LIHUE — JoAnne Georgi has had enough. The Eleele resident, who ran unsuccessfully for a state House District 16 seat in 2006 and state Senate seat in 2008, said she is now running for a Kauai County Council seat to
LIHUE — JoAnne Georgi has had enough.
The Eleele resident, who ran unsuccessfully for a state House District 16 seat in 2006 and state Senate seat in 2008, said she is now running for a Kauai County Council seat to bring a new voice to the seven-member board.
“I am so sick of the County Council and the mayor not doing the will of the people, and that’s the bottom line,” Georgi said.
She said county officials, for example, should have used Office of the County Auditor reports to streamline and cut costs during this past budget session rather than raise taxes and fees for county taxpayers, particularly those on homes that are not owner-occupied and used as rental properties.
“Every person who rents property on this island is going to get an increase in their rent because landlords are going to pass this amount of money through — there’s no way they’re not going to,” Georgi said. “It hurts regular people and that’s what really, really irritates me. They are not thinking of the common, average, ordinary person.”
Georgi, who served on Kauai’s advisory council to the state 2011 Reapportionment Commission, said she wants to use her business background — as a former bridal store owner and employee of Merrill Lynch, IBM and Pitney Bowes — to turn things around.
“I am very strong on ethics,” Georgi said. “I think a person, when they say something, should mean it and carry through on it. I don’t like mealy-mouthed politicians, to be very honest with you, who talk out of both sides of their mouth.”
If elected, Georgi said she would like to revisit the audits produced by the Office of the County Auditor and see which county departments or functions can be streamlined.
“We need to think about the average, ordinary person, period, and that’s what my strong point is,” Georgi said. “I care about people — I care about the island. I don’t care about the powers that be — I couldn’t care less about them. We need to help this county get turned around so it’s financially stable, which it is not right now.”
Though Bill 2491, now Ordinance 960, primarily focuses on pesticide use by Kauai Coffee, Dow AgroSciences, Syngenta, BASF and DuPont Pioneer, Georgi said she also wants to take a look at “the state and county use of pesticides.”
“Let’s face it, no one wants to get injured by any kind of chemicals,” Georgi said. “This is a big issue for this island and it really needs to be addressed.”
Georgi is employed by Diamond Resorts International, which operates The Point at Poipu.
