Running for: 11th District Representative



Occupation: Retired







MAUI TIME WEEKLY: Why should people vote for you?







TONY FISHER: More than

anything, because of my many years of life experience. I was in the

computer industry my entire career. Not as a techie, but as a sales

manager. I was also a Data Processing instructor at Glendale College,

and I teach AARP drivers safety here on Maui. My main thing is

experience. I've accomplished a lot of things.





What's the biggest problem facing your district?







Education. But there are equal issues. We have an enormous senior

population in South Maui facing problems of elder abuse and consumer

fraud. Property tax reform is another one.





What do you intend to do about this?







The Legislature has the responsibility to write legislation to fix

these things. I've written legislation—the COMET reform and an

ordinance pushing for auto insurance discounts. As far as education,

I'd like to peel Maui County away from the rest of the state education

system and evaluate whether more local control would get better

results. I want to de-centralize school administration.

 



What are your feelings on Hawaiian Sovereignty?







I'm a fan of Hawaiian Sovereignty. We're never going back to 1893,

but there has to be some sovereignty given to people of Hawaiian

ancestry. Though I'm not sure how to do that. I have mixed feelings on

the Akaka bill, and the last thing I want to see are Hawaiians on

reservations.





Okay, what do you think of when I say the word "Superferry?"







Great idea, probably being poorly implemented.







How about George W. Bush?







He's due the respect of any President of the United States. Like any president, he's probably made some mistakes in office.







Land Development?







I'm neither a "let the developers do what they want" person or a "never build another house" person.







Tourism?







Wonderful! It's how I came here the first time. But the economy

needs to be augmented by a high-tech process of industry. I'd like to

see a Maui tech center, where thousands could work technical jobs.





What's the most difficult thing that ever happened to you?







Going to college full-time while working two jobs.







What's the last book you read?







Short Stories by John Curry, the president of Northeastern

University, where I went to school. He's an old friend of mine, and his

stories mention many of the streets and people I knew growing up.





What's your favorite thing about Maui?







That's a hard question because the list is so long! More than

anything else, it's the Aloha spirit. I grew up in Boston and lived in

Southern California, and I prefer it here, doing things slow. I love

the pace of life. It really is the greatest place in the world. MTW