LIHU’E – Bryan J. Baptiste doesn’t say much during most council meetings. He sits at one end of the table and only interjects his point of view when he feels it’s absolutely necessary. But the people of Kaua`i must feel
LIHU’E – Bryan J. Baptiste doesn’t say much during most council meetings. He
sits at one end of the table and only interjects his point of view when he
feels it’s absolutely necessary.
But the people of Kaua`i must feel
comfortable with his low-key style, because Baptiste has been among the top
three votegetters in both his previous runs for council (1996 and
`98).
He’ll start his third term next January if he advances past the
primary election this month and finishes in the top seven again in November’s
general election.
“I’m not a big talker,” he said. “I believe in doing
things. I always ask everybody with all their good ideas to come to the table.
Don’t come with complaints and gripes. You need to have a solution attached. I
ask people to come up with positive solutions.”
And yet it’s a talking
project Baptiste is proudest of since he’s been on council. He introduced
“visioning” meetings, wherein the council and other government leaders got
together outside of the council meeting room and tried to talk out their
differences and then share their dreams.
“Some people don’t like that. They
like to see angry debate because it seems to verify that checks and balances
are working. They (critics) may be thinking we’re too amiable. But argument
stops action. It does no good to do personal attacks. It’s (visioning) a new
way of doing things, and I’m proud of that,” Baptiste said.
He said he
stays in government because of the young people on the island.
“The only
reason I do what I do is the children. This is a wonderful place, but all that
could change,” he said. “The only (incoming) people who can afford to live here
have found wealth somewhere else. I’m not saying our kids have to stay here,
but they should have that option.
“We have to diversify our economy to
allow our children to live here, working one job, to raise their family and
have good quality of life.”
To that end, Baptiste said he supports creating
jobs in the medical field and in technical industries.
“Otherwise, we are
pricing kids out of the market. It’s a Catch 22 situation. It is a tightrope.We
have a service-oriented economy and we also need to diversify,” he said.
“I
grew up here. My roots are longer than most on the island. My roots can be
traced way back,” Baptiste said. “I love the island as it is, but the world has
shrunk, the world is faster. The slow pace and the environment need to be kept.
Maybe niche marketing, tweak the tourism a little bit toward health tourism so
that dollars are paying for jobs in a higher category.”
Baptiste, 45 next
month, and his wife Annette live in Wailua. They four children.
Baptiste
became well-known on Kaua`i while working for the Ho`olokahi community
organization.
Staff writer Dennis Wilken can be reached at 245-3681
(ext. 252) and dwilken@pulitzer.net
