LT. GOV AIONA TALKS ABOUT HAWAI'I'S SOCIAL PROBLEMS TO LIHU'E ROTARIANS

Lieutenant Governor James "Duke" Aiona was on Kaua'i Friday to speak to the
Kaua'i Rotary Club, which held its regular meeting at the Terrace Restaurant
at the Kauai Marriott Resort.

Aiona talked about his 12 years of experience as a circuit court and family
court judge, a time he called the "changing point" in his life both
personally and professionally.

He estimated that 80 percent of his cases were related to alcohol or drug
abuse. While on the bench, he developed the first drug court in the state,
which provides treatment or rehabilitation, community service and
alternative sentencing for non-violent drug offenders.

"You see child abuse, sexual abuse, neglect…You see all of the dysfunction
you don't want to see in your own families. It opened my eyes as to what was
going on in the community," he said.

Aiona was also here last Saturday at the Waimea Plantation Cottages to speak
about drafts for a plan to battle drugs.

When he left the bench in 1999, he said he was approached by Democrats and
Republicans to participate in politics or run for office. He said he wasn't
interested and remained uninvolved for almost three years after leaving the
Judiciary. As a judge, he said he followed a code of conduct and never
aligned himself with a political party.

When approached by the Republican Party of Hawai'i to be Linda Lingle's
gubernatorial running mate, he told people he wasn't interested, but
"internally I was thinking maybe it would be a good idea," he said.

Regarding the legislative branch of government: "Politics…the first thing
that comes to mind is that you gotta wheel and deal" he laughed. "Executive
Branch - that's where you get to make policy and that was exciting."

After a winning whirlwind campaign, he said that he and Governor Lingle have
made accomplishments in developing relationships with members of the
legislature and in departments.

"In the past 16 years, the Lieutenant Governor's office was nothing more
than an incubator. You would wait for your turn to run for governor," he
said, "She's elevated the status of the Lieutenant Governor's office to a
level I've never seen before."

Aiona said he was tasked with coming up with a plan to deal with the drug
problem. Currently, state and house legislators are setting up a joint task
force on drugs.

"Every community is different. Kaua'i can be a part of the picture, that's
why we're trying to give people the road map and how to mobilize the
community," he said.

He said he doesn't have specific plans for each county, but on Kaua'i will
support Mayor Bryan Baptiste and the community in any way possible.