ÌìÃÀÊÓƵ

Editor’s note:ÌýFor Hawaii’s Nov. 8 generalÌýelection, Civil Beat asked candidates to answer some questions.

The following came from Joy San Buenaventura, candidate for the state House, District 4, which includesÌýPuna.ÌýThere is oneÌýother candidate, Moke Stephens of the Constitution Party.

Go to Civil Beat’sÌýElections GuideÌýfor general information, and check out other candidates on theÌýGeneralÌýElection Ballot.

Name: Joy A San Buenaventura

Office seeking: State House, District 4

Occupation: State representative/attorney

Community organizations/prior offices held:ÌýHawaii County Bar Association, Hawaii State Bar Association

Age as of Aug. 13, 2016: 56

Place of residence: Keaau, Hawaii County

Campaign website:

1. This year has seen an outsized influence from people who want big changes inÌýhow government is run. What would you do to change how the Legislature is run?

It is nearly impossible for one legislator acting by herself to change how the Legislature isÌýrun. There are 51 representatives and even the speaker of the house needs 26 votes to getÌýany bill through. Like-minded legislators can make big changes if there are a sufficientÌýnumber of them and voters who want big changes in how the government is run have anÌýopportunity this election year to elect legislators who agree with their changes so that bigÌýchanges can be made.

2. Hawaii is the only Western state without a statewide citizen’s initiative process.ÌýDo you support such a process?

For a statewide citizen’s initiative process to occur in Hawaii would require aÌýconstitutional amendment. I, nonetheless, support such an amendment and introduced aÌýbill allowing for statewide citizen’s initiative. I believe that such initiatives will increaseÌývoter turnout because the public themselves will have an opportunity to enact a law.

3. Hawaii has long been dominated by the Democratic Party establishment. ShouldÌýthis change, and if so, how?

Voters, by electing those in the Democratic party, choose to have the Democratic PartyÌýdominate the legislature. Voters themselves can change the dominating political party byÌýsimply electing Republicans, the Green Party, Libertarian or other. Prior to the JohnÌýBurns/union revolution, the Republicans were the dominant party of Hawaii. Right nowÌýwe have a Democratic governor and a Democratic Legislature so the state governmentÌýdoes not suffer the paralysis that is occurring in the federal level with a Democratic president and a Republican Congress.

4. What specific steps would you take to strengthen Hawaii’s lax lobbying, ethicsÌýand financial disclosure laws?

The 2016 session required more lobbying reporting requirements; and an attempt toÌýlessen the ethics positions on teacher-led field trips which had the inadvertent effect ofÌýstopping all field trips. Current financial disclosure laws, which do not require theÌýreporting of the value of homes nor of pension plans, should require the reporting ofÌýthose homes and pension plans so that lawmakers cannot hide assets from the public.

5. Would you support eliminating Hawaii’s high fees for access to public recordsÌýwhen the request is in the public interest?

I don’t know what the fees are. Instead of eliminating high fees, a possible waiver orÌýreduction should be considered depending on what the public interest is.

6. Voters complain their elected officials don’t listen to them. What would you do toÌýimprove communication?

My constituents thank me all the time because they have been more informed of theÌýlegislative process since I’ve been elected than before. I currently use social media: Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, for almost real-time events; at least monthly newsletters;Ìýsemi-annual town hall meetings; and community meetings to communicate with voters.

For those constituents who are interested in a particular subject or a bill, they get an emailÌýwhenever a hearing is scheduled for that bill. Lack of resources prevent me fromÌýsending out frequent mailed reports for those who do not have access to a smart phone orÌýknow how to use social media. For those people reliant on regular mail, they receive bimonthlyÌýnewsletters; and I hope that they see posters/advertisements of upcomingÌýtown halls so they can come to such town hall and speak with me personally.

