(MAUI COUNTY, HI.) – With tensions continually on the rise regarding short-term rentals and being priced out of paradise, Bobby Pahia announces his intentions to run for Maui Council to face these issues head on.
His mission statement as stated on the website Vote Bobby Pahia is, “Restoring our connections to ‘āina and community.” Bobby Pahia is known for his innovations in the farming industry and, to this day, he continues to cultivate taro in the traditional way, using knowledge honed by centuries of Hawaiian farming methods, according to the Hawaii Taro Farm website.
Photo Credit: Maui News Now / COLLEEN UECHI
He was born and raised on the island of Oahu and always had a deep understanding and respect for the ‘āina he grew up on. He learned from a young age that kalo is not just a staple crop of the locals but a symbol of the Hawaiian identity in itself. It is simply an embodiment of the resilient and sustainable spirit of the Kānaka Maoli people, who throughout all odds survived and thrived in the continued throes of uncertainty.
Bobby Pahia continues to hope for a sustainable future, where locals can continually be at the forefront of decision making on the islands. By giving a voice to the people of the islands, they can fight to keep the land in Hawaiian hands.
Pahia’s vision for Maui can be summed up into three key points of interest:
● PROTECT Āina, Wai, and Kai: Healthy land and healthy water means healthy people, advance regenerative agriculture, improve land management practices to mitigate wildfire and flood risks, leverage tourism to reinvest and restore āina, and protect our watersheds, shorelines, and coral reef.
● PROVIDE Cost of Living Relief: Resident needs over investor profit; requires reciprocity from Corporate interests, affordable housing incentives that keep local families housed and discourages speculation, building a balanced economy that provides stability to our community, ensure everyone has food on the table and a roof over their head, and support liveable wages and work/life balance. One job should be enough to survive.
● EMPOWER our community to Lead: empowering our community to lead, engage, and shape our own future, government should be responsive, accessible, and transparent, and collective solutions co-developed with community and government.
These are values that have been cultivated over a lifetime by Pahia.
Photo Credit: Vote Bobby Pahia Website
“I’m a farmer who has dedicated my life to ensuring our people have food on the table,” Pahia shares. “I’ve witnessed the environmental changes and said goodbye to too many people unable to survive here.
“I’m running to restore our connections to ʻāina and community. To fulfill our shared vision of a Maui Nui where generationally-rooted families stay and our people prosper.”
As bills continue to be discussed and altered as seen in the last Maui council meeting, Pahia continues to show his support for bills such as Bill 9 which aims to phase thousands of short-term vacation rentals such as Airbnbs to increase housing for local residents.
Pahia shares, “Every policy I support must benefit Maui Nui’s working people and protect the kai, ‘āina, and wai that sustains us.”
This aligns with Pahia’s previously stated beliefs and goals for his campaign, he hopes to put local lands back in Hawaiian hands.
To add to or correct any information in this report, please contact me at allyson.w@lead4earth.org or comment below with your thoughts.
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