Local Connection: Waianae Homeless Camp

One thing you can count on with Governor David Ige's administration is that even when they try to do something that most people would agree with, they manage to make it controversial through incompetence.

The latest example is the public flip flop over the decision to shut down the ten-year-old homeless encampment near Waianae Boat harbor

It seems that everyone – the residents, the governor and the community – agree that at some point, the 200-plus people there will have to find new places to live.

That will be no small challenge. It's a process that could take months or even years. The community is opposed to a sudden sweep that would scatter the homeless campers across the coast.

So they were shocked when the state homeless coordinator showed up unannounced at the Waianae Coast neighborhood board to say that the harbor land would be vacated in three months. There was an outcry with some warning officials that an effort to sweep the camp that quickly might be met with resistance – and not just from the camp residents.

A week later, the Governor personally visited the leaders of the camp to apologize and say that he was NOT going to move them out, and would take time to work with the campers to find a solution.

Another head-spinning, confusing and unnecessary episode from an administration that has already had far too many high profile blunders.

It's gotten to the point where the question is not whether a major challenge will be mishandled, but when.

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