Where does Mitch Roth stand on the issues
I took the information for this post from: http://electryan.org/hawaii-county-mayor-race-2020/
I am writing to give highlights to the candidates so far, and what I have been able to find out about them, just from living in the area, and also doing google searches for their name and location.
Mitch Roth is probably most likely to win this election for mayor out of the current candidates, but the election doesn't start for a few months so it's hard to say who he will be competing with; Mitch (Mitchell) Roth. Mitch Roth has a lot of well known supporters, and has been in government as a prosecutor and deputy prosecutor.
Excerpt from a press release on Big Island video News;
He was one of the first community-oriented prosecutors in the nation, the first in Honolulu and then on Hawai‘i Island, the release continued. He has been Hawai‘i County’s elected prosecuting attorney since 2012 and served as a deputy prosecutor since 1993, first in Honolulu and then on Hawai‘i Island. One of his first initiatives was to help launch the Pāhoa Weed and Seed community improvement initiative, which became a national model, the release said.
HTTPS://BIGISLANDNOW.COM/2019/12/10/MITCH-ROTH-ANNOUNCES-MAYORAL-CAMPAIGN
The “weed and seed program” has both positive and negative aspects.
You can read a bit more about it here: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0887403414520699
Some of the upsides to this is ridding the community of ice/meth. Some of the downsides to this is targeting easy victims of cannabis usage/sale/cultivation. Anyone who has half a brain knows that cannabis is a non-toxic, non-problematic element of society for thousands of years, used in medicine, spiritual/religion practices, and also recreation. But it is not deadly, is not addictive, and does not need the heavy prosecution and persecution that ice/meth does. However most arrests under this weed/seed program is for cannabis users and not meth users.
Also beyond the drug warrior aspect of his professional career, he also vocally supported the asset forfeiture laws in the State of Hawaii, and vigorously enforced those laws for decades. He also worked against a bill that would require a criminal conviction for asset forfeiture to occur. Presently, and with his support, no charges and no convictions are needed to secure an asset forfeiture procedure against an American Citizen in the state of Hawaii. So if the police simply suspect a property is a part of a crime, the police/prosecutor do not have to issue charges, or get a conviction, they can simply fly through some documents and grab someone’s property regardless if it is justified or not (meaning, no conviction of a crime). Then the money gets directed to local police funds.
Read more about his efforts in this scheme here; https://bit.ly/38wJnoi
On the other hand, he supports STEM programs according to the press release:
Roth is a founding member of the Hawai‘i Island Visitor Aloha Society (VASH), the Community Coalition for Neighborhood Safety, NexTech, which creates STEM opportunities for youth, and has helped bring the Citizens Emergency Response Teams (CERT) to Hawai‘i Island, the release said.
HTTPS://BIGISLANDNOW.COM/2019/12/10/MITCH-ROTH-ANNOUNCES-MAYORAL-CAMPAIGN
He is being very vague on his website about his policies, and politics. But a simple google search has revealed a lot about him. So I can say he has great qualification in being acquainted with government. But I don’t always think that is a positive thing. Sometimes people get too entrenched and become “the swamp“.
His campaign manager Pomai Bartolome appears to be wearing Kai’i gear, which would be the triangle and smaller triangles inside, which is a common sign of the protesters that are obstructing the road at Mauna Kea.
It should also be noted the Pomai also works for KWXX, which if you are acquainted, this radio station plays a lot of Hawaiian separatist music such as “Keep Hawaiian Lands in Hawaiian Hands” and “Desecration” among others.
Given his ambiguous responses to this issue, and his lack of a solid stand on either side, combined with the fact that his campaign manager is Pomai Bartolome, it is more than likely he is against the TMT, even if not outwardly.
My friend Lisa Malakaua reached out to Mitch, and his response to the question on if he is in favor of the TMT, was that he “could not answer, because he is a prosector in a case that involves the protesters”. Which is code for “that is not politically viable to my campaign”
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