Dear Governor Green,
Greetings
Governor, my name is Peter Shenkin and I am a 39 year old Kihei
resident, an attorney, and business owner on Maui in the town of Kihei. I
am the owner of Maui Powerhouse Gym in Kihei, with 41 employees and
3,000 local resident full-time members.
Sir, I am writing to
your office this evening because I am concerned by the unintended
consequences of omissions to your messaging during statements and
appearances on social media and national television. I think you have
done a wonderful job exhibiting leadership during the current crisis
showing patience, kindness, and sensitivity. I hate to offer
constructive strategic criticism at this time and would not do so if I
believed that it could wait. Sir, with all due respect, I believe that
you are erring strategically by not directly addressing future visitors
to Maui and alleviating their confusion over travel to South Maui over
the next quarter.
My recommendation, Governor Green, is that you
please openly and clearly encourage visitors to the island to continue
their trip to South Maui starting in September. Encourage the visitors
to show their support for the island by visiting Maui and remaining in
South and Central Maui during their stay. Your messaging would assist in
mitigating cancelled reservations for the Fall and Winter by reminding
people that South Maui is open for business and that traveling here is
OK and encouraged, and also morally allowable.
My fear, sir, is
that your current messaging is not setting a clearly acceptable timeline
for when visitors may return to Maui without moral consternation. As
you are well aware, the resident population of South Maui is entirely
dependent on tourism revenue for their livelihoods. You and I are both
also acutely aware that the incoming wave of cancellations will
devastate the local economy. Measures should be taken to minimize those
damages and their effects. The most conspicuous means of mitigation
would, I believe, be direct and vocal messaging on national media
through your office and the Mayor's office. For political cover you
could cite Mayor Bissen who has acknowledged several times that "Maui is
open for business, you can go to South Maui, do not go to West Maui."
For even more cover, you should nudge Mayor Bissen to start protecting
his South Maui electorate and their jobs on National TV.
The
zeitgeist on the mainland is currently: "if you visit Maui you are a
terrible person," "DO NOT VISIT MAUI IN 2023", and other similar
slogans. These populist messages intend to be protective of the victims
and the island residents, which is admirable, but they could potentially
be deeply harmful to small businesses in Kihei, like mine. If these
messages are successful, I sincerely fear a return to doing business
similar to June - September 2020 when there was zero visitor revenue at
all that will last into early 2024. Doing business in that type of
environment would be tremendously challenging for a successful business
like mine but could be existentially difficult for the food trucks,
restaurants, snorkel tours, surf schools, and other small businesses
that are not as sophisticated or well-girded. I truly fear for their
existence if this shutdown lasts for too long, sir.
You may not
be aware sir that commercial rent in Kihei is comparable to midtown
Manhattan prices. Kihei businesses cannot afford a fourth quarter with a
thirty to forty percent reduction in revenue without a bailout. It
would be a shame to see this happen when the preventative measures cost
nothing to taxpayers and easily accomplished through words alone.
Governor
Green, we are all hurting very deeply right now. We need you to protect
the future of South Maui by being mindful and protective of our fragile
local economy going forward and ensuring its viability.
Reach out anytime. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely Yours,
Peter Shenkin, Esq.
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