If and when “Tu Tu” Peggy Field of Kapa’a runs for a Kaua’i County Council seat in this election year, she says she wants to send out a special message for voters to hear: Her ties to Kaua’i go back
If and when “Tu Tu” Peggy Field of Kapa’a runs for a Kaua’i County Council seat in this election year, she says she wants to send out a special message for voters to hear: Her ties to Kaua’i go back more than 40 years, she loves the island, she will listen to their concerns and support legislation to enhance the quality of life on the island.
Field, 78, lived on Kaua’i from 1959 to 1962, them moved to O’ahu to find better employment and stayed for nearly 40 years. She returned “home” to Kaua’i in 1998 and has no plans to leave the island.
As a public official, Field said, she would focus her attention on legislation to strengthen the water safety programs, keep Kaua’i rural, encourage developers to preserve the rural environment and reopen a state office that once accommodated the needs of the disabled.
Field picked up nomination papers last Friday and said she plans to file them soon. When Field does, she will join some 20 other candidates vying for seven Council seats.
Field, who will run as an independent, said she supports Republican gubernatorial hopeful Linda Lingle “because she is the right person to make changes.”
Her campaign platform calls for:
– Beefing up the county’s water safety program to reduce the risk of drownings and stepping up efforts to warn visitors about Kaua’i’s dangerous water conditions.
Field suggested Hokuanu Aki, the Kaua’i youth who lost his lower left leg in a recent shark attack, could go on tour to “bring home the message of where to go into the water and where not to go in.”
– Helping to keep Kaua’i “green” by requiring developers to set aside open space and build homes that are farther apart to reduce densities in neighborhoods.
“It is up to us, the people, to see that they do follow through on their commitments,” she said. “Part of the solution is getting developers involved. I also would look into taxes, to see if they can be reduced (to encourage developers to build projects with less density).
– Encouraging agricultural enterprise.
– Reopening an office in the State Building in Lihu’e to help the disabled.
– Having more senior citizens employed by government to help provide service to fellow senior citizen.
– Establishing supervised parties for youths.
“Put young people in charge of these things and make them understand they are in charge of things,” she said.
– Automatically sending abusive husbands or boyfriends to anger control centers.
– Networking among the four counties to share information – through media accounts – on successful programs.
If Field runs or gets elected, she said she will visit neighborhoods every two weeks “to find out what concerns residents and fashion a solution,” she said.
Field, who has never run for or held public office, said she decided to run for a County Council seat two weeks ago, shocking her daughter.
“She said I was nuts, but she enjoys this kind of thing, this challenge,” Field said. “I figure if I was going to be concerned about Kaua’i’s future, I should do something.”
She said her age is not going to get in the way of doing her job, adding “My energy rises as I get involved with projects that interest me.”
Through the Senior Citizens Service Community Program, a government-funded project to help place senior citizens in permanent jobs, Field works as a librarian at Kid’s School in Kapa’a, owned by Phyllis Kunimura, the wife of the late Tony T. Kunimura, the mayor of Kaua’i from 1982-1988 and longtime state legislator.
Field said she follows Council meetings on Ho’ike television to keep up on the latest issues.
Field’s introduction to Hawai’i came in 1951, when she flew arrived on O’ahu from California.
At the time, she was married to a Navy Seabee who was stationed on O’ahu during World War II and wanted to return to Hawai’i to live.
While her husband worked for United Airlines, Field said she worked as a advertising copywriter and as a makeup artist for television station KGMB for a short time in the 1950s.
Burned out by fast-paced urban living on O’ahu, she moved to Kaua’i in 1959 with her daughter, Paula, then one year old at the time, and lived in Kapa’a.
But Field returned to O’ahu in 1962 for better job opportunities. For the next 40 years, she remained on O’ahu and worked “on and off” for an advertising agency.
Tired of the noise and congestion of city living on O’ahu, Field moved back to Kaua’i in 1998 with her daughter and settled in Kapa’a again.
Her daughter, a Kapa’a businesswoman, lives in a nearby home.
“This is coming home for me. Kaua’i is still a friendly place. It is still paradise,” Field said. “I would like to help keep it that (as a councilwoman).”
Staff writer Lester Chang can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) and mailto:lchang@pulitzer.net
