Civil Beat has asked candidates for the Hawaiʻi General Election on Nov. 3 to answer a survey about where they stand on various issues and what their priorities will be if elected.

The following comes from Ikaika Rodenhurst, nonpartisan candidate for Hawaiʻi County Council District 5 representing the communities of Kurtistown, Mountain View, Glenwood, Orchidlands Estates, Ainaloa, Hawaiian Acres, Fern Acres, Eden Roc, Fern Forest Estates, mauka of Pāhoa Town, Kaohe Homesteads, Kamaili Homesteads, Kalapana, ʻOpihikao, Kehena and Kaimu.

His nonpartisan opponents are Dawn Kānealiʻi-Kleinfelder, Chantel Mākuaole-Perrin, Shannon Matson and Seaula Jr Tupa’i.

Why are you best suited for the job of council member? And why do you want the job?

Puna needs leadership that will show up, listen to our people and fight for our needs. We need someone that can finally address the traffic, housing and the rising cost of living. I am the candidate with experience working with government for over a decade, who understands the relationship between council and administration, and will get things done. I am a father, engineer and coach. I want to be the next council member to fight for our people’s needs and provide a future for our keiki.

What is the biggest issue facing Hawai‘i County, and what is the first thing you would do to address it in the first six months after being elected?

The biggest issue facing Hawaiʻi County is our infrastructure. Roads, drainage, water and basic services are the foundation we depend on. My goal in the first six months is to listen to and work with our community and the responsible agencies to provide a plan of action with measurable goals to achieve our needs

Here’s one question from a constituent: How would you make it safer to get in and out of Puna?

To make our roads and travel safer to get in and out of Puna, we need to provide alternate access to Puna Mauka and Puna Makai and advocate for safety improvements along Highway 11 and Highway 130.

The county’s Homelessness and Housing Fund is due to expire in 2027 and some council members are skeptical that the fund has helped solve the problem. Would you vote to extend the fund, and what would you do to come to grips with this persistent problem?

Whether to continue the fund depends on the results of the current ongoing audit. One thing is clear, it is not functioning as intended and we need to determine quickly if adjustments can be made or if we need a new approach. It is our responsibility as leaders and community to address this problem, and it will take working closely with our people, community organizations, the administration and our state partners to make progress.

Vacation rentals — illegal or not — are often blamed for reducing availability of affordable housing on the Big Island. What steps should the county take to deal with the proliferation of vacation rentals and create more affordable housing?

We need to create incentives for vacation rental owners to convert to long-term rentals and require platforms that advertise vacation rentals to only list registered units and share host data with county enforcement.

Half of Hawai‘i’s cesspools are on the Big Island – an estimated 49,000 –  and Mayor Kimo Alameda has already said the county will not meet the state’s 2050 deadline to convert them to cleaner systems. What steps should the county take to address the cesspool issue?

As people of Hawaiʻi, we must take care of the ʻāina. We need to move away from cesspools. We also must be realistic when addressing the issue. We are faced with rising costs of housing and living, and this is another cost we cannot bear alone. Additionally, identifying and prioritizing critical areas, such as shorelines, and then addressing less impacted areas mauka will help keep conversion costs down.

What specific steps should the county take to relieve traffic congestion in and around Kailua-Kona and along the Puna-Kea‘au-Hilo corridor?

We need alternate access both mauka and makai in Puna. The current highways are lacking capacity and we are past due for an upgrade. This will admittedly take time, so while that is going through the process, we will need to push for safety improvements (i.e. widening, acceleration/turn lanes, etc.). Similar alternate routes and improvements will be needed in Kailua-Kona.

Investors have sunk more than $500 million into the Pepe‘ekeo bioenergy plant known as Hu Honua or Honua Ola, but the plant has still been unable to begin producing power. Should the biomass energy plant be allowed to start operating? Why or why not?

Locally fueled renewable electric generation requires us to get away from using imported oil. Renewable energy, like solar and bioenergy, are necessary to achieve this. Hu Honua also provides a steady source of energy that is not oil. One of the challenges with Hu Honua is to ensure tree replanting. With required tree replanting, Hu Honua could be a part of the solution to reduce or eliminate imported oil.

Both the state and county are showing interest in expanding production of geothermal energy on Hawaiʻi island. What is your position on geothermal power, and what constraints should be placed on it?

As previously stated, we need to get away from imported oil and focus on locally sourced renewable energy. Reducing the cost of energy and providing reliability will help our entire Hawaiʻi island. Geothermal energy is a source that has worked in similar island nations across the world and has potential here if health and environmental concerns are clearly addressed.

What specific plans do you have to improve disaster preparedness and response on the Big Island?

Improvements to disaster preparedness and response revolve around four areas: household (working with civil defense and promoting ‘ohana emergency plans and supply kits), neighborhood (CERT training and community emergency response plans), infrastructure (improvements and alternate access), and policy (working with state and federal agencies to utilize funds for preparations such as grid resiliency).

What should Hawaiʻi County do to get in front of climate change rather than just reacting and adapting to it?

Improvements to our infrastructure would help us get ahead of climate change, including improving our neighborhood rural roads, increased renewable energy and distributed energy, and improvements to water infrastructure like our wells and catchments.

Hawai‘i has a long-stated goal of growing more of its own food. What would you do to further that effort toward increased food sustainability?

Increased food sustainability can be achieved with the support of cold/dry storage infrastructure and support for and expansion of farmers markets in the short term. In the longer term, we can increase food and agriculture education at schools and invest in local farmer production, both crops and livestock.