Maui County Council Candidate Questionnaire for 2010
Name: Eve Clute
Current job: university professor
Residence, how long you’ve lived in the district: 35 years
Background that qualifies you for the position:
I represent the positive values that many people in Maui County share. As a former County Council executive assistant, I learned the inner workings of the Council.
As a leader in the West Maui Sustainability group, working together, we created a student-run garden at the Princess Nahiena’ena School and we will begin a community garden this Fall in Napili.
As a doctor of public health, and college professor in environmental sciences, I teach evidence-based practices to assess, plan, implement and evaluate. We identify stakeholders for all aspects of programs, policies and interventions.
Education:
- 2001: Doctor of Public Health: University of Hawaii, Manoa,
- 1995:Â MA in Public Health: University of Hawaii, Manoa,
- 1973: MA Education: San Francisco State University
- 2007: Am Red Cross – Psychological First Aid
- 2006: U.H. Leadership in Geriatrics
- 2007: Healthy Heart Program: Maui Memorial Medical Center.
- 2004: Maui Community College – Completed course in grant writing
- 1997 – Research Associate involved in planning the environmental exposure portion of the pilot field work in Nassau and Suffolk Counties, New York, for the Long Island Breast Cancer Study Project. Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics National Cancer Institute
- 1994: Cancer Research Associate – National Cancer Institute, Bethesda MD researched environmental effects on cancer- wrote and compiled cancer information for NCI.
- 1993: Intern – National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, National Cancer Institute – worked with the Long Island Cancer Study re: DDT and breast cancer.
Public Health
- 2009 Coral Cross – Flu Pandemic Preparation Team member, Hawaii Department of Health
- 2007 Red Cross – Psychological First Aid Disaster Provider
- 2007 Civil Defense Team member, Hawaii Department of Health
Grants:
- 2007-08 Wrote and secured grant money for non-profits in autism education and preservation of Hawaiian cultural lands in Hawaii
- 2005: Securing and administered a state [$300,000] and county grant [$300,000]Â valued at $600,000 to cover the cost of operating the Lahaina Urgent Care Center from 2006 to 2008.
- 1997 – Wrote, obtained and implemented County Grant for uses of nuisance algae in Maui. Algae was dried, packaged, and sold for use as fertilizer.
- 1996 Co-author of $2 million federal grant for study and removal of nuisance algae bloom in Maui. Source of nuisance algae bloom was found and eliminated, and beaches were restored.
Community Service and Awards
- 2010Â West Maui Sustainability: vice president
- 2007-2010: Mayor’s Committee on Solid Waste
- 2005: Boys and Girls Club -provided Christmas gifts to children ages 10-16.
- 2004: Head Start – provided educational materials for reading program.
- 2002 -2005: Toastmasters; public speaking awards
- 2000 – 2010 Literacy advocate –Â Maui Community Correctional Center; provide books and art materials for inmates
- 1999 -2010: Kaanapali 2020 Community development and West Maui Hospital committees
- 1998: Art Facilitator; Maui Community Correctional Center; worked with inmates to develop social skills through art projects
- 1995:Â Watershed Kokua Leadership Award; Hawaii Dept of Health for successful nuisance algae removal from W. Maui beaches,
- 1992:Â Maui Regents Award for Public Service; University of Hawaii
- 1980-1989 EarthTrust: volunteer Program Manager
- 1985: Sierra Club Environmentalist of the Year Award
What else have you run for?
- County Council 2004
- State House of Representatives 2002
Have you been in public office before and if so, what position?
Board of Massage Therapy, Oahu (1982-86, chair in 1987)
What are the biggest issue in your district and your proposed solution? We need jobs in the West Maui district and through out Maui County. My solution is to utilize available jobs programs. On June 29, 2010, the Jobs Act was released by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus and Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship Chair Mary Landrieu. According to the Senate Committee on Finance website < https://finance.senate.gov > The Jobs Act is “fully paid for, closes unintended tax loopholes and reduces the tax gap.”
The Jobs Act was enacted to help small businesses access capital, stimulate investment in small businesses and promote entrepreneurship – all of which will help small business create local jobs. Congress established a Small Business Lending Fund [SBLF] of $30 billion to provide capital investments to small community banks to increase small business lending. In addition, the Jobs Act created the State Small Business Credit Initiative to provide $900 million in grants to various small business programs. Maui Economic opportunity [MEO] Work Force  Development, and the Hawaii Small Business Development Center, among other Maui County agencies and businesses can access this money for business development.
The Jobs Act is expected to create new or save 200,000 existing jobs. What this means for the Maui County budget, is that the unfilled jobs cut from the budget could be restored and filled by qualified workers.
The Jobs Act also places women-owned businesses on a level playing field when competing for Federal contracts. What that means for me, the owner of a small business on Maui since 1979, is that I have the opportunity to obtain money directly from federal funding agencies to hire teachers, researchers, survey takers and analysts.
As vice president of the West Maui Sustainability group, I have new funding sources for grant money to create a distribution network system for farmers to sell their food crops to local markets; and create additional jobs for the West Maui composting center and community garden.
What can the Jobs Act do for Maui County? According to their website <https://www.naggl.org> “funds are allocated to the States using formulas based on certain State employment and unemployment rate data. States have nine months to apply for the program which offers about $1.5 billion to state small business programs.”
A business can receive a government guaranteed loan for as much as $5 million, with no loan fee. A sole proprietorship, partnerships and non-publicly traded corporations with $50 million or less in annual gross receipts can receive many types of general business credits against their Alternative Minimum Tax [AMT.] This applies to sole proprietorships, partnerships and non-publicly traded corporations with $50 million or less annually.
Those who will be retiring in a few years will benefit too. Beginning in 2011, the bill would allow retirement savings plans sponsored by state and local governments to include Roth accounts, and will be available in the federal Thrift Savings Plan in 2011.
With the economy improving, and more tourists visiting the islands, starting a business and improving an existing business can be funded through the SBLF. With more local businesses, comes more local spending, which will bring more tax dollars to Maui County.
Please share your position on Bed and Breakfasts in residential neighborhoods. I support the current County Bed and Breakfast Ordinance, as long as the manager is on property and enforces the policy of quiet hours, pets, and parking spaces.
What is your position on county taxes and fees? Are they high enough or should they continue to increase? I propose a cap on current taxes.
Would you sign a pledge not to raise taxes in the future by introducing legislation or supporting legislation that raises taxes?
Your question appears to be contradictory. Why would a person “pledge not to raise taxes:” and then be “supporting legislation that raises taxes.”
Please share the most interesting thing about yourself. I am as comfortable in the classroom as I am in the garden.
If you could ask any of your competitors one question, what would you ask and to who? I have no questions. I am friends with most of the candidates and we talk, laugh, share with each other.
Endorsements? Coming soon…
Contact information
Phone:
E-mail: clute4council@aol.com
Mail: P O Box 11634
Lahaina HI 96761
Web site address:
Website: clute4council.weebly.com
Priorities: Jobs, Homes, Health & Aloha!