OCCUPATION: Owns Kahalawai Coffee Cart at the Mahana Resort

RUNNING FOR: Maui County Council seat representing West Maui

MAUI TIME WEEKLY: Why should people vote for you?







DEIDRE ROCKETT: Because I’m

28 and I’ll be the voice of the next generation. I would like to

address the concerns of my generation, including affordable housing and

preserving the open space around Maui.





What’s the single biggest problem facing your district?







I definitely believe it’s a lack of affordable housing for the

hardworking families of Maui. Traffic is another, but that’s in the

hands of the state representatives.

 



What do you intend to do about this?







I would suggest that any proposed community plans need to include at

least 40 percent affordable housing. I’d like to see 50 to 60 percent,

but that might not be realistic. I’d also like to see the affordable

homes in any project be developed before the market priced homes. And

we need more transitional housing for the homeless.





You’ve expressed a need for more

affordable housing. But might we need a moratorium on building until

Maui’s infrastructure is upgraded?







Yes, I think we do. But the affordable housing does need to be

addressed, and if developers want to address the infrastructure before

building, that should be explored.





What are your feelings on Hawaiian Sovereignty?







I think that as a non-Hawaiian, it’s a pretty touchy subject. They

deserve democracy and should have the right to vote themselves. The

majority should be allowed to vote for either the Office of Hawaiian

Affairs or sovereignty and be given whatever the majority votes on.

What do you think of the proposed Superferry?

We need more discussion and research.







How about George W. Bush?







Bad leadership.

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

I don’t really tend to remember the bad things in life. Little

things come up, but nothing that’s that difficult. Maybe just the

day-to-day struggle of making ends meet on Maui.





Where will Maui get its water in 10 years?







I’m hoping from alternative sources we’ve yet to explore. I don’t

think we should be moving water around the island from one area to

another. The big island has deep ocean wells. We need to explore

similar options before just moving water around. There are many things

being done out there that we could be doing on Maui.





What’s the last book you read?







Choke, by Chuck Palahniuk. Very strange!







And what’s your favorite thing about Maui?







The way of life that I grew up living. I live here because I love Maui, not because I want to make money off Maui.  MTW