Her challenger is also a woman leader with a military background and a strong environmental track record.

The land board’s acquiescence to corporate control of Hawaiʻi's resources represents the state’s continuing failure to uphold its fiduciary duties.

“We the undersigned firmly oppose the continued destruction of Hawaiʻi and all First Nations lands at the hands of governments, corporations and militaries which prioritize money over the health and well-being of people and the environment.”

There is abundant evidence that the military has not complied with the terms of its lease, but state officials want to extend the lease beyond its 2029 expiration date.

For Native Hawaiians, the protection of Mauna Kea is an ancestral responsibility to responsible land stewardship and a means of ensuring Mauli Ola, or a holistic sense of health and wellbeing.

NASA environmental findings mean that neither TMT nor any other development on Mauna Kea can be approved without being in violation of the Mauna Kea Conservation District rules and regulations.

The congresswoman's introduction of a bill that would expand the Pōhakuloa Training Area ignores Native Hawaiian and environmental concerns in pursuit of defense industry dollars.