WAIANAE (KHON2) — Elected officials and state leaders are holding a town hall Tuesday night, Aug. 12, in Waianae to talk story about issues on the leeward coast.
“We have so many wins in Waianae right now, so I’m really looking forward to updating the community on what we’ve been doing in the legislature to really bring more resources, more funding, just overall more support for the Waianae Coast,” State Senator Samantha DeCorte said.
Sen. DeCorte adds that crime is the biggest concern she hears from residents.
“I’ve been strongly advocating for more enforcement down on the westside, so most recently the state formed the DLE, Now we have a new director, Mike Lambert, and we have a new sheriff in town. This guy has been cracking down on ag crimes, so we’re so thankful we’re bringing him to the town hall to let him know what we’re doing in Waianae. As you may know, we just passed the bill, Duke’s Law, which was just signed into law last month, Act 235, which allows for more enforcement, more funding to crack down on ag crime, so we’re happy about that win.”
Still, staffing shortages and the unfinished HPD station in the district remain problems in generating the enforcement that many in the community want.
Staffing shortages and HPD station:
“More funding has just been allocated, so we’re on the road to finishing the police station, but as you know, the new chief just positioned 12 more officers, so we’re just in the process of doing that, but we need more enforcement on the Waianae Coast. I’ve been advocating for that for years, so I’m glad to see the city is on top of that,” Sen. DeCorte said.
On Tuesday morning, Aug. 12, President Donald Trump took control of the Washington, D.C. police force and dispatched 800 National Guard troops to the nation’s capital because he says, “It’s becoming a situation of complete and total lawlessness.”
Despite that thought, the Department of Justice says violent crime is down 35% since 2023 and 26% since last year, leading to the lowest levels in 30 years. The Trump administration celebrated that drop in crime in a press release at the end of April.
Sen. DeCorte says that something similar in Honolulu would help add enforcement.
“Coming from a community that is lacking law enforcement, it’s always a good thing to make sure the community feels safe. If that means more boots on the ground, more blue lights on the streets then so be it,”
Another pain point for many residents along the leeward coast has been traffic. State Department of Transportation Director Ed Sniffen is expected to be in attendance at the town hall.
“Shoutout to Ed and his team because they’re doing real projects out in Waianae, we’re opening up access roads as early as September, we just had Kolekole pass open for the evacuation recently. They’re doing some real work in Waianae, so I just want to make sure to let the community know, ah, traffic is tough, but we have some relief coming,” Sen. DeCorte said.
There will be 200 bentos for attendees at the town hall on Tuesday night, Aug. 12, which starts at 6:00 pm at the Ark of Safety Community Center in Waianae Mall.