homes they're the ones who made the law in the first place number two we know that we need to make changes because of the problems we have so we didn't used to have these problems because we in part enforce the law and required people to do certain things but now and in part I think it could be thinking of millennials you know you can go off into kawai and go live in the woods until deal an hour once a year with you know removes you so so those are you know some of the issues but but there's just not a willingness on in government to make these things happen how much of it is we have about a minute left how much of it is there's just not enough money because that's what we hear that all the time and I know I know what the budget looks like and I I've been through it I've actually worked in one legislative office and I've seen what the process is and what we hear over and over again is that there's just not enough money there's not enough money for anything okay in the short answer in the interest of time there's never going to be enough money there's just really not enough willpower to come up with creative inexpensive solutions or to focus from year to year this year we're going to put a focus of our budget or for the next you know by any of them we're going to put a focus on the budget in this area absolutely and then lay out a plan saying well okay in the next two years we're going to focus on this two years after that we're going to focus on this and then put it in that context I don't think we hear much about grand five 10 20 year plans right because nobody when we want to do something like win a world war we can do that yeah there's just not that level of energy put into this issue it doesn't seem to be that's certainly whether there is or not because you had different conversations with people yesterday we have a whole planning department okay but what are they doing and what's being communicated to people and when I have these conversations most people say well yeah but we're not so I think there's a there's definitely disconnect and it's only our top leaders they're the only ones that can accomplish this because the way government is set up they have the funding ability they have the resources of the departments so it really is our top leaders they're the only ones that can really help fix this problem yeah well there's a lot to do so thank you thank you for coming on the show thank you for your effort a good candid conversation I definitely appreciate that as well and thank you for joining us this is a think-tok wise movers shakers and reformers politics and Hawaii series we've had the great opportunity to have some good discussions over the past I guess year and a half total and this is one of them so I truly appreciate the opportunity representative Tom Brower from district 22 thank you for joining us this is think-tok wise movers shakers and reformers politics and Hawaii series once again to me host Karl Kampania