I recently spent the day painting over graffiti with one of Kailua’s girls AYSO soccer teams (right) – but it shouldn’t have to come to this. I’m excited to share that a new anti-graffiti law I co-authored has been helping fight graffiti and vandalism before it falls on the community to clean up. House Bill 2129 requires that those caught vandalizing property not only clean up their own graffiti, but also clean up any new graffiti that shows up within 100 yards of the area they “tagged” for up to two years.

Lately there has been a lot of graffiti in our beach parks in Waimanalo and Kailua, and at the empty “Ironwoods” lot across from Kailua Field. With this new law now in effect, the next person caught vandalizing these areas will be forced to clean up any new graffiti for up to two years.

I hope this new law will be a deterrent that will stop the spread of vandalism in our area, and show these vandals just how much work it takes to keep a public place clean. This time, they will be the ones responsible for the cleanup.

If you would like to get involved with any community cleanups or would like to help stop graffiti and vandalism in our area, please let me know and I will connect you with the right people and supplies.

New Non-profit Dedicated to Fighting Graffiti and Vandalism

Graffiti and vandalism in a neighborhood are the gateway signs for criminals that they can get away with anything there, and people won’t care enough to stop them. Fighting these basic ills can really help fight and deter more serious crime.

I decided that our community needs to organize to address this, and I am working to establish a new non-profit organization to empower the residents in our area to prevent graffiti and vandalism, and stop these crimes before they lead to something else. If you would like to get involved, please let me know!