CANDIDATE SPOTLIGHT: Van Tanabe – Candidate Governor

Van Tanabe

By Maui Now Staff

Van Tanabe is a candidate for the office of Governor in the State of Hawaiʻi. Tanabe is among a list of three democratic candidates vying for the seat, and among a total of 12 individuals identified as candidates in the race on the 2014 ballot.

The complete list of candidates (in alphabetical order) includes: Neil Abercrombie (D); Due Aiona (R); Charles “Trump” Collins (R); Jeff Davis (L); Misty Davis (N); Khis DeJean Caldwell (N); Stuart Todd Gregory (R); Mufi Hannemann (I); David Yutaka Ige (D); Richard Morse (N); Joseph R Spatola (N); and Van K “Tanaban” Tanabe (D).

Full Name: Van Tanabe
Date and location of Birth: October 4, 1957 Captain Cook, Kona, Hawaii
Current residence: 1510 Kaumoli St. Pearl City
Occupation: Retired Telecom (32 yrs.), self employed artist
Elected offices held, if any: None (former candidate for governor in 2010)
Education: Public School (college of commonsense)
Community Involvement: Volunteer at elementary school, all around “Good Guy”
Family status: Single parent and supporter of 6 children

Governor Candidate Questionnaire:

1. What is the number one issue facing Hawaii?  Why do you feel it warrants special attention and what do you plan to do to resolve this issue? If you have more than one item, please elaborate.

Answer: Besides all of the obvious problems that have been plaguing Hawaii for years some of them for decades, I feel that the inability of our leaders to resolve any of these major issues is the #1 problem! This warrants our special attention because over the years nothing’s getting better they’re only getting worst. As Governor I will reverse this trend by implementing my plans to address each problem, something that my predecessors have failed to do. Their downfall was that they had no real plan to fixing anything. “Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail!“

This is Governor Tanabe’s plan to improve the state’s economy. First we will transform Kakaeloa into a resort area consisting of our very own “Six Flags Hawaii” and “SeaWorld Hawaii” and at least three 5-star hotels. I only used the names “Six Flags and SeaWorld” to let you know that we’re going to build world class theme parks and not another “Castle Park”. This will create over 35,000 careers on the west side of Ft. Weaver Rd. reducing more traffic going into town than HART ever dreamed of. The state will own and operate these entities, so instead of getting 4% of the dollar we’ll get the whole dollar. With this much revenue coming in we can seriously consider reducing or eliminating the tax on food and drugs. Oh! Since Kakaeloa is seeded land 5% of everything will go directly to OHA to perpetuate the Hawaiian culture.

Next we’ll build affordable long-term care facilities in every zip-code across the state, from Hilo to Hanalei. It’s important to have a facility in every community because it will keep our loved ones close to family and friends making it easier to spend time with them. Building and maintaining these care centers is the only way that we can insure top quality care for our “Kupuna” at an affordable price. The state will be providing a vital service for our aging population and at the same time create an additional 15,000 careers in every community. Again eliminating the need to drive in traffic.

In case you’re wondering how I intend on funding my plans to develop Kalaeloa and building long-term care facilities across Hawaii, the “Ohana Lottery” will generate enough revenue to get the projects started. Once complete these projects will be self-supportive and profits will contribute to the states revenue. This is my plan to improve our economy by creating over 50,000 needed jobs. At the same time reducing traffic by 30,000 vehicles, providing affordable long-term care for our Kupuna, eliminating taxes on food and drugs, and help OHA to keep the “Hawaiian Culture” alive and strong.

I also have plans to provide affordable housing as well as improving our education system. My plan to help the homeless will do more than take them off the streets it will help them to become productive citizens. The elections are about who has the most solutions and not the most signs! Aloha

2. What are your thoughts on the state’s tax structure—is it equitable and fair? What are some other options outside of taxes that you would support for revenue generation?

Answer: Hawaii’s tax structure has always been unfair to local businesses. The cost of doing business in Hawaii is extremely high and we must help local business owners by offering them low/no interest loans and give them tax credits and incentives to keep their doors open. Our local businesses has always been a part of our culture, let’s not lose it.

I mentioned the “Ohana Lottery” earlier to fund my plans to improve our economy. This program was conceived to generate over $300,000,000 annually and help hundreds of families throughout Hawaii. This is not another “Power-Ball” frenzy, instead it is designed after the Hawaiian culture, simple, helpful, and friendly.

There are three things that make the “Ohana Lottery” unique. First, you must be a resident of Hawaii. This program will not depend on one single tourist dollar. Besides, if only Hawaii people play only Hawaii people will win! Second, you must have a source of income. Paychecks, retirement checks, even dividend checks are all good, welfare checks are not considered sources of income. Third, each of us can only contribute $50.00 a month. By limiting everyone to $50.00 a month, this will eliminate the possibility of someone getting into financial problems. Also, by setting a maximum, this gives all of us the exact same odds of winning! The state of Hawaii has approximately 600,000 people in its workforce.

Now just imagine for a minute if everyone participated and played the $50, we just made $30,000,000 for the state. Now for every $5,000,000 we would pull a $1,000,000 payable $100,000 a year for ten years, a $50,000 payable on the spot, two $25,000 on the spot, and six $10,000 on the spot. But wait we said $30,000,000 so we’ll have six $1,000,000 six $50,000 twelve $25,000 and thirty-six $10,000 winners! That’s 60 in all! Every Month! Someone in your “Ohana” will benefit from this program, if not your blood ohana, work ohana, baseball ohana, volleyball ohana, basketball ohana, soccer ohana, bowling ohana, and even your church ohana! See how I got the name. And with the state having money we can now address the problems that have been plaguing us for years/decades. This is not gambling because everyone’s a “Winner!”

Politicians try so hard to raise money for their campaigns and they get millions in contributions. They spend it on commercials that talks about how honest, dependable, reliable, and trustworthy they are. We’re not electing the next Boy Scout of America. They also use lots of catch phrases like “moving Hawaii forward” or “because he cares” and “will work hard” but no SOLUTIONS!!! Even their signs tell you nothing and yet they’ll post tens of thousands all over the island. But still no SOLUTIONS!!! You would think with all of that money they would use some of it to buy some solutions to solve some problems.

Remember these elections are a contest to choose the person with the best solutions. Compare and make the right choice. Aloha

***Candidate spotlight segments were compiled as a public service to further educate and inform Maui voters about the upcoming primary election on August 9, 2014, and the general election on November 4, 2014. The questionnaires  were distributed via mail following the primary election candidate filing deadline for select races affecting Maui County.  The responses do not reflect the opinion or position of Maui Now or Pacific Media Group.