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Editor’s note: For Hawaii’s Aug. 10 Primary Election, Civil Beat asked candidates to answer some questions about where they stand on various issues and what their priorities will be if elected.

The following came from Domineque Bonifacio, Democratic candidate for state House District 35, which covers portions of Pearl City and Waipahu, and Crestview. His primary opponents are Cory Chun and Ikeda Rahman Perreira.

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

1. What is the biggest issue facing your district, and what would you do about it?

Walking around our district and talking to residents residing here and winding it down to one of the many issues that we are facing whether big or small. One thing that I can say for certain that has become a rising issue is our outdated infrastructure. This includes the recent power outages caused by older power lines/power grids that have been affecting our residents every couple of weeks.

I want to improve our infrastructure as a whole, working with our county officials and HECO to bring the latest to our side of the island. Another idea I have been thinking of to improve infrastructure is to include better-lit bus stops. This will also help to improve safety for bus riders.

I would also like to upgrade our street lights to up-to-date LED lighting. This will help provide better lighting at night and the early morning, thus improving the safety and vibe of our community.

2. How do you feel about the massive income tax cut just approved by the Legislature and the governor? Do you have any concerns that it will force reductions in state services in the years to come?

I do believe for one that the state should very well be proud of this achievement. This is definitely something residents really need in our community and Hawaii as a whole. Time and time again many residents, along with my family and I, feel the everlasting burden of the rising cost of living here in the state, so this will definitely be a beneficial and much-needed short-term solution. 

I say short term because it is only short term if we don’t take action starting our next legislative session to make the changes needed to continue down this path. We need to take advantage and start finding better ways to keep our taxes down in the state for working families in the future and beyond.

This also in part plays into my thought that if we don’t find other ways of generating income to supplement the state budget then it will definitely cause reductions in certain services available currently; we must prevent that from happening before it does and we’re too late.

3. Hawaii continues to struggle with pay-to-play politics and corruption in government. What meaningful reforms do you think would change state government for the better?

I for one, with this being my first official campaign as a newcomer, have seen the effects and difficulties of pay-to-play politics. I have no funding/donations as of this submission on June 23, 2024. Everything that has been created has either been the use of free services such as Google Sites available online or out of my own pocket, which is another burden as I am only a student currently committing to this election.

We really need and should be electing officials that are the so-called “average Joe” of the public, or I should say the candidates that truly want a fresh and non-corrupted change in our government and are just everyday folk that want to make a difference to our communities.

Finally, reforms that can be applied as stated in some of my answers to the other questions include more transparency. Whether by using the Sunshine Law, making sure that everything done within the Legislature that pertains to the public is published and available to view by anyone and by improving and strengthening systems/commissions that we already have in place such as the Campaign Spending Commission or the Hawaii State Ethics Commission. Restoring trust should be a priority.

4. Candidates often say they will support reform proposals in the Legislature. And yet major reform proposals don’t pass. Will you back good-government proposals even if it means going against leadership? If you are an incumbent, can you point to an example of a reform that you supported?

I believe this is something that many residents are all too familiar with here in Hawaii and within government and politics in general in today’s society. I can firmly say here, and this will be kept online forever, that I will indeed go against leadership in our Legislature if it must be done for the greater good of our district and state.

If a candidate or incumbent says they will support a certain proposal, then they should support it no matter what. That is a basic ethical human principle. Walk the walk, not just talk the talk. 

Of course, other reasons may apply. Let’s say a certain reform proposal you support gets diluted from the original version of the bill and would instead hurt our community, then in good heart I believe it would only be right to vote against something that you fought for because these types of circumstances are real and can occur at times when passing a bill through the legislature.

Besides that, I will do what is necessary out of my heart to benefit my community and the state, no matter what leadership may be ordering to do otherwise.

5. Do you support comprehensive public financing of elections for candidates who choose to participate? Why or why not?

I do support comprehensive public financing of elections and it is indeed a step into the right direction. It will help tackle special interest groups, tackle big donors and those that have influence altogether. In return, having the hope of possibly even getting rid of corruption.

But we can and should go further as well. This in part plays into campaign/election reforms as well as financing reforms for candidates and incumbents of the future.

6. Hawaii is the only Western state without a statewide citizens initiative process. Do you support such a process? Why or why not?

Yes, I do strongly support such an initiative. As the constitution of our government which it is founded on says, “We the people,” this very affirmation proclaims that all elected officials are here to serve their constituents and that we are here for them and them only.

Therefore it is only right that we should allow citizens the chance to gather signatures for such initiatives that they see would fit our community and Hawaii and allow them to be placed onto the ballot for voter approval and feedback.

Simple as that.

