orking from his home office in Honolulu's spectacular Manoa Valley, consultant
Scott Foster has helped choreograph and execute political and media strategies for some
of the most far-reaching public-policy issues, high-profile electoral campaigns, and social justice issues of the
past two decades in Hawai`i.
His landmark 1997 auto insurance reform battle against the
rapacious auto-insurance industry produced legislation that continues to
"...save Hawaii's working people millions of dollars in annual premiums" (Pacific Business News).
Hawaii's "first in the nation" AIDS-preventing needle-exchange program (1988), and 2000 legalization
of medical marijuana made international headlines, as did the state's unique Gas Cap law and the
near-passage of Death With Dignity legislation in 2002. Governor Ben Cayetano observed,
the Death With Dignity issue "...has never come this far or moved this fast in any state legislature."
Hawaii's Gas Cap continues to be debated in Hawai`i and across the nation.
Dubbed, "the most significant case in this country regarding the Public Trust Doctrine," in 2000 Scott worked with Hawaii's 1000 Friends (HTF) during their successful Waiahole Ditch Contested Case before the Hawai`i Supreme Court. HTF also engaged Scott to help promote the 2005 designation of the Kawai Nui/Hamakua Marsh Wetland Complex as a Wetland of International Importance under the International Ramsar Convention. Also in 2000, Foster created the Stewards of Waimea Valley to protect Oahu's last sacred intact ahupua`a (land division from mountain to ocean) from development. The long political battle culminated on Dec. 7, 2005, "In a stunning example of people power..." when the public pressure Scott organized caused the Honolulu City Council - in a remarkable 9-0 vote - to reverse their earlier decision to subdivide the historic 1,875-acre valley. In 2005, the Pew Charitable Trusts retained Scott to help advance the establishment of what is now known as the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands National Monument. Retained by the Honolulu Symphony Society, Scott helped see a record $4,250,000 appropriated by the 2006 State Legislature for the 107-year old Grammy-nominated orchestra.
Foster has been integral to the planning and execution of the winning strategies for over 50 Hawai`i union contract negotiations, and in 2003 during four successful nurses' strikes. Three ran simultaneously. One of Foster's finely-crafted media releases was published in three out of seven american newspapers and the positive-nursing story caught the attention of radio news legend Paul Harvey and was broadcast internationally. In 2004, Hawaii's Pacific Business News described Foster's results for the Inlandboatmen's Union (IBU) as, "...a surgical strike - in and out in four days."
When it will benefit his client or an issue he supports, Foster's TV, radio, and print news appearances and independent media productions are "always strategic and effective." His often-published letters to the editor and op-eds on issues ranging from mass transit to universal healthcare "literally jump off the page because of his compelling narrative writing style."
In 2000, the Forward Foundation began funding a project dedicated to teaching Scott's advanced political strategy, communications and organizing techniques to social-justice and good government advocates. Scott continues this long-term endeavour and myriad pro bono community projects, working from his home office in Honolulu.
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READ MORE_DETAILED BIO HERECONTACT: Scott Foster & Associates fosters005@hawaii.rr.com 3050 Kahaloa Place Honolulu, Hawai`i 96822-1541 VOICE 808-988-0555 CELL 808-372-2513 FAX 808-988-1777