• Letter to governor: Enforce Ohana Kauai amendment Letter to governor: Enforce Ohana Kauai amendment By Richard Heppard My wife and I supported you verbally and with contributions in your campaign for Governor of this state. We applauded your victory
• Letter to governor: Enforce Ohana Kauai amendment
Letter to governor: Enforce Ohana Kauai amendment
By Richard Heppard
My wife and I supported you verbally and with contributions in your campaign for Governor of this state. We applauded your victory against the entrenched Democrats and unions, who have not had to listen to other voices in Hawai‘i for too many years. It is obvious that you still have an up-hill battle with the Legislature in the Capitol, and hopefully the voters will garner you more support in two years.
We have a major problem here in Kaua‘i that involves Mayor Baptiste; whom you have a strong personal friendship with, and the County Council. The problem/issue deals with the Ohana Kauai Amendment, which was passed by a majority of voters (13,000/8,000). The Ohana Kauai Amendment freezes home property taxes for full-time resident owners to 1998 levels, and will help to keep many owners from being forced off their land by the never-ending spiral of increasing assessments.
The Ohana Kauai committee submitted this amendment for consideration over nine months ago for inclusion on the ballot. The Mayor and the Council apparently felt little interest would be generated in the amendment, and chose to apparently ignore it in the expectation that it would be defeated handily. Why would they take this attitude? They know better than anyone else that people are being forced to sell and leave Hawai‘i because of our “real estate nightmare.” It wasn’t until little over two weeks before voting began that Mayor Baptiste and the Council recognized the amendment could pass, and put in play a legal challenge to it.
I attended a Ohana Kauai meeting recently, and listened to members talking about families forced to leave their homes and move to Las Vegas, California, etc. I am convinced that Kaua‘i’s incessant real property taxes play a large part of this issue. At the conclusion of the meeting, the committee “passed the hat” for donations to pay for the attorney who has to defend the voters of Kaua‘i against the Mayor and the Council, who oppose the Ohana Kauai Amendment. The voters of Kaua‘i voted to pass the amendment by an overwhelming majority, and the Mayor and the Council are “stone-walling” it with their legal arguments that only they; with their exalted powers, can make such decisions. Add to that the unfairness that they are allowed to retain local attorneys and also hire a Honolulu legal firm to thwart the wishes of the Kaua‘i voters, who have to take up a collection to see that this amendment becomes law.
The Mayor and the Council, who are attempting to usurp the votes of Kaua‘i’s people, are wrong in their refusal to implement this amendment. I urge you to talk to your friend, Bryan Baptiste, and resolve this matter.
Richard Heppard is a resident of Kapa‘a.
