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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 Mark Clemente, Democratic candidate for State House District 46, which covers a portion of Waipio Acres, Launani Valley, Wahiawa, Whitmore Village, Waialua and Mokuleia. His primary opponent is Amy Perruso.

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?

The biggest issue facing our district, unfortunately, is the ever-decreasing quality of life. While politicians are prioritizing climate change and other abstract issues, I am taking a more pragmatic approach. I am committed to working with the community to improve our quality of life by focusing on increasing public safety, bringing jobs closer to home and strengthening education.

We need immediate and tangible results so that residents can see that the government is taking steps to take care of its people.

I will work with every level of government to increase public safety, including addressing homelessness with increased access to mental health and substance abuse treatment and transitional housing.

Bringing jobs closer to home involves leveraging our district’s assets, including agricultural lands to grow more food. I look forward to the Wahiawa Value-Added Product Development Center’s role in boosting entrepreneurship and creating more jobs.

Strengthening education involves exposing our middle- and high-schoolers to different trades and vocational training as about 50% of our high school graduates do not enroll in college. The college rate is even lower for Native Hawaiians, but there are options out there to develop skills and earn high wages without accruing the debt associated with attending a university. 

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 am proud that Hawaii is going from one of the highest taxed states in the nation to one of the lowest. Furthermore, tax cuts stimulate economic growth by allowing families to keep more of their hard-earned money, which they can spend, save or invest in ways that benefit the local economy. I have far more trust that our local families will make the best decisions on how to spend their own money, instead of the government, which is reliably inefficient.

I am not too concerned about forced reductions in state services in the years to come as this tax cut is phased over several years. I am, however, concerned about a big government mindset that prioritizes state control over financial freedom.

Hawaii already has trouble ensuring that we have enough medical doctors across the islands to take care of the health of our people, and I am afraid that further pursuit of progressive taxes that impact the medical profession would leave rural areas like Wahiawa and Waialua fending for themselves.

Instead, we should focus on making government more efficient and accountable, and I will commit to ensuring that tax dollars are spent wisely rather than continuously increasing the tax burden on local residents.

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?

As a staffer in the Legislature for the past eight legislative sessions with experience in both the state House and Senate, the issues that often play out in the media are often a result of incompetence instead of malfeasance. However, there is no doubt Sen. J. Kalani English and Rep. Ty Cullen were guilty of corruption and broke their pledge to serve the people of Hawaii. They broke existing laws and rules that are meant to keep lawmakers honest in their dealings, and rightly deserved the punishment they received.

The idea of publicly funded elections has been floated in the past few legislative sessions, and while this sounds like a great idea to curb the influence of money in politics, I am concerned about creating a new special fund that would most likely be utilized by political insiders, not new candidates hoping to break through.. And while a full-time Legislature might sound like a good idea, this would likely lead to even more career politicians who are disconnected from the private sector and real-world issues.

As with any policy consideration, enforcement is always an issue. Therefore, I support enhanced whistleblower protections for those who report misconduct or illegal activities within government agencies or among elected officials so they can bring wrongdoing to light without fear of retaliation.

We should focus on enforcing existing laws, increasing transparency and promoting accountability without overly restricting political participation.

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?

Support for reform proposals in the Legislature can sometimes be more about political posturing than effective governance. Policies like banning fundraising during legislative sessions and implementing cooling-off periods are ideas that sound good in theory but may not address the root causes of corruption.

Real reform requires a commitment to transparency, accountability and efficiency in government operations, not just the imposition of additional rules and restrictions that can hamper the legislative process.

I am committed to being transparent and accountable to the people I aim to represent, whether or not that goes against leadership. 

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

Public financing of elections sounds good in theory, but I am concerned about how this can lead to taxpayer money being used to fund political campaigns that taxpayers may not support. This effectively forces citizens to subsidize political speech they may disagree with and can also entrench incumbents and limit competition by providing government funding to established politicians.