7. What do you see as the most pressing issue facing your district? What will you doÌýabout it?

The most pressing issue facing the district is the need for an alternate road out of lowerÌýPuna. Currently Highway 130 services 25,000 people. Whenever Highway 130 is blocked for five to seven hours (it occurs whenever there is a fatality; which has happened twice in the past twoÌýyears), the police simply block the highway with no detour. Residents are stuck on eitherÌýthe Hilo side of the blockade or in Puna where they have no access to the hospital, schoolÌýor work. Most people in Puna live paycheck-to-paycheck, so losing a day of work is aÌýhardship. Parents of newborns or those who are medically fragile get extremely anxiousÌýwhen they do not know how or when they will be able to get to the ER.

What I did in my first year was to get $15 million allocated for an alternate route – theÌýState Department of Transportation has not sought the release of it yet, nor does it have plans to spendÌýit. I intend to continue pushing for the funding and construction of that alternate route.

8. There is a desire to grow the economy through new development, yet also a needÌýto protect our limited environmental resources. How would you balance theseÌýcompeting interests?

I would read the environmental assessment of environmental impact statement and hear the community concerns before making a decision.ÌýPublic hearings where all concerns are heard are necessary for a decision maker to makeÌýan informed decision. I, personally would lean towards ensuring that we areÌýagriculturally sustainable first, which may mean limited development, but to ensureÌýaffordability of limited development, multi-resident complexes should be approved inÌýlieu of subdivisions on arable land.

9. What should the Legislature do to improve police accountability?

Kauai already has a law in place that requires body-cameras for their police. This law isÌýbeing fought by SHOPO. In the 2016 session, I supported a bill requiring body camerasÌýfor state law enforcement and introduced a resolution requiring these same cameras in theÌýevent the bill did not pass. Neither bill nor resolution passed but that does not mean bothÌýcannot be reintroduced. From reports, those body cams not only help the state ensure aÌýproper conviction and increase the public’s trust in the police, but also ensure that falseÌýreports are not filed.

10. Hawaii is the fastest-aging state. What would you do to ensure we’re taking careÌýof our kupuna?

Puna, one of the fastest-growing districts in the state, needs emergency care services and aÌýdialysis center so that the elderly will be able to live independently and have resourcesÌýnear them. As shown by the 2014 lava flow that threatened to cut off a large part of PunaÌýfrom the rest of the island, senior citizens/the elderly were the first to leave Puna becauseÌýof the lack of medical care in Puna. Sen. Ruderman and myself have advocated andÌýacquired funding for the creation of a Puna emergency room. I will continue to supportÌýany non-profit, such as Bay Clinic, that intends to increase medical services in Puna. IÌýsupported and co-introduced a bill for funding for an ambulance specifically for Puna andÌýI intend to support a funding request for a mobile dental clinic to reach all parts of Puna,Ìýwhich is geographically the size of Oahu.

The 2016 legislative session passed the CARE act which was the prime bill advocated byÌýAARP that would require medical providers to provide information on treatment andÌýillness, not only to the patients but to their caregivers. Hawaii County’s Office of Aging Ìýhas done an excellent job of coordinating services to support the elderly age in placeÌýinstead of at a nursing home; and I will support funding to ensure that continues.

11. What would you do to improve Hawaii’s public education system?

Seek out sources of funding; and allow for creative sources of funding like developmentÌýfees for new development. The problems with Hawaii’s public education system areÌývaried and complex, and hopefully, a lot of those problems can be solved by moreÌýfunding. Right now there is a shortage of teachers, funding is necessary to ensure thatÌýteachers are well compensated to increase retention and hopefully, ease the shortage.

Charter-schools need funding because they need to pay for their own infrastructure withÌýthe per-pupil allocation they are given by the state. Public schools in rural areasÌýespecially need funding because the weighted student formula means they get lessÌýresources than the public schools in cities.

When a reliable source of funding is determined, the administrators need to do a betterÌýjob of advocating the needs of their respective schools. The Legislature only knew aboutÌýthe hot-classroom crisis after local news aired teachers complaints with thermometers inÌýthe classrooms — it shouldn’t have to come to that. The Board of Education and the superintendent of the Department of Education should have informed us of the need soÌýthat new buildings and electrical retrofitting could have started years earlier.