Ray Chuan, a longtime government watchdog and environmentalist who help lead a fight to move commercial boaters out of Hanalei Bay, took out nomination papers Friday to run for mayor or the Kaua’i County Council in this year’s election. But
Ray Chuan, a longtime government watchdog and environmentalist who help lead a fight to move commercial boaters out of Hanalei Bay, took out nomination papers Friday to run for mayor or the Kaua’i County Council in this year’s election.
But Chuan says if he decides to run and wins either seat, he will push for tax reform legislation that will help Kaua’i families keep their properties, allowing them to stay on Kaua’i.
Chuan, a 78-year-old Hanalei resident, said he hasn’t decided whether he will formally run and is weighing his options.
“It could be either or none,” Chuan said outside the Elections Division Office at the historic County Building.
He contended the current tax structure is such that people are being taxed off properties that have been in their families for generations, and are being forced to relocate to other parts of Hawai’i or to the mainland.
“A lady from the North Shore said during a radio talk show that her assessment went up by 600 percent,” said Chuan, shaking his head.
Chuan also contended many residents can’t afford the high rents of the North Shore. The situation was illustrated a few weeks ago when heavy rains forced the closure of roads by the Hanalei Bridge, isolating Hanalei town, Chuan said.
Many businesses in the area closed down temporarily because local residents, employees at the stores, couldn’t commute to their job, Chuan said.
Politicians and candidates for public offices usually talk about “wanting to keep Kaua’i, Kaua’i (during campaigning), but that is a trite statement,” Chuan said.
“I want to bring meaning to that statement (through tax reform),” he said. “Kaua’i is not Kaua’i if all the locals are pushed out.”
Chuan also said a statement longtime Kaua’i County Councilman Kaipo Asing made a few years ago partially prompted him to consider running for public office.
“At a meeting 1 1/2 years ago, some people on the North Shore complained about the loss of the neighborhood due to the proliferation of vacation rentals,” Chuan said. “During discussions, Kaipo (who has owned or owns a building in Ha’ena) said ‘pretty soon there won’t be any locals left.’ That stuck home.”
If elected to public office, Chuan also said he would advocate for an audit of the county government.
Chuan said friends have approached him to run for public office.
As president of the Limu Coalition, Chuan helped lead efforts that eventually resulted in the removal of a majority of commercial tour boats from the Hanalei Bay and River.
Chuan, who is married, became a part-time Kaua’i resident in 1968, bought a home in Hanalei in 1982 and became a permanent resident in 1988.
Chuan, who has a doctorate degree in atmospheric science, taught at the University of Southern California. He also owned a research and development firm in Los Angeles County.
In the late 1960s, Chuan ran unsuccessfully for a school board post in that county.
