Mahalo to all of you for coming tonight. I am truly honored by your presence.

Tonight I want to share my vision for Kaua`i.

I want to talk about turning that vision into reality.

My vision is clear. It's been my vision for a long time. I want to keep Kaua`i, Kaua`i.

It may be that your family, like mine, has lived here for generations. Others of you may have arrived in the 70's, 80's and 90's. Some of you arrived recently. We come from many different backgrounds and perspectives. The one thing we all share is that we love Kaua`i.

When looking mauka to the mountains or makai to the ocean as we commute to work each day, feeling the cool breeze on our face, jumping into the ocean waters to swim or surf, witnessing those acts of kindness or courage that happen every day on Kaua`i, we feel this love for Kaua`i. We know in our hearts that this is one of the most beautiful and nurturing places on earth, and it must continue for our children and our grandchildren.

This doesn't mean that we won't change, that Kaua`i won't change.

Everything changes. . .

As we change, we want to hold fast to our values of aloha, `ohana, malama `aina. We want to keep our land beautiful and sustaining. Our families safe, healthy and strong. Our diverse cultures--our host culture first and foremost--alive and thriving.

How can we keep Kaua`i, Kaua`i?

First, we must manage our growth and plan our communities well.

Second, we must provide affordable housing so our children can remain on Kaua`i.

Third, we must protect our families from rising prices, especially energy, transportation and food.

Fourth, we must protect our "natural capital" such as our watersheds and ag lands, our beaches and mountains, our rivers and reefs, our clean air, our aloha.

Fifth, we must create and sustain jobs for our people through a strong economy, through thriving small businesses, through a viable visitor industry, through PMRF and high tech jobs, through excellence in education and through economic diversification.

Sixth, we must support our families.

Finally we must find ways to work together and make decisions even when we disagree.

Let's now talk about each of these seven essential elements for keeping Kaua`i Kaua`i.

First, managing growth and planning our communities.

If planned and managed well, growth benefits our community. But without good management and planning, we have seen growth ruin our sense of place, overwhelm our roads and water supply and invade our open spaces and ag lands.

Unplanned, unmanaged growth hurts ALL of us.

It hurts the visitor industry. Building more rooms than we can fill lowers occupancy rates and reduces profits. It hurts workers who get fewer hours of work per week.

It hurts contractors and construction workers because with unmanaged growth, boom leads to bust. With managed and planned growth, contractors and workers have more 40-hour weeks, instead of 80-hour weeks--followed by layoffs.

Ever since I returned from law school I have worked for smart growth.

Smart growth is about developing a smart plan---where you want to grow and where you don't, how much growth, what kind of growth--then sticking to the plan.

Sometimes, that has meant taking a stand against ill conceived development. I stood with citizens who stopped the building of 1000 hotel and condo units at Maha`ulepu, and those in Kilauea who blocked a convention center and golf course proposed for the lands above Kauapea Beach, and those who stopped 1000 units at Nukoli`i. If those development had gone through, it would be too late today to talk about keeping Kaua`i Kaua`i.

The other part of smart growth is supporting the development that your plan calls for--such as building the network of roads, pedestrian walkways, bikeways, and bus and shuttle services in the Koloa-Po`ipu Transportation Plan. Such as building affordable housing and public facilities such as neighborhood centers and recycling facilities, as well as needed private facilities. Meeting community needs in accordance with a good plan will provide a lot of jobs and a lot of community benefit.

The second way to keep Kaua`i Kaua`i is by providing affordable housing, so our farms and businesses will have workers, so we are able to recruit teachers, police officers and doctors, AND especially so our children and their children can live here.

What will Kaua`i become if our children have no choice but to move to the mainland?

My plan for affordable housing is based on my six years experience of developing housing when I was Mayor between 1988 and 1994.

My administration developed, required developers to develop, or acquired land and infrastructure for nearly 1000 affordable homes--at Komohana, Waialeale Estates, Kilauea Self-Help Housing, Eleelenani, Halelani, Paanau, and Kalepa Village, and more. We also worked with Habitat for Humanity--and saved Lihu`e Town Court from foreclosure.

Talk is easy, but that alone will not provide affordable housing. It is know-how and action that are needed. My record shows that I can provide that.

The third way to keep Kaua`i Kaua`i is to protect our families from rising prices, especially energy, transportation and food prices.

I can’t lower oil prices, of course, but there are ways to protect our families from the hardships caused by those rising prices. I’ve been working for years on projects that do just that. I want to talk about three of those projects: the Kaua`i Bus, the Sunshine Markets and Solar Water Heating.

I started the Kaua`i Bus in 1990 when I was mayor. Today, it is saving riders, who use the $15 monthly pass, hundreds of dollars each month in avoided gasoline costs. I am committed to expanding Kaua`i Bus to meet our growing needs—by lengthening the hours of bus service, providing Sunday bus service, more frequent bus service, with park and ride facilities.

Food prices are soaring, plus it is costing more to transport food to Kaua`i. Back in 1978, I worked with Jack and Nancy Blalock and others to start the first Sunshine Market. Today there are seven of these markets and some private ones which provide fresh affordable produce for residents and visitors.

