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Editor’s note: For Hawaii’s Aug. 9 primary, Civil Beat asked candidates to answer some questions.

The following came from Carole Kaapu, Republican candidate for state House of Representatives District 19. Democrat John Mizuno is also running.

District 28 covers Kalihi Valley, Kamehameha Heights and a portion of lower Kalihi

Go to Civil Beat’s Elections Guide for general information, and check out other candidates on the Primary Election Ballot.

Name: Carole Kauhiwai Kaapu

Office: State House of Representatives, District 28

Party: Republican

Profession: Small business Owner – Media Production

Education: Ma’ema’e; Kamehameha; UH Hilo; Drexel University

Age: 52

Community organizations: Neighborhood Board 14 – member; Lanakila Multi-Purpose Senior Center, Participant Advisory Board – member; Kuhio Park Neighborhood People Task Force – member; New Hope Oahu – small group leader

1. Why are you running for the Hawaii Legislature? 

In 2010 I realized I couldn’t keep waiting for “somebody” to make our state better, I needed to be a responsible citizen and get involved. I joined my Neighborhood Board (14 – Liliha, Puunui, Kapalama Heights), worked at the Legislature the last five sessions, and I am active in my community.

My priorities are helping our seniors, reducing the cost of living, and taking care of our families.

2. Are you satisfied with the current plans to pay for the state’s unfunded liabilities? If not, how would you propose to meet pension and health obligations for public workers? 

Our unfunded liabilities are just that, a liability, one that our children will be burdened with.  I am glad that the state is taking steps to address this liability, and I would like to see more done.  Specifics would need to be negotiated with the employees and their representatives.

I would like to see legislation that prioritizes this issue until it is fully addressed, not just as an after-thought when there is a good economic forecast.

3. Local officials and advocates have worked to address homelessness for years, yet the crisis is growing. What proposals do you have for this complicated issue? 

Homelessness has many root causes. Any viable solution must address the underlying issues, not just the symptoms. The high cost of living, lack of affordable housing, failures of our society to address mental health, the break down of family structure, lack of services for our veterans, shortsighted development, and substance abuse are a few of the root causes that we need to addressed.  There is no one size fits all, easy solution.

4. Where do you stand on labeling genetically engineered food and pesticide regulation? Are these public safety issues, or are the dangers exaggerated? 

The labeling of food products is the purview of the federal government. Since it is not taking action to respond to the concerns of citizens, I think it is something the state should work on. When the current mandatory food labels added saturated fats to the label there was no outcry from manufacturers that it was an onerous burden. GMOs could be added too, allowing the public to make informed choices.

Pesticide regulation is also done on the federal level. If counties want better reporting of pesticide use, that is their prerogative. Not all local problems are addressed by federal regulations. Heptachlor, and the problems that stemmed from its legal use (my assumption is that it was applied consistent with federal law), was still a huge health crisis and had great economic impact in our state.  If the counties, or state, want greater reporting I support that.

5. Hawaii’s cost of living is the highest in the country by many indicators. What can really be done to make things like housing, food and transportation less expensive? 

One simple solution to bring down the cost of living is to allow newer, fuel-efficient ships to carry containers from the mainland to Hawaii. Since almost all of our food, building supplies, and fuel are transported by ship, this would have far-reaching positive impact for our individual pocketbooks.

6. Would you support using liquified natural gas as part of the state’s energy sources? And how can we improve the electrical distribution system so more renewable energy can be utilized to bring costs down? 

Liquified Natural Gas would currently be a lower cost fuel source, if we change the laws that would allow tanker ships to transport it from the mainland to Hawaii.  Allowing newer, fuel-efficient ships to transport LNG in bulk from the mainland to Hawaii, would lower the cost of electricity and thus the cost of living in Hawaii.

I would like to see our electrical distribution system improved.

7. Hawaii’s public records law mandates that public records be made available whenever possible. Yet many citizens are unable to afford the costs that state and local government agencies impose. Would you support eliminating search and redaction charges and making records free to the  public except for basic copying costs? 

As the use of digital storage and the interconnectedness of departments and records increase, the cost for providing public records should decrease. I support the public’s access to information at a reasonable cost. I am also concerned with taxpayers covering the cost of someone’s “fishing expedition.”

Thus I would propose a two-tiered fee scale. For the average citizen requesting one document a year, the cost of accessing documents should be covered in the taxes they already pay. For those who request multiple documents regularly, there should be some fee to cover the wages of the public worker tasked with finding those documents.

8. Are you satisfied with the way Hawaii’s public school system is run? How can it be run better?

Our public schools, as all large organizations/businesses, can always be improved. My perception is that there are schools that are excelling and schools that are floundering. Let us learn from those excelling and take those lessons to the other schools.

For the amount the state spends per student (greater than $12,000 per year), I would like to see all students graduating ready for college or the workforce. I don’t think that is the case.

As with other complex issues, there is no one size fits all solution. 

9. There is a desire to grow the economy through new development yet also a need to protect our limited environmental resources. How would you balance these competing interests? 

Feeding the citizens of our state should be a priority. We as a state, as counties, as citizens need to see our dependence on imported food as a serious problem. We are one hurricane away from life-threatening shortages. Agricultural land needs to be used for agriculture.

I support developing the urban core with long-term growth in mind. I am concerned with large number of exemptions asked for, and granted, from the already established zoning and building rules.

10. What other important issue would you like to discuss here?

Caring for our seniors needs to be prioritized. From issues related to normal aging, to protecting them from thieves that target seniors, to health care solutions that are affordable, there is much work to be done. These areas need concerted attention and coordinated effort to address.

Working with seniors in my community I have come to understand the difficulty they, and their families, face in trying to navigate the complexity of finding the right services and solutions they need to be comfortable, safe and healthy. I often find myself thinking, there must be a simpler way to do this. I am an advocate of coordinating services and information to make it easier to access the solutions already available.