We have become far too reliant upon waiting for our Congressional delegation to bring home resources, when most states and counties are proactively applying for funds. How do you get a change in the economic type of person coming to Hawaii? And we as a government need to do what we can to facilitate it. Especially during these difficult economic times, its critical that they have the resources needed to continue their important work in helping people get back on their feet.. BUSINESS BANKING Beyond the Basics is a blog dedicated to nancial literacy in Hawaii. Yes, I did, and thats one of my proudest achievements. Amemiya, 54, has until the Aug. 8 primary to convince Oahu voters that he deserves to lead the city into the next decade. Right now, my favorite song is Mama Mia, cause. Like it or not, Im forewarning you, we have a campaign song that is sung to that tune. When they say he brings people together, its true.. He definitely wasnt trying to impress me, says Bonny, chuckling at the memory. I got to meet a lot of people. Keith Amemiya, thank you so much for your time. We have to get away from fuel dependency by continuing to invest in green infrastructure and multi-modal transportation. Most people, most politicians are saying they want to bring back a lower level of tourism. If anything, people on the community level, in the working class level, theyve asked me to run up for office for years and years, and I resisted for various reasons. The bespectacled man seeking to become Honolulus top executive was surprisingly not born with that plucky attitude many have come to know him for; rather, he inherited that trait from his best friends family. Its not for personal gain, for wealth or fame, but its to fix problems and make the community better.. CPB Foundations support allows us to provide a comprehensive continuum of substance abuse treatment services for those in our community most in need. An insightful discussion of ideas and viewpoints is encouraged, but comments must be civil and in good taste, with no personal attacks. One of the things about working class people we hear, with the hotel workers, for example, one job should be enough, and calling for better wages. He also served as Executive Director of the Hawaii High School Athletic Association. Hmmmmmmm. I dont have to point out that most of our infrastructure, including the tourism sector and Waikiki, including the downtown business area, the Honolulu International Airport, these sewage treatments plants, the power plants all of that is on the coast. You know for some reason, I thought I might be asked that today, and I have the answer. Ive led organizations that have many challenges that are similar to running city government. 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. But you also have to do your homework and show them on paper, and once you get a track record of success, then the next time you propose something, theyre more open to it.. He has also served as the Executive Director of the Hawaii High School Athletic Association (HHSAA) and as the Executive Administrator and Secretary to the Board of Regents at the University of Hawaii. I would need to think about it through, but Im inclined to say yes. Im having a hard time figuring out where the experience in your career Where did you get experience to deal with these issues? Keith Y Amemiya: Address 1942 Lusitana St Apt C, Honolulu, HI Keith Amemiya, 56 Summary Court Records Reviews Contact & Personal Details Relatives & Associates Keith Amemiya is 56 years old today because Keith's birthday is on 09/01/1965. So the rail project right now, its a major step. Its hard to make ends meet. Theres no debate about that, in probably some things will have to be cut. We have heard in the middle of this pandemic from behavioral health specialists that they are deeply concerned that depression will get worse, domestic violence, all of these other issues will get worse because of the pandemic. We also need to look at more third-party review. It was 1995 when Amemiya first crossed paths with the woman who would become his life partner. Well, that was a lot more than three words. Now, criminality, I dont know, Im not willing to say that. Keith, you know, whenever we mention illegal vacation rentals, we always have people call us and say whether theyre illegal or not, they need that income from that house or from that room in their house to supplement their income because our cost of living is so bad. Now, of course, Im willing to work with everyone, whether they be Republican, Independent, Aloha Aina party or whatever other party thats out there. Since then, the family has lived a rather ordinary life within the walls of their Pauoa home. The CPB Foundation has a long history of support for The Salvation Army Hawaiian & Pacific Islands Division. It was done under the Abercrombie administration. At least two of your competitors say that they dont need training wheels to be mayor. When you say that rail was ill-planned, who do you blame for that? With 23.2% of the vote, Amemiya placed third in the 2022 Democratic primary election for Hawaii lieutenant governor and was thus eliminated. I feel that people who have the power to affect change should do so, and we need to do what we can to make life better for them. 