Council slams Ruggles’ ‘discrimination’ resolution

Hawaii County Council members slammed a resolution claiming discrimination against Puna and Ka‘u, saying Tuesday they found it unnecessarily divisive.

Puna Councilwoman Jennifer Ruggles, who introduced the resolution, declined multiple requests from fellow council members to pull it from the Governmental Relations and Economic Development Committee, leading it to be advanced with a negative recommendation. Ruggles was the only aye vote of nine council members.

The rest of the council said they agree rural areas need help. But they saw the resolution as unproductive or offensive.

“What I have trouble accepting is the word discrimination,” said Ka‘u Councilwoman Maile David. “… Discrimination is a very powerful word. I think everyone who is born and raised here for generations has experienced one or several forms of discrimination.”

The resolution is based on a 2000 Federal Highways Administration Office of Civil Rights investigation that found the state Department of Transportation was underrepresenting populations of the rural subdivisions in Puna and Ka‘u when making long-range plans because of land use policies. That was considered a violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act since it could deprive low income and Native Hawaiian residents of transportation services.

As a result, federal highways recommended that DOT develop a Title VI implementation plan and take steps to better account for populations based on race, national origin and income level in its planning documents. The county was incorporated in the complaint because it’s a subrecipient of federal transportation money.

The resolution cites allegations made in the civil rights complaint, including those that say discrimination was deliberate and benefited Hilo, which don’t appear to be reflected in the report’s conclusions. It asks the county to acknowledge the report’s findings and make attempts to address the issue.

But other council members appeared worried that discrimination was being used as the cause for limited public services of all types in Puna or Ka‘u.

“I grew up rural. I still use ditch water,” said Kohala Councilman Tim Richards. “I’m looking at the community as a whole.”

Council Chairwoman Valerie Poindexter said her Hamakua district also suffers from a lack of quality infrastructure. She said representatives need to help each other out, as other council members noted during the discussion.

“When Jen speaks about her community, I can relate because I’m from Hamakua,” she said. “… I know the struggles of a rural community.”

Ruggles said the resolution was just stating facts.

“I do feel that the intent of this resolution is being gravely misunderstood,” she said. “… The purpose of the resolution is not to argue whether or not discrimination exists. It’s acknowledging that it did exist.”

She argued that Puna, home to several large subdivisions approved decades ago with essentially no infrastructure, is the worst off. Ruggles said she doesn’t think the county or state have done enough since then.

“No district can argue it’s not getting it like Puna is,” she said.

Hilo Councilwoman Sue Lee Loy said she is aware of the issues facing the district, but she saw the resolution as using Hawaiians as a “springboard.”

“And I take exception to that,” she said. “Native Hawaiians are not a springboard for someone else’s discussion.”

In response to a question from Lee Loy, Jon Olson of Leilani Estates, who was part of the civil rights complaint, said the Office of Hawaiian Affairs was not involved.

He said he planned to send another letter to federal agencies asking to see if the report’s recommendations or findings were followed.

Ruggles said she declined to pull the resolution because she needed to stand by her residents. More than 20 Puna residents, citing lack of water, wastewater treatment and substandard private roads, testified in favor.

Larry Brown said government officials failed to plan for the explosion in growth in the large subdivisions.

“I believe a very important step is to, one, acknowledge there is a problem with the disparity in infrastructure in Puna as compared to other areas of this island,” he said. “… I urge all members of the council to support this resolution and hopefully we can begin to make some real progress and move from there.”

Councilwoman Eileen O’Hara, who represents the other Puna district, voted against the resolution with reservations.

“My concern with this resolution is it has a little bit of a destructive nature to it,” she said. “It’s demanding something that any of our districts could actually demand.”

O’Hara and Hilo Councilman Aaron Chung both urged Ruggles to find other ways to help bring more funding to her district.

“You’ve got to understand the importance of relationship building when you’re in government,” Chung said. “If not, it’s just talk.”

Email Tom Callis at tcallis@hawaiitribune-herald.com.