Welcome to political activism class #101. First and foremost what ever are you thinking by walking around Kona and expecting to get noticed on the national stage? Really ladies, look around — it’s an island 2,500 miles in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Short of making you feel good, what really do you expect from this huge waste of time? I do not want to dampen your enthusiasm but rather redirect it so your voices will be heard.
All politics are local! Just think of all your voices standing together in front of our lovely West Hawaii Civic Center calling out the Salary Commission when they were giving out 30 percent pay raises that are now going to raise taxes on people who can least afford it! How about raising your voices to the theft of our tax money from the politicians on Oahu? Funding a worthless rail system for $8 billion or more while Oahu has a sewer system that needs $4 billion to upgrade and a federal mandate that will require them to fix it!
I cannot wait for that tax increase! Maybe get active with our local sewer issue that will cost upward of $800 million and that has a mandate by 2045! Homelessness is another issue. There are so many issues right here at home that could be rectified if only our and your voices can be harnessed and directed to the powers making all the bad decisions affecting our daily lives.
If you want to get into politics you need a thick skin, so hopefully you ladies were not overly offended and I will see and here your voices on the local stage?
Bob Johnson is a Kailua-Kona businessman