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 wanted to switch gears over to rail, and I know Daryl, you wanted, you had several questions on the rail project. Elections 2022 See also: Hawaii gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2022 General election General election for Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii I struggled financially, admits Amemiya in recalling that period of his life in the 1980s. Whoever was involved in the project before the construction started. Well, one area to look at is the city has approximately 1,000 vacancies right now, and theyve had that out of their 10,000-employee workforce for several years. I also believe we need to improve in the following areas: Clearer, more consistent communication to the public, with coordination from all levels of government and business and community leaders. Keith calls Honolulu, HI, home. You basically make it easier to get past, eventually. Those things do take time, though. Im the only candidate for lieutenant governor who is not a career politician or a lobbyist and who has executive leadership experience leading large statewide organizations. I want change, and the people want change. Being able to house our families is at the heart of our responsibility to ensure a basic quality of life for our communities. Umm, there must be some issue I changed my mind on, and I need to think about it a little more. Good fruit always comes from good trees. Today, girls sports such as wrestling, golf, water polo and canoe paddling owe their existence to the noble battle Amemiya first waged nearly two decades ago. What happens with someone like that, whos got a residential property on the makai side of Kam Highway on the windward side or down in Ewa Beach, right up against, you know, near Hau Bush and stuff. Name on ballot: Keith Amemiya Running for: Lieutenant Governor Political party: Democrat Campaign website: amemiyaforlg.com/ Current occupation: Executive Director, Central Pacific Bank. So as mayor, if you find yourself in the middle of it, what do you say to each of those factions, when people are putting themselves on the line? Is it really almost done? Homelessness is a complicated problem, as we all know. I do know that it was a little higher than the prior year, its an ambitious budget, its an aggressive budget, and time will tell whether they can fulfill all the mandates in that budget. 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. So to be clear, I wasn't there in 2018, and I don't think any of you are suggesting I was, so during my tenure, there were a lot of improvements to female athlete facilities. So I dont wanna speculate. Im also in favor of looking at maybe real property tax deferral, where they dont have to pay it now, but they can pay it later. I know theres a federal investigation ongoing, and lets see where it takes us. Commissioner, right, you actually ran that back under Mayor Hannemann, if I remember correctly, Hannemann. Both have lots of bodies, both have lots of money. [7] Before running for elected office, he was the senior vice president of Island Holdings, Inc., starting in 2012, and executive director of the Hawaii High School Athletic Association from 1998 to 2010. Like they went to a neighborhood board, had it on the agenda, three people showed up, it got approved and they moved on. Their first date was dinner at a nondescript sports bar in Honolulu. Can you place penalties for people who have way more cars than they need? 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. And as the mayor, you can control a couple of things in that regard. We cant afford to pay back over $800,000,000 in federal subsidies that weve already received for the rail project, and we also need to ensure that rail is completed, so that we can proceed with transit oriented development. [2][7][8][9][10] Until 2019 he was the campaign treasurer for U.S. Finally passing into law a true living wage and paid family leave. I know their issues. Yes, absolutely, but this does not address the long-term issues. Again, this is another example of why we need new leadership. I felt it was important to take a stand to show what party I belong to. She was living independently, but clearly needed help. The mayoral candidate joins 100 supporters during a sign-waving outing in East Oahu. Essentially, they told him that although they had welcomed him into their home and raised him since his early teenage years, he the childhood buddy of their son Christopher and someone whom Bert had frequently coached in youth sports leagues needed to learn to stand on his own. Weve gone too far. Were looking at in just a few decades or less, with even just a few feet of sea level rise, those being inundated, and that means roads are gonna be falling to the sea. Amemiya is perhaps best known for his tenure as the HHSAAs Executive Director, during which the HHSAA doubled the number of state championships held