Editor’s note: For Hawaii’s Aug. 10 Primary Election, Civil Beat asked candidates to answer some questions about where they stand on various issues and what their priorities will be if elected.

The following came from Tom Cook, candidate for Maui County Council South District. The other candidates are Kelly Takaya King and Johnny Keoni Prones.

Go to Civil Beat’s Election Guide for general information, and check out other candidates on the Primary Election Ballot.

1. Clearly, Maui County faces big issues related to the fires. What’s the primary thing Maui needs to do now to recover from the fires?

Maui County’s first priority is to get all that have been impacted by the fires into homes. I stress homes because a hotel room is not a home. We must provide decent temporary housing and ensure that our residents are able to rebuild promptly.

Secondly, we have to focus on the economy, because without jobs our residents will not be able to continue calling our island home. Our community has a unique opportunity to remember how we all came together in a time of crisis, now, working together with that same attitude to develop housing and the resources necessary so that our local families can not only stay, but bring back our friends and neighbors who’ve left the islands.

2. What should Maui do to encourage people to stay? What can the county do to ensure that families aren’t priced out?

The county has to work with private entities and the state to provide more housing for our residents and make living on Maui affordable.

We need collaborative actions similar to what we just accomplished with the Haggai institute in Kihei, which will provide affordable housing for first responders and teachers.

For those that want to build affordable housing we have to look for ways to help them and not hinder the process.

3. Do you support the new state law that allows counties to regulate and even shut down short-term rentals? Why or why not?

Yes, it can be part of the solution. However, I do believe we must proceed cautiously and fully examine the economic and tax impact to our residents.

I believe the place to begin with this is to ensure developments built as workforce housing are just that.

4. What’s your vision for Lahaina? How should it be rebuilt and who should decide?

Lahaina is a town that has touched so many people all over the world and this is evidenced by the outpouring of support that we saw after the fire.

We must come up with a plan that revitalizes Lahaina and honors all the cultures that have made Lahaina so special. We must restore Mokuula.

5. What should elected officials do to restore trust in county government?

I’m committed to being accessible and transparent. Supporting the Ethics Commission with a full-time staff will provide a prompt review of questions or concerns.

We must collaborate with one another to truly solve the immediate problems that face our constituents

6. Do you think Maui County should do more to manage water resources? Why or why not?

I think we need to be smart about water. First and foremost, we need to explore ways to best use our reclaimed R1 water.

If we can use this water for non-potable uses such as landscaping and golf course irrigation, we will be able to free up potable water for workforce housing.

7. What is the first thing Maui County should do to get in front of climate change rather than just reacting to it?

Maui and Hawaii are able to capitalize on our sunshine and wind. I believe we are heading in the right direction and fully support the state’s initiative to be energy independent by 2045.

My office has brought together landowners, county, state and federal agencies to address South Maui flooding. With the changing weather we need to be proactive and not reactive.

8. Homelessness is becoming more of an issue on Maui. What do you think needs to be changed to help people get into housing, and stay housed?

This is such a challenging issue because there is not a simple solution.

My first priority is to help families in need and to see that they are provided shelter and the ability to help their kids. We need to get our community police officers back on our streets and in our parks to assist in keeping our parks open and safe for our children.

We also need to provide the social services to help people get back on their feet.

9. Traffic is getting worse on Maui, and different regions face different challenges. What would be your approach to improve Maui’s transportation problems?

We need to be forward-thinking, so many of the traffic issues we face today have been known for some time. One example is entering Kahului on Puunene Avenue during the afternoon rush hour. This problem is finally being resolved; however, it has been an issue for years. We know where the problems are, let’s provide real solutions.

Another example is securing a right of way for a Mauka highway running from Makena/Wailea to the Mokulele highway to be built in the future for emergency access and eliminate the future congestion on the Piilani will enable the road to be built without the issues currently being experienced with the North South Collector Road.

To afford infrastructure we need to maintain a healthy economy to pay for it.