Letters of Support: Mary Jo Moffatt-Maka

We are humbled and honored by the outpouring of aloha and support from members of our community. We are pleased to share the following submission, which reflects the author’s personal experiences and perspective. If you would like to share your own message of support, please email us at pow@dcshawaii.org. Mahalo!

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Mary Jo Moffatt-Maka

Waiʻanae, HI 96792

June 22, 2026

The Honorable Samantha DeCorte

Hawaii State Senate, District 22

Hawaii State Capitol

415 South Beretania Street

Honolulu, HI 96813

Subject: A Reality Check and Call for Empathy Regarding Puʻuhonua O Waiʻanae

Dear Senator DeCorte,

I am writing to you today as a resident of your district and former resident of Puʻuhonua O Waiʻanae (POW) to express my deep concern regarding your recent public television statements pressuring the POW community to vacate the Waiʻanae Boat Harbor. While the timeline for the transition is a matter of public record, your comments completely gloss over the logistical reality and push an unfair narrative about the people living there.

First, the pressure to "hurry up" ignores a massive tragedy. The passing of Twinkle Borge, the village's beloved matriarch and governing force, was a devastating blow. Expecting a seamless, rapid transition while a community of nearly 300 people is grieving the very leader who organized them is unreasonable.

Second, your statements fail to acknowledge what they are actually building. This is not a matter of packing up tents and moving them to another beach. This community successfully purchased 20 acres of land to build permanent homes. Building a village on the side of a hill comes with massive construction, grading, and infrastructure challenges. Furthermore, these families do not have a fleet of trucks; they are moving their entire lives up the valley piece by piece, while simultaneously clearing out the harbor.

Most importantly, I must firmly disagree with your public statements linking the village to local theft and claiming they make the area unsafe for high school students. That is simply not true. Before Puʻuhonua O Waiʻanae, that harbor was a neglected, dangerous dumping ground for abandoned boats. The village residents didn't just clean it up—they became a stabilizing force. They have actively run informal security to keep school kids safe, and when items like laptops have been stolen from the high school by outsiders, it was the harbor community that tracked them down and returned them to the school. They have policed the area and protected those kids when the state wouldn't.

Instead of using the media to score political points and pressure a grieving community that is doing the hard work to build permanent housing, I urge you to use your platform to offer actual support. They need logistics, trucks, and resources to complete this difficult mountain transition safely—not public ultimatums and false accusations.

Thank you for your time and your consideration of the full reality on the ground.

Sincerely,

Mary Jo Moffatt-Maka