Click on each photo below to get an update on Rob and his spouse Heather!
Click on the button below to go to the grassroots group Rob has led for a better Maui.
Here's a news story on Rob's race for Mayor of Maui from a couple years ago:
BY DON GRONNING
Mayoral candidate Rob Parsons says he is not affiliated with any political party, which is fine since the mayor's job will be a non-partisan position for the first time.
But the two front runners, county council member Alan Arakawa, and current mayor James "Kimo" Apana, are connected to the Republican (Arakawa) and Democratic (Apana) parties. They will presumably benefit from their parties' organization and volunteers.
 Mayoral candidate Rob Parsons thinks voters are fed up with the inability of the political parties to effectively deal with Maui's substantial growth. |
Parsons, 49, says he isn't worried about that, as he thinks voters are fed up with the inability of the political parties to effectively deal with Maui's substantial growth.
"What has the two party system done for us lately?" says Parsons. "I think that there are a lot of voters out there who choose candidates for who they are and what they stand for and not the party they're affiliated with."
Parsons is active in a variety of groups such as the Sierra Club, Maui Tomorrow and various neighborhood community associations, including the Haiku Community Association, which he chaired.
He is a familiar presence at county government meetings. He often offers public testimony, usually against proposed development. He says he isn't against everything, just irresponsible growth and lax oversight by public officials.
This is his second try at public office. In 2000 he finished third in a five-person race for the Maui County Council seat that was eventually won by Mike Molina. He has since moved to Maui Meadows and this time has his sites on being mayor.
We asked him a few questions at Down To Earth Natural Foods.
Maui Time Weekly: What would your three top priorities be if you're elected?
Rob Parsons: My top three priorities would be responsible planning, economic diversification and, well, I like self-sufficiency, but that's really related to economic diversification, so I might put in a plug for coastal preservation. Because it's been so critical over the past few years.
MTW: What do you regard as your biggest accomplishment as an activist here in Maui?
RP: I would say that individually and with the teams that I've worked with - the groups and associations - that I think that probably the biggest accomplishment is simply raising awareness for a number of situations and a bunch of project proposals. Just letting people know what is about to happen well in advance.
Of those, the biggest victory would be Sprecklesville. We could have had 24-30 luxury homes lining Baldwin Beach, had we not mobilized the whole community to take action. And 400 homes across the highway.
MTW: What did you learn in your run for Council?
RP: That people are very receptive to the message that we brought forth. That 'empower the ohana, preserve the 'aina' is as important now as it was then.
MTW: Is there anything you would do differently campaigning?
RP: What we're doing differently is we're not trying to match anyone dollar for dollar. That would be futile with the big money that is behind the incumbent. So we'll do what we can with individual donations and state matching funds. Our campaign will be modest but effective.
We''re looking to do things, rather than just sign waving we'll be doing trash pickup so that we'll be accomplishing something while we're out there.
And we're looking to have a 'tell it like it is' campaign. Without being negative about any other candidates, we have situations, issues that are so critical that they need to be brought to the attention of the voters.
MTW: What do you say to people who wonder if you are opposed to all growth. Are there any developments that you like?
RP: I'm pro responsible growth. So much of the planning over the past two decades has not been responsible with respect to the impacts on our quality of life.
MTW: Can you give an example?
RP: Well, we're looking at some requests for rezoning and approvals for two huge South Maui projects that we have neither the roadway capacity nor the freshwater capacity to support. So we continue to permit even though our infrastructure is beyond the point of stress and strain.
And, rather than building what's needed most, that's affordable housing, we continue to build luxury housing for people who don't live here.
MTW: So there haven't been any projects or developments that have come up that you could support in recent years? What about the Iao Parkside homes near Wailuku?
RP: You mean the Stanford Carr ones? Well, I looked at those plans and decided not to oppose it. I felt that, you know, we do have to pick our battles so we don't lead other people to believe we're always opposing things.
But groups like Maui Tomorrow and the Sierra Club and the community associations are perceived as being opposed to all growth because there are so many examples of poorly planned projects being brought forth to the community that could have been avoided by community based planning - by involving the community at a much earlier level for input.
I'll give you my three keys for smart growth. One is that the community is involved as early as possible. So community based planning. Then a landowner or developer is really responding to the needs and wishes of that community. Either a small community or the greater community of Maui, rather than proposing something they think is in the communities' best interest or proposing something that will bring them the highest return. That is an essential element of smart growth.
Secondly, it is essential that we retain our sense of place. There are a lot of cookie cutter subdivisions that really don't speak anything of Maui or Hawaii. They just look like a subdivision that could be anywhere.
Dairy Road is an obvious example. It's lost its sense of place. And this is the corridor we bring everyone through when they first come to the island. The same kind of thing they just left behind in southern California.
There are examples of where we retained our sense of place. Places like Makawao Town, Paia Town. Particularly our small towns. Even the Kihei community is getting together with more plan and vision of how to retrofit all the bad planning that happened there and try and fold it into something that feels more like community.
The third element of smart or responsible growth is self-sufficiency. Over 90 percent of both energy and food is imported. Hundreds of millions of dollars goes off the island each year for petroleum.
MTW: Is your base diverse enough to win? Do you have a broad enough ethnic mix?
RP: We'll find out September 22. It feels like there is a lot more discontent with big money politics, on the national level as well as locally. It is really up to the voters to use their voice this time around. We are trying to reach out to people that are so disenchanted with the system that they don't even vote. We''re trying to let them know this is a year we have good candidates and can really make a difference.
MTW: Is there a danger of being too closely affiliated with Maui Tomorrow?
RP: I'm proud to be associated with Maui Tomorrow. They have a long list of accomplishments for this community, beginning with saving Big Beach and Little Beach at Makena for a state park.
They've sometimes been labeled as controversial because they've threatened the traditional ties to the well connected to swift permitting.
MTW: Why would you be better than Apana?
RP: I see the role of mayor as being the leader of a winning team. I believe that each of his department head hasn't stepped up to the mandate of what they really ought to have been doing.
I won't go through them one by one but, the water director, you never get a straight answer about how much water we really have. Housing and Human concerns, I think the crystal methamphetamine or batu problem is still a huge concern that this administration hasn't begun to deal with.
As far as housing, this administration has taken the stance that it's not the county's role to provide affordable housing. The Planning Department has been a disaster and will end up costing the county millions of dollars to litigate situations like the Lime Kiln in Paia and the Cameron House.
We need a whole new slate of leaders in the administration, of department heads who are not tied to big money interests.
MTW: Why would you make a better mayor than Arakawa?
RP: You know, there are two practiced politicians running that see things from a politician's point of view, from inside a system they already work in. I'm already outside the box. I don't have to look outside the box, I'm already there.
I see the role of mayor as being the highest elected public servant. You don't view it as a political post. It's public service at its highest.
MTW: Give me your last pitch. Why should you be mayor?
RP: We haven't got another four years at the pace we're going. We're continuing to hear from our visitors that we're over-building and our local families are working harder, working more jobs, and still not making ends meet. Or finding ways that their keiki can find a job here, can find a home here. We've got to implement leadership with a new vision of what's possible.
