LIHUE — Right in the middle of a small crowd holding up “Tulsi Gabbard” signs near Lihue Airport was none other than the congresswoman herself.

Wearing two colorful lei and balancing a campaign sign with her left hand, the 37-year-old waved with her right hand and smiled at passersby.

Many drivers honked horns and waved back.

“We’re working hard and going across the state,” Gabbard said during a brief interview with The Garden Island. “It’s the home stretch.”

The U.S. representative for Hawaii’s 2nd Congressional District, which covers rural Oahu and the Neighbor Islands, has a busy schedule during her stop on Kauai.

Friday, she took part in a blessing ceremony for a federal grant that will help develop a stretch of Rice Street and some surrounding areas considered key to Lihue’s business district. Then, she planned to visit the Kauai Police Department for the presentation of a certificate in honor of its 75th anniversary. Stops to chat with Kauai Prosecuting Attorney Justin Kollar and veterans were also on the agenda.

Saturday included a trip to Wainiha for a party in appreciation of the Samaritan’s Purse members helping with flood recovery on the North Shore.

“The community is coming together for a big mahalo,” said Gabbard, who had Kauai veteran Ed Kawamura Sr. at her side.

Gabbard is being challenged by Democrat Sherry Alu Campagna, who has criticized Gabbard for not debating her. Gabbard has maintained she is spending her time focusing on meeting the people she represents and hearing their concerns before the Aug. 11 primary election.

Key issues remain the cost of living and lack of affordable housing for Gabbard, a veteran who served in the Middle East, and is a major in the Hawaii Army National Guard. She was elected to the House of Representatives in 2012 and was easily reelected in 2014 and 2016.

The rising cost of housing, she said, is the “biggest issue that we’re facing.”

“That’s what’s driving a lot of the homeless issues, it’s what’s driving so much of the hardship that people here are facing, and the decisions their kids are facing on whether they can even stay here to live,” Gabbard said.

That’s why using federal funds to develop the infrastructure that can help businesses grow is important, she said, referencing the $15 million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grant the county received to revitalize the Lihue town core.

TGI also asked Gabbard for her thoughts on North Korea on Friday returning the remains of what are believed to be U.S. servicemen killed during the Korean War. She has been an advocate for diplomacy over military action in regards to North Korea.

“The importance of that can’t be understated, especially given many people’s families who have been waiting for this kind of closure,” she said.

“This is something I’ve been very vocal and active on since going to Congress, both on the need for direct talks between our two countries, which began during the Trump/Kim summit in Singapore, which are ongoing now. I think those are positive steps.”

“There’s a lot of progress that remains toward reaching that objective of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula,” she said.

The details of the agreement between the U.S. and North Korea and the following actions will be critical moving toward denuclearization, Gabbard said.

“There remains opportunity for a peaceful, diplomatic path toward that objective,” she said.

RIMPAC, the Rim of the Pacific military exercises, are being held in waters around Hawaii and are set to wrap up next week. It is the world’s largest international maritime warfare exercise, and Gabbard said she supports what it does in terms of relationships between countries, but said concerns remain about its impact on marine life.

“What it does is it allows for more military-to-military partnerships in a training context,” she said. “We’ve seen the benefits of these kinds of relationships come about most often when there are natural disasters and other things that our military has helped respond to — humanitarian disasters in other countries.”

Having those relationships is a positive thing, she said.

“As always, a concern is, are these exercises having a negative impact on our communities or our environment, so that’s something we’ve remained vigilant on.”

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Bill Buley, editor-in-chief, can be reached at 245-0457 or bbuley@thegardenisland.com.