Editor’s be aware: For Hawaii’s Aug. 13 Primary Election, Civil Beat requested candidates to reply some questions on the place they stand on numerous points and what their priorities can be if elected.
The following got here from Chase Nomura, Democratic candidate for state House District 13, which incorporates Molokai, Lanai, Kahoolawe, Kahului, Paia, Haiku, Peahi, Keanae, Wailua, Kaeleku, Hana, Puuiki, Kipahulu and Kaupo. The different Democratic candidates are Linda Clark and Mahina Poepoe.
Go to Civil Beat’s Election Guide for basic info, and take a look at different candidates on the Primary Election Ballot.
1. What is the largest situation dealing with your district, and what would you do about it?
Despite sharing widespread challenges and traits amongst its folks, every island has its personal share of distinctive issues. Many points in District 13 additionally mirror that of the county as a complete — overtourism, lack of livable wages, local weather change, coastal erosion, invasive species, agriculture, meals safety and the financial system generally.
My priorities within the Legislature would deal with addressing the present workforce scarcity, enhancing our public college system and preserving our pure atmosphere. This might be completed by discovering artistic methods to deal with the price of residing corresponding to supporting residing wage laws, and creating new jobs by merging industries and diversifying the financial system. I might additionally work on enhancing the procurement course of to deal with the infamous upkeep and services backlog that holds up repairs and enhancements of our instructional establishments.
While Hawaii is main the nation in a variety of areas of environmental and pure useful resource administration, we might be doing way more. I might search laws that will carry native hunters, state and county officers, and members of the group collectively to formalize a course of that will not solely tackle the administration, but additionally the industrial, academic and workforce alternatives.
2. Many folks have talked about diversifying the native financial system for a few years now, and but Hawaii continues to be closely reliant on tourism. What, if something, needs to be completed in a different way about tourism and the financial system?
Diversifying industries is about bringing them collectively in a method that they develop into interdependent and strengthened by their connection, in the identical method that strands of ti leaves are stronger when they’re twisted and braided collectively. Many residents have reported their considerations to me about the way forward for tourism and its typically disruptive nature to our native communities.
The battle right here lies in the truth that we’re closely depending on tourism. Many of us know no less than one person who works on this business and if we utterly shut down tourism, then they might lose their jobs and that can harm a variety of our working households.
I assist a stronger vacation spot administration plan that:
— Includes a coverage that doesn’t trigger giant job displacement in our communities.
— Educates and teaches guests about our surroundings and tradition in a significant method.
— Manages the stream and capability of tourism on Maui, Molokai and Lanai. We can change the way in which we take a look at tourism and its function within the native financial system. I consider that there are numerous new jobs which have but to be created and we are able to pivot to new industries.
3. An estimated 60% of Hawaii residents are struggling to get by, an issue that reaches far past low revenue and into the center class, which is disappearing. What concepts do it’s important to assist the center class and dealing households who’re discovering it exhausting to proceed to dwell right here?
I might be a champion for sustaining and increasing social security nets particularly for our most susceptible populations, kids and our kupuna. I might additionally assist strengthening outreach operations that assist join these populations in must the required assets. With that being stated, I additionally consider it is very important proceed to supply and solicit grant alternatives for our companions locally.
We should try towards a better wage for Hawaii’s working households that will assist tackle the price of residing and assist maintain our Hawaii households from shifting away to areas which might be extra engaging economically. I additionally assist extra centered workforce housing applications all through the state. Specifically I might work to attach the group with assets which might be available and to assets that they won’t pay attention to but. I assist applications the place households can go to and ask for assist with job looking, meals help, housing help, and lots of different free companies out there via federal and state funded applications.
4. Hawaii has essentially the most lopsided Legislature within the nation, with just one Republican within the Senate and solely 4 within the House. How would you guarantee there’s an open change of concepts, transparency and accountability for choices? What do you see as the implications of one-party management, and the way would you tackle that?
Regardless of celebration affiliation, I consider that it is very important facilitate new concepts from a number of views. As somebody who at all times lends an open ear to the people who I discuss to, I like listening to various stances on points that have an effect on us all because it helps craft laws that holistically addresses the difficulty at hand.
We ought to proceed to have an open change of concepts and collectively brainstorm on how one can resolve issues in our group. I additionally assist laws that works on enhancing the Sunshine Law in order that we’d proceed to have open discourse inside authorities that additionally facilitates citizen participation.