annually, including introducing many new sports for female student-athletes, to the point that Hawaii now holds the most state championships in the country. In 1971, he received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Ryan's Daughter. The host for this show is Rusty Komori. Well, we need to get out of our cars and car pool. I also think we need to enforce and make a stronger ethics commission. Ban fundraising during the legislative session I've been an executive in several areas in the private sector,. Well, again, I stand by my party affiliation, but I wanna assure everyone I'll work across the aisle, I'll work with everyone, but my foundation is Democratic Party base. I suspect that if Im elected mayor, our lives are all going to change, he says. There are far more resources available to the homeless in the Iwilei area, which is fairly close by, and we need to do what we can to divert them to that area. You deal with broad constituencies, you deal with every community. We wanted to move along to some questions about police. 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. Given that youre a first time candidate, have you read through it and familiarized yourself with city finances? They started that way, and they dont have the resources to pick up and move. What would you do differently than current and previous mayors? [18], Amemiya's biological parents divorced when he was 10 years old, and he was raised afterward by a friend's family. He defeated Keith Amemiya, 58.2% to 38.8%, in the November general election, and was sworn into office on January 2, 2021. Okay, youre from the police commission. He prefers to tout his accomplishments as a statewide leader, which includes years of public service as executive director of Hawaii High School Athletic Association and executive administrator to the Board of Regents at University of Hawaii. And Im proud to say that weve had multiple Olympians from Hawaii because of girls wrestling being a high school sport. Clearly that wasn't enough, and that's an ongoing issue, and I'm glad that steps are being finally made to level the playing field for girls in terms of the sports facilities that they need and deserve. After graduating from Punahou in 1983, Amemiya studied finance and law at the University of Hawaii at Mnoa, where he earned his degrees. Well, to me, were at the point where we need to do what we can to finish the project. I sympathize with the public. I mean, why not? While they taught me how to be generous, compassionate and loving, they also showed me the value of hard work and that I could do things on my own.. The mayor has appointed some two new people, and well see whether they do a good job. Its the number one issue here as well, based on my feedback from constituents. All rights reserved. Were on an island. When I joined the HHSAA, I saw glaring inequity that our female student athletes were having less opportunities to compete in sports. Additionally, state government operates in silos much too often. Yes, its gonna cost money to the city in terms of more sewage and more water infrastructure and the like, but I like to tell people, they ask me, How can we afford to? And I say, How can we afford not to? The longer we delay these tough decisions, the harder its gonna get to build more housing. Keith Amemiya is a candidate in the 2020 Honolulu mayoral election.. Working closely together, they got to know and like each other. Keith Amemiya, an Oahu businessman, attorney and former director of the Hawaii High School Athletic Association, announced on Tuesday that he is running for mayor of Honolulu. Instead, with each passing day he grew more resilient when faced with challenges. Its not good to have a homeless person living on the sidewalk, but the solution to that is more affordable housing, more mental health treatment, more drug abuse treatment. I used to spend weekends with them often, and one day they asked me, or told me like, Hey, why dont you live with us?' Im not complaining about it, but its stressful to have to care and worry about someone in your family thats mentally ill. Its on your mind numerous times a day, everyday. You know, you bringing up now, talking about tourism, a lot of people are coming off of our 10 million tourist year and then actually having a sort of vacation from the tourists right now. Thats not fair to people who follow the law. What would you do as mayor to try to curb that? For the past 10 years, the CPB Foundation played a leading role in supporting The Salvation Army with their Angel Tree Campaign and 4-Corner Red Kettle Challenge. To him, it was just another way of giving back to the community while also paying homage to the family who took him in and taught him, among other things, how to be plucky and stand on his own two feet. We can do other things, and maybe were gonna talk about Sunshine Law before this hour is over, but we need to get more meaningful engagement from the community, not just neighborhood board commission meetings. Is that doable, given the financial situation of the city right now? 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