We can and will do more. I will work with our food network on Kaua`i to build Kaua`i’s capacity for providing locally grown food for our families. I will work with our farmers like John and Nadi Wooten, suppliers, landowners, chefs, community college, grocery stores, groups like Waipa`a and Malama Kaua`i.

Another way to protect our families from the hardship of rising oil prices is my solar water heating initiative. A family using solar water heating instead of electric water heating saves enough on their electric bill to pay for a solar water heater in 2-3 years, and over a 15 year period they can save about $20,000. That’s a down payment on a house or a college fund for your child.

Fourth, to keep Kaua`i Kaua`i we need to protect our agricultural lands and watersheds, our beaches, mountains, parks and special open spaces.

We need to prevent our best ag lands from being subdivided into country estates. We need to support agriculture by providing water and tax incentives. And where we can ensure that an operation is a legitimate farming operation, we should consider bed and breakfasts or homestays as an ancillary use subordinate to and in support of genuine agriculture.

We need more shoreline acquisition and park expansion and I have a clear record supporting and delivering these kinds of projects. I worked with the Kilauea community, Senator Inouye and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect 130 acres of the spectacular coastal lands of Crater Hill and Mokolea Point at Kilauea.

Without that effort, Mokolea Point today would likely be a gated estate. I also expanded Po`ipu Beach Park. And through a Council resolution and letters of support, I supported efforts to keep Koke`e, Koke`e.

Yester day I was at Lydgate Park. It was so beautiful to see famileis, keikis enjoying themselves at the beach. Going to the beach is the essence of our lifestyle. As mayor I will continue to protect and expand our beach parks, open spaces and public access.

Fifth, to keep Kaua`i Kaua`i, we need to generate good jobs for our people through a strong, diverse economy and thriving small businesses.

To diversify our economy, I created the Film Commission when I was Mayor. After Hurricane Iniki blew our economy away, the filming of “Jurrasic Park” poured $20 million into Kaua`i's economy when we needed it the most.

My efforts are still paying off. The filming of “Tropic Thunder” brought $60 million into our local economy this past year.

Pacific Missile Range Facility is a unique high tech asset which needs to be supported. PMRF generates more than 800 jobs. It is a key part of Kaua`i's economy, and it has strived to be a good neighbor. While some, including myself, may have major reservations about the Iraqi War, as we learned during Hurricane Iniki, the military plays many valuable roles that benefit the community. And there is definitely a need for genuine military defense.

I will work with visitor industry to keep tourism strong. Given recent trends, our largest industry may need to re-invent itself, addressing transportation issues, marketing, zoning and energy use.

I will support our visitor industry as it renews and strengthens itself.

One thing for sure, the foundation for a strong visitor industry lies in keeping Kaua`i Kaua`i, in protecting our sense of place and the aloha of our people--because that is what draws visitors to Kaua`i.

Sixth, to keep Kaua`i Kaua`i: we must support our families.

Our families are the foundation of our community, and we are under stress. It breaks my heart to see the suffering that drug abuse is causing our families.

Since 2003, I've been working with the Drug Prevention Coalition to prevent drug abuse by enabling our young people to set high goals, achieve those goals and make sound decisions in their lives.

As mayor, I will work on creating and sustaining programs that replace hopelessness with hope in our young people, and programs for our children that replace feelings of worthlessness with a sense of accomplishment.

At the same time, we have many wonderful traditions of family strength and resilience to draw upon, and Kaua`i is an island that truly loves its kids--look at the teachers, principals, volunteer coaches and youth leaders who give daily to our young people; our remarkable foster family program; our valiant non-profits; the phenomenal generosity of individuals, businesses and corporations on Kaua`i, and the passion and commitment of our churches; surely, together, we can provide for our children and our families.

Let us not forget that for our families to remain strong, we must also promote good health, wellness and wellbeing.

Finally, to keep Kaua`i, Kaua`i, we must find ways to work together and make decisions, even when we disagree. This is the key. In situations where coming together seems hopeless--GMO taro, vacation rentals, dogs on the path, real property taxes, we must all of us on all sides, dig deep to listen to each other, to talk respectfully to each other, and to find ways to live aloha.

My mother told me to make my speech short--and I’m sure many of you’re agreeing with her right now. I have a last thing to say.

The results of this election will affect Kaua`i for years to come. Each of us needs to look deep into our hearts and ask, “What kind of Kaua`i do I want for myself, my children, and my grandchildren? What kind of leader will it take to lead Kaua`i?”

If we vote based on talk, all we are likely to get is talk.

If we vote with our hearts and minds, asking each candidate, “What do you stand for? What have you stood for? What is your vision for Kaua`i? How will you achieve your vision? What demonstrated results and lasting benefits have you achieved for Kaua`i?”

Then we will get a mayor who stands up for the people of Kaua`i, who works with us and the rest of the community to create lasting benefits for Kaua`i. Who will work to keep Kaua`i Kauai.

I want to serve as that mayor. I will work with you and for you, all the people of Kaua`i, to keep Kaua`i Kaua`i.

I invite you to step forward with your energies, your talents and your resources to achieve our goal.

Together, we can do it. We can make it happen.

Aloha.