Crime and what to do about it is a recurring theme for candidates in the Honolulu City Council's 2nd District seat. Tackling crime a tough
task for council candidatesEditor's note: This is seventh in a series of profiles about political candidates for the primary election Sept. 21.By Gordon Y.K. Pang
gpang@starbulletin.comAnd while seeking funding for more police officers is an easy, quick-fix response, the candidates also realize it won't be that easy to accomplish. They say more creative options must be sought for the far-flung district that includes Mililani Mauka, Wahiawa, Waialua, the North Shore and a portion of Kaneohe.
"Illegal drug use within the community is a major problem," said Donovan Dela Cruz, an author and marketing director for a publishing company. "And because of that, crime is a problem."
Ernie Martin, an attorney who runs special projects for the Honolulu Department of Community Services, also has heard the refrain from district residents.
"They're seeing more and more the negative consequences of ice use," he said.
The 29-year-old Dela Cruz, a lifelong Wahiawa resident and chairman of the Wahiawa Neighborhood Board, said more community programs are needed in the district to stave off crime. That could mean establishing a recreational center in Mokuleia or economic revitalization initiatives in Wahiawa, he said.
"You look at the social needs of the community and you figure out where can we best put these resources so the community can get the help and assistance they need," Dela Cruz said.
Martin, who has helped with the establishment of Weed and Seed programs in Chinatown, Waipahu and Ewa Beach, also said it takes more than anticrime measures to solve the crime problem.
"That means more social programs, more recreational programs that provide our youth with healthy alternatives so that they don't fall victim to these adverse circumstances," said Martin, 42, a longtime Waipio Gentry resident who moved to Mililani Mauka during the spring.
Former City Councilman Kekoa Kaapu said there is "no magic solution" to ease crime, but one part of the answer involves paying officers more so that more experienced ones are on the street.
"Their visibility and presence in the community should be increased," the 65-year-old Kaapu said. "The way they are assigned and the way that they conduct themselves ought to be such that they are seen. Parked to one side chatting with each other is not the way to do it."
Kaapu has lived in the University Avenue area the past 25 years but has moved back to his birthplace and childhood home in Punaluu. He is the publisher of the Hawaii Public Interest Advocate newsletter. He served on the Council for two terms in the 1960s and 1970s but has not had success recently, failing in Council bids earlier this year and also in 1998.
Former state Sen. Gerald Hagino believes preservation of the rural environment of the district is the most crucial issue the area is facing.
Hagino, a research assistant at the Oceanic Institute, is a longtime Wahiawa resident. The 52-year-old Kauai native served 14 years in the Legislature, 12 of them as a state senator, before losing consecutive races in 1994 and 1998 to Robert Bunda. He also has been a field supervisor for Del Monte Fresh Produce and served for several years as an executive assistant under former city Managing Director Bob Fishman.
"A lot of the district is rural," Hagino said. "Having grown up the country most of my life, I'm very keen to the idea of keeping our environment, be it preserving the shoreline, keeping agricultural lands or just scenic views. And that's something I intend to honor."
Candidate Charles Penn, a landscape and custodial contractor, said there needs to be stricter enforcement of existing criminal laws.
The 43-year-old Penn, a Kahaluu resident the last 10 years, said another major problem where he lives is traffic safety.
Penn said he believes there should be stricter enforcement of speeding violations along Kamehameha Highway. He would even consider bringing back photo traffic enforcement, but only if the kinks experienced earlier are worked out.
State Office of Elections
