Not so long ago, in the current century, state Sen. Jonathan Chun was so disillusioned with the way things weren’t progressing in state government, and in the state Senate, that he contemplated getting out of politics all together. But the
Not so long ago, in the current century, state Sen. Jonathan Chun was so disillusioned with the way things weren’t progressing in state government, and in the state Senate, that he contemplated getting out of politics all together.
But the past two years he says he has seen changes, and willingness to change, in both the state Senate and among the various sectors of state government, and yesterday Chun made his intentions official by becoming the first to file papers for the state Senate seat encompassing all of Kaua’i and Ni’ihau.
The state Legislature over the past two years has become more willing to back changes, in reducing family tax burdens, coming up with innovative ways to support businesses, and partnering with businesses and nonprofits to forward mutually beneficial initiatives, he said.
Further, the Legislature proved willing to make changes in the way government services are provided, he added.
Changes also occurred in district boundaries for both state House and Senate seats on Kaua’i, and across the state.
The 2000 Census was used as a basis to re-draw district lines for state House and Senate seats, and public input helped prod a reapportionment commission into eliminating so-called “canoe districts” which crossed county lines and channels between counties.
While Chun, a Democrat, currently represents east, south and west Kaua’i and Ni’ihau, state Sen. Avery Chumbley, a Maui Democrat, now represents north Kaua’i and parts of east Kaua’i and east Maui. Chumbley’s canoe district was eliminated with the reapportionment. Chun’s seat is now expanded to include all of Kaua’i and Ni’ihau. He lives and works in Lihu’e.
Helping to craft and pass the county lifeguard immunity bill, bringing home nearly $70 million for Kaua’i capital improvements, and passing key legislation aimed at public health and safety, environmental protection and agriculture, were highlights for Chun in the 2002 session, he said.
“This year, we appropriated over $68 million for Kaua’i’s capital improvement projects for fiscal year 2002-2003, which in any year is considered a large amount,” Chun said. “And in this year of an extremely tight statewide budget, is really great.
“I am pleased, after working directly with the state attorney general’s office on amended language for the bill providing immunity for county lifeguards, that this bill finally passed, and will encourage the county to hire additional lifeguards.
“Preventable drowning deaths are always tragic, and ‘preventable’ is the key word in this matter. It is my sincere hope that with this bill all public beaches on Kaua’i will be made safer,” the Senator said.
“We obtained over $20.1 million to help and support Kaua’i’s agribusiness and its infrastructure. Diversified agriculture will help our economy and improve the lives of all of us who live here on Kaua’i,” he continued.
“Because I have three young children, I want the safest possible environment for them and all the other children of Hawai’i,” Chun said. “We pushed through three strong bills protecting children from sexual exploitation in their communities and via the Internet.
“I felt so strongly about this issue that I voted to override the governor’s veto and raise Hawai’i’s age of consent. It had to be done, and done effectively, because children were being hurt,” added Chun.
He is proud of the Legislature’s work to support public education, also.
“My children go to Kaua’i public schools. I trust my children’s education to Kaua’i’s teachers. Their learning environment must be supported,” he said.
“To that end we doubled Kaua’i’s school repair and maintenance budget. I have supported bills to count every child in the classroom. I believe that ‘every child counts.’ I support increased community involvement through PCNCs (Parent Community Networking Centers), and I continue to support the much-deserved raises for all public employees,” he said.
Wailua resident and County Councilmember Gary Hooser, a Democrat, has taken out papers to challenge Chun for the Senate seat in the Democratic primary, but has not yet filed paperwork. Libertarian candidate Lloyd Jeffrey Mallan, of Kapa’a, also took out papers to run for the state Senate seat.
But Mallan said yesterday he is leaning more toward filing papers to run for the U.S. Congress seat currently held by Democrat Patsy Mink. That district includes the Neighbor Islands and rural O’ahu.
Chun welcomes a primary election contest with Hooser. “The more choices that the voting population has, hopefully the better the system will be. A good candidate, a good challenger, will always improve the quality of the race,” he said.
The primary election is Saturday, Sept. 21. The deadline for candidates to file for public office is Tuesday, July 23.
Staff Writer Paul C. Curtis can be reached at mailto:pcurtis@pulitzer.net or 245-3681 (ext. 224).