7. Thanks to their campaign war chests and name familiarity, incumbents are almost always reelected in Hawaii legislative races. Should there be term limits for state legislators, as there are for the governor’s office and county councils? Why or why not?

I do not support term limits for state legislators. I know many will disagree with my opinion but when thinking about it, this is the very reason we have the power of the vote.

Residents may also approve greatly of certain legislators, that they would want to see them stay longer if their communities really are improving, so a term limit would decrease the potential that a legislator could have if they are given the right to serve as long as their constituents approve of their performance. 

I propose there are better alternatives out there. For one, I believe we need to do a better job educating the public and our keiki about the vote and our rights as citizens, this would allow people to understand why it’s important and the vast impact it can have for our communities. 

Another idea is reforming the process we have altogether. For example, ranked choice voting, basically allowing all the candidates a chance and in turn becoming a more fair election. We could also once again look more into campaign reform initiatives. 

We must find ways to change the system that we have now, fixing the loopholes that may be in place currently.

8. What will you do to ensure accountability at the Legislature? Do you support ideas such as requiring the Sunshine Law to apply to the Legislature or banning campaign contributions during session?

Yes, I do support requiring the Sunshine Law to apply to the Legislature, as we are public officials and should be held accountable with the position that we are humbly elected for by our constituents.

It is only right that we have an open-door government that doesn’t have any loose ends because this can very well affect the public’s trust and further destroy the view of the government as a whole. The climate today has many uninterested in politics. By applying the Sunshine Law, it allows for a more open-door approach to the public rather than behind closed doors.

I also support banning campaign contributions during the session. It only makes common sense. Why should we be receiving donations while the Legislature is in session? This could also help prevent influence from big donors and individuals that may want something in return for their donation, preventing outside influence and corruption within our Legislature. We should only allow donations after the session has completed, as well as having a cap limit on the amount a campaign can spend, again allowing for progress in dissolving pay-to-play politics as a whole.

9. How would you make the Legislature more transparent and accessible to the public? Opening conference committees to the public? Stricter disclosure requirements on lobbying and lobbyists? How could the Legislature change its own internal rules to be more open?

For one I believe we should be more transparent with the public and give better access for the media to help everyone get more involved than it already is, especially within our younger generations. When decisions are being made pertaining to legislation I believe it should be held in public at all times to know what our legislators are saying and deciding.

In terms of lobbyists, if meetings are held with such it should be disclosed within the system who you met with and what was discussed during such a meeting. We must make sure decisions by legislators are held accountable and aren’t being persuaded by lobbyists and will have it on record to show as such if need be.

Finally, another type of internal rule change that I believe could be more transparent than it is currently is how legislators are using funds, being sure that every cent is tracked and labeled and available for view to the public. We must restore trust within our government and this will help improve that by again aiming toward that more open-door approach.

10. Many people have talked about diversifying the local economy for many years now, and yet Hawaii is still heavily reliant on tourism. What, if anything, should be done differently about tourism and the economy?

Tourism has definitely been the economic powerhouse for Hawaii. But I still believe that we must find other sources of income for the economy besides tourism and even ones that match the amount tourism brings to our economy.

If we take a look into the near future and beyond, and this is my opinion, I believe that tourism will not last forever and will slowly but surely decrease someday. Which is why we must have alternatives in place in case this does become reality. The Covid pandemic halted our tourism industry for a good portion of time and took a large chunk out of our economy. Having alternatives will help our economy stay afloat even when nation/world events have an effect on our state.

We could look more into agriculture. Finding ways to better support and grow our local farmers and small businesses to produce and increase agriculture here in Hawaii, allowing us to export goods to perhaps the mainland or beyond to other nations. And in return benefiting local businesses that may even be having a hard time with the current economy and cost of living.

11. An estimated 60% of Hawaii residents are struggling to get by, a problem that reaches far beyond low-income and into the middle class, which is disappearing. What ideas do you have to help the middle class and working families who are finding it hard to continue to live here?

We must restore hope that things will indeed get better. Electing officials who are aggressive and eager to start tackling this now rather than later. Finding alternative ways to support our residents and working families, especially younger generations that will convince them to stay and be proud to call Hawaii home without hesitation.

Too many leave each year either to the mainland or elsewhere. I know the majority of residents that make the difficult decision don’t really want to move. Many residents who do, always want to come back home one day. We need to start tackling this now before we lose an entire generation.

Ideas I have include expanding services to help struggling individuals and families. Finding ways that the government can help them with positive effects. Finding portions of our budget that may not be needed and putting that money to better use instead.

We can also finally create better affordable housing units for everyone that needs it. I know all of these are just ideas, but ideas can become reality if we work together and have trust that it will get done.