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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 John Betlatch, Democratic candidate for State House District 6, which covers Honaunau, Napoopoo, Captain Cook, Kealakekua, Keauhou, Holualoa and Kailua-Kona. His primary opponent is Kirstin Kahaloa.

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?

Protecting rental housing and direct intervention on codes, permits on regular Big Island homes and alternative housing.

Educating the public about laws, bills, codes, fines and representatives who are puppet housing representatives and are actually working against rental housing and owner housing.

Regarding the homeless, we need a crisis center to get them off the street.

Medical insurance, unemployment insurance and taxes — let’s end the public neglect and hardship.

The cesspool issue, harm to the environment, lack of action and the $50,000 fines for each owner coming. Support loans to deal with the issue.

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?

Bad move, closing tourist vacation rental revenue, in a time of a tourism potential downturn or shakeout.

We will not be able to staff positions needed to get rid of the  homeless issue, deal with capital improvements needed and basic services. We’re under-selling the needs of the community, especially in the outer islands.

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?

Good question. We need more transparency and accountability. But the real intervention is grassroots campaigns, petitions and hold-accountable campaigns that inform the public of the neglect and willful betrayal by their representatives of democracy and the public they are supposed to help.

Work closely with the community to document the process to present to the federal authorities and district attorneys.

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?

Yes , and I think the progressives need to band together.

Public campaigns are needed to draw attention to the nutshell game and its players so the public knows and demands more.

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

Yes, more people who are not from big money and off-island interests are needed, and public elections funding helps.

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

We need to include the public more for sure.

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?

Good questions. I am concerned about long-term players who have been called out by many for cutting and stopping many public good bills.

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?

It is the last-minute or last few months behind-the-scenes activities in the bill process that need to be investigated and reported to the public. We need pressure from the public on officials to be pono and not neglectful of the public good.

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?

We need help from the community and boards to shore up and build defenses against abuses — a coalition building for the people.

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?

Smaller-scale initiatives like micro-lending, forums on business, recruiting. Remove government blocks against innovation with interventions, education, technology and accountability.

Build career tracks, dismantle barriers in hiring in the state. Use the public to push for added reoccurring state nontourism energy revenue, added jobs, infrastructure for water/power/cesspool replacement.

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?

Stop the government attacks on housing. Reclaim unemployment  benefits from denial of services. Remove barriers to SNAP processing and insurance coverage. Build access to medical services via insurance.

Put a stay on the punitive tax policies that target and seek to harm people who are in medical hardship, going through a death in the family, disadvantaged, disabled and kapuna.