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July 4, 2002
For Immediate Release
Friends of Jack Kelly
for more information contact:
Jack Kelly 808-322-1778/ 896-4866
http://www.greenhawaii.org/
Kona coffee farmer and environmental leader Jack Kelly has announced his
Green Party candidacy for the Hawai`i State House of Representatives in
District Five.
Under the 2001 redistricting, District Five includes South Kona, Ka`u,
Volcano, Mountain View and areas of upper Puna
"These are Hawaii¹s Heritage Lands," says Kelly. "As
diverse as the communities of this district are, I believe the people in
the district have many common concerns. Conservation of natural and
cultural resources, educational reform, water for agricultural and
residential use, community based economic opportunities, and treatment
instead of jail time for non-violent offenders are some of the major
issues about which this community have voiced their concerns."
Kelly is a coffee farmer in Honaunau, a small business owner, and a past
president of the Kona Coffee Council. He has unique experience in
value-added marketing of diversified products. "Putting land in
farmers' hands, protecting the agricultural district, developing
agricultural markets for diversified products and maintaining the rural
lifestyle of the district are goals we can attain," says Kelly.
Kelly is the Coordinator for Keep Kealakekua Wild and vice-president of
Protect Keopuka Ohana, as well as an author and journalist. He sits on
the board of PunaluOu Preservation and the Flood Committee of the Kona
Soil & Water Conservation District. He also is Executive Director of
The Kiwa`a Society, a community based non-profit promoting citizen
empowerment by offering educational programs designed to facilitate
effective participation in governmental processes.
Kelly holds a degree in Psychology with an emphasis on recreation
management, and worked for twenty years a sports educator including 15
years as tennis professional. He has developed recreational programs for
various special populations including wheel chair bound athletes,
mentally challenged clients, the blind, as well as prisoners in a
federal prison. He is avid paddler and has been president of Keoua
Honaunau Canoe Club for eleven years.
Jack Kelly is running as a candidate endorsed by the Hawaii Green Party.
"I believe in the ideals and vision of the Green Party Platform;
environmental protection, sustainable development, social justice. The
idea that government comes from the ground up, that decisions should
emanate from the community level. I intend to work hard to bring the
Green Party and Green Party principles into the mainstream of
government."
"If elected I will be the first Green legislator in the State of
Hawaii. I will collaborate with both Democrats and Republicans in
finding common ground upon which solutions for the many issues that face
our state government can be found. State government needs a new
generation of leaders who are willing to make the extra effort real
change in government is going to take. I'm willing to make that effort
for the people of my district, for the `aina, and for the children yet
to come."
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