Instead, we should promote transparency in campaign finance and encourage grassroots fundraising efforts that genuinely reflect public support. I am in support of fully funding the Campaign Spending Commission so that they can be more effective in ensuring fair play.

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

I like the idea that citizen initiatives can increase direct democracy, but I have concerns about how this may lead to poorly crafted legislation driven by special interest groups who seek to bypass the legislative process designed to ensure thorough debate and consideration.

Additionally, such measures can result in costly and unintended consequences.

Perhaps a better approach would be to improve representative democracy by ensuring elected officials are more responsive and accountable to their constituents.

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?

 Term limits are essential for ensuring fresh perspectives and preventing career politicians from dominating the Legislature. While experience is valuable, long-term incumbency often leads to complacency and corruption.

On the other hand, I would not want to prohibit good and effective legislators from continuously serving their communities. Setting reasonable term limits can strike a balance, promoting new leadership while allowing legislators enough time to gain necessary experience.

For example, I would support a limit of no more than three terms in the state Senate and six terms in the state House. 

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?

While transparency is crucial, overregulation can hinder the legislative process and burden lawmakers with excessive compliance requirements. Before enacting new laws, we should focus on enforcing existing transparency laws and using technology to make government operations more open without creating unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles.

While banning campaign contributions sounds like a good idea, the effect of that is essentially the rewarding of legislators at the end of a legislative session with contributions. We need to strike a balance with when, where and how much legislators can accept while ensuring accountability and transparency.

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?

Efforts to increase transparency and accountability are commendable, but they must be balanced against the need for efficient governance. Overregulation can slow down the legislative process and discourage qualified individuals from seeking public office. We should aim for practical, achievable reforms that enhance transparency without overburdening lawmakers.

For the working public to engage in the legislative process and testify on measures in person at the capitol or over Zoom, time off of work must be taken. Depending on the hearing’s agenda and number of pieces of submitted testimony and testifiers, gauging how much time off to take may prove to be challenging. This affects how accessible the Legislature is to the public.

I would be in support of opening conference committees to the public to increase transparency and accessibility. I support examining what additional information about lawmakers, lobbyists and other parties who appear before the Legislature, if given to the public, would be valuable in terms of transparency.

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 is a vital part of Hawaii’s economy, and efforts should be made to make it more sustainable rather than trying to reduce it. I like where we’re going as a state with destination management, and we should continue on this path.

Encouraging entrepreneurship, reducing regulatory burdens and promoting investment in diverse industries can create jobs and drive economic growth without sacrificing environmental sustainability. While some local politicians support an economic model of de-growth, it’s my belief that such policies will deteriorate our tax base, force more of our local residents to flee the state and be the catalyst for economic malaise.  

In House District 46, the military significantly contributes to the local economy — in talking with local business owners, military deployments are felt immediately as revenues drop up to 50% or more. As someone with military veterans in my family, I support our armed forces, especially as tensions with China are at an all-time high.

One area that deserves more investment to diversify the local economy is the research and development of various technologies — we have the talent here in the islands, and this sector creates high-paying jobs.

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?

Implementing financial literacy courses in our schools would be a major step to help generations of Hawaii residents to manage their finances.

Policies that promote homeownership and encourage the development of affordable housing through market-driven solutions should be prioritized, and investing in infrastructure would pave the way for more housing units.

Health care is another cost for families, and we need to start promoting healthy habits in our schools with nutrition education and rigorous physical education programs in order to prevent costly health issues that result from bad habits learned early on in life.

The Legislature has passed policies such as the refundable food/excise tax credit and earned income tax credits, but about one out of every five Hawaii workers are leaving up to $7,000 on the table. Low-income households in Hawaii were eligible for about $42 million through the state’s refundable food/excise income tax credit in 2021, but a third of that money went unclaimed.

The Legislature passed these measures to help working families but neglected to teach us how to access that money. This has to change. If I am elected I will work tirelessly to inform our local residents about the help that is available.