CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM Alan Murakami has been selected as vice president of the Rural Community Assistance Corp., which assists rural and tribal communities in 13 states.

Attorney works to
assist rural areas

Alan Murakami New post: Vice president of the board for the Rural Community Assistance Corp. (RCAC) Term: Three years Day job: Litigation director and attorney for the Native Hawaiian Legal Corp. Other RCAC officers: Nancy McLaughlin of Calabasas Hills, Calif., is president and Loretta Nez of Tuba City, Ariz., is secretary treasurer. RCAC mission: To assist rural and tribal communities in 13 western states through training, technical assistance and access to resources.

How long have you been on the board? Since the early '90s.

How did you get involved in the RCAC? A friend of mine from my law school days at (the University of California at) Davis, who works for the Rural Community Assistance Corp. in Sacramento, suggested my name.

What is its involvement in Hawaii? They have a multioffice presence, although each office is small. We started in Hilo. There's an office on Oahu and a representative in Kona. There are a lot of outlying areas in the 13-state region where sometimes people aren't in a formal office. It is a combination of helping rural communities and sometimes governments run a variety of housing and environmental programs, mainly water and wastewater systems. The mission of the Rural Community Assistance Corp. is to assist those rural communities in improving the quality of life, primarily through these infrastructure programs. There is a move afoot to take a more holistic approach. The loan fund, which has primarily been directed toward housing and water and wastewater, has a new funding mandate in California and is moving toward supporting things like health programs.

Are there issues you would like to see the RCAC tackle? Yes. I have another hat as the chair of the Community-Based Economic Development Advisory Council of (the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism). We support community development projects. It's kind of a diversification strategy, but one that is responsive to the needs of the community. There's an internal debate going on right now as to how RCAC can support community development; basically to link up economics with the housing and infrastructure needs we've defined previously. The goal is minimizing the negative affects of development, while responding maximally to the needs and desires of the community in which the development is generated. We don't want to just create rural sprawl.

Are Native Hawaiians defined as Native Americans by the group? I don't know if that's a formal position, but they've recognized Native Hawaiian populations are an important target population for their services. In fact, they have a contract with the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to maintain its Molokai water system on home lands. The corporation also supports Native Hawaiian housing developers.

Does the RCAC have a position on Hawaiian sovereignty? No. They've decided to defer on the issue until the picture has been clarified more by the Native Hawaiian community. But they are in general supportive of self-determination.

What is your position on the Akaka bill? I don't know that the group has a formal position, but I am in support of defining the relationship between the Native Hawaiian community and the U.S. government.

Will you stand for president in three years? It's more a case of who gets drafted. It's not something I seek. But I think the organization has been a very positive force in rural communities in the west.