5. Hawaii is the one Western state with out a statewide residents initiative course of. Do you assist such a course of?
I utterly assist a statewide residents initiative course of. The persons are the voice and they need to be capable to train their constitutional proper to find out insurance policies immediately.
If they need to amend the state’s structure, then the folks needs to be entitled to have the facility to take action.
6. Thanks to their marketing campaign conflict chests and identify familiarity, incumbents are virtually at all times re-elected in Hawaii legislative races. Should there be time period limits for state legislators, as there are for the governor’s workplace and county councils? Why or why not?
Yes, I might assist time period limits for state legislators. Term limits would assist encourage new generations of elected officers that would probably supply new and various options to a few of our urgent state points. With a recent set of eyes, a brand new era of leaders will usher in a breath of recent air.
7. Hawaii has lately skilled a variety of distinguished corruption scandals, prompting the state House of Representatives to nominate a fee tasked with enhancing authorities transparency via ethics and lobbying reforms. What will you do to make sure accountability on the Legislature? Are you open to concepts corresponding to requiring the Sunshine Law and open information legal guidelines to use to the Legislature or banning marketing campaign contributions throughout session?
I might assist marketing campaign spending reforms corresponding to prohibiting fundraisers and donations through the legislative common session. Yes, I’m open and I do assist strengthening the Sunshine Law to enhance entry to authorities policymaking and the accessibility of state information.
8. How would you make the Legislature extra clear and accessible to the general public? Opening convention committees to the general public? Stricter disclosure necessities on lobbying and lobbyists? How might the Legislature change its personal inside guidelines to be extra open?
To make the Legislature extra clear, I might assist a broader growth of the broadcasting of the legislative session, committee hearings and the convention committees. It must also be promoted dwell by way of the legislative web site.
In addition, I might additionally assist enhancing the Capitol web site to be extra interactive and user-friendly for members of the general public. A recent replace of the web site would create extra attraction and hopefully enhance the participation of the general public inside the Capitol. Another inside rule I assist making is having the state ethics disclosure reviews text-searchable and simply accessible in a user-friendly database.
9. Hawaii has seen a rising division with regards to politics, improvement, well being mandates and different points. What would you do to bridge these gaps and produce folks collectively despite their variations?
I consider that communities come collectively after they rejoice artwork and tradition. A renaissance must occur the place we spotlight and recognize our native artisans and musicians. Island-wide celebrations of conventional practices in addition to progressive practices of artistic strategies within the wonderful arts must occur. Creating and holding house the place we are able to acknowledge our particular person creativity and proudly show our creations whereas supporting one another would eradicate the hole that’s attempting to divide us as human beings.
We dwell on this world collectively and we share this planet with one another. We lose ourselves in selecting a aspect and preventing till we lose our humanity. We should bear in mind to “aloha kekahi i kekahi,” love each other, and to “aloha me ka palena ‘ole,” love with out limits.
10. The coronavirus pandemic has uncovered quite a few flaws in Hawaii’s construction and programs, from outdated know-how to financial disparity. If you possibly can take this second to reinvent Hawaii, to construct on what we’ve realized and create a greater state, a greater method of doing issues, what would you do? Please share One Big Idea you will have for Hawaiʻi. Be progressive, however be particular.
It isn’t any shock that Hawaii is lagging when it comes to technological integration in our programs and authorities. With the arrival of synthetic intelligence and machine studying advances in know-how, we might enhance the efficiencies of our programs and increase our workforce wants.
An instance of this might be used to replace and help with automating the Unemployment Insurance system to approve UI claimant functions and supply recommended edits to incomplete or questionable claims in order that claimants would be capable to course of their advantages shortly. With advances in computer systems and automation, we have to remember the fact that know-how shouldn’t change jobs and take away human autonomy nevertheless it ought to as a substitute increase processes and make issues simpler for human interplay with new and progressive concepts.
In order to implement most of these upgrades, we would wish to work with all events concerned, present the tools and software program, in addition to practice the workers that will be concerned in its operations. Updating insurance policies and procedures by utilizing know-how to eradicate duplicative companies and cut back the paper footprint of administrative workplace documentation is one other method to enhance the efficiencies of our present programs.