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Homelessness is the top campaign issue for the candidates vying to represent McCully and Moiliili in the House District 23 open primary. But the two top Democrats present very different solutions.

Ikaika Olds wants tougher sentences for homeless people who have committed crimes and supports building a bigger Oahu jail that could house them and provide better services. Ian Ross wants to focus on the state homeless programs already in place and find a way to sustainably fund them.

It’s a sharp contrast between the two leading candidates. 

“Two years ago, they both ran credible campaigns, and it seems like they’re the frontrunners this time around,” said Colin Moore, an associate professor of political science at the University of Hawaii Manoa.

The House District 23 seat is being vacated by first-term Rep. Scott Nishimoto as he makes a run for Calvin Say’s spot on the Honolulu City Council. 

Also on the Aug. 10 primary ballot are McCully Neighborhood Chair Paul Robotti and Patrick McCain, the office manager for Neil Abercrombie when he served in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Four of the candidates — Ross, Olds, McCain and Robotti — have run for the Legislature before.

In 2022, Ross ran against Carol Fukunaga for the Senate seat in Manoa, and Olds took on incumbent Rep. Adrian Tam in Waikiki. Both candidates lost.

Ross Leads In The Money Race

This time around, Ross has a financial advantage over his competitors: He’s raised compared to for Olds. Ross has spent more than double what Olds has, with about $13,200 cash on hand for Ross and roughly $11,500 for Olds.

McCain raised about , donating most of the funds himself. Robotti has not filed a campaign spending report.

Mail-in ballots for the primary elections have been sent out.

Because there is no Republican candidate, the winner of the Aug. 10 primary will go uncontested on the Nov. 5 general election ballot.

Hawaii has some of the highest rates of homelessness in the country. Oahu saw a 12% rise in homelessness last year, from 4,028 people to 4,494, according to the .

“We saw especially high rates of homelessness in Moiliili and McCully as compared to other areas on the island,” said Anna Pruitt, a faculty affiliate in the psychology department at the University of Hawaii Manoa, who worked on the .

All candidates see this as a major issue for the district.

Ikaika Olds Doesn’t Mind Being Called The Bad Guy

Ikaika Olds, 39, says he learned to have empathy for homeless people serving in the Army in Iraq.

After seeing extreme poverty in southern Iraq, including famished children sleeping on the streets, Olds says he began to understand that their life circumstances were not their fault.

“I began to see through the argument that homeless people are lazy, and that they should just get up and get a job,” Olds said. “It doesn’t work that way.”

Still, Olds advocates a tougher approach, using criminal statutes to remove homeless people from the streets.

UPDATE: While he does have what he called “tough love” policies that may seem unfavorable to some, he does not want to criminalize homelessness. 

Olds does support increasing access to mental and behavioral health care, building more shelters and creating a stronger outreach presence for people sleeping on the street. 

In 2018, he was hired by the Department of Education as a community homeless liaison. He works to ensure homeless students are enrolled in school and able to connect with social services if their circumstances at home are impacting their success in the classroom.

He says many of his clients have been arrested, but they always wind up receiving light sentences or probation.

Olds wants the judicial system to dole out harsher sentences on repeat low-level offenders and enforce bans against homeless people sleeping in public parks. He said the state should create mandatory minimum sentences for the sorts of minor crimes homeless people often commit.

“I don’t mind being called the bad guy when it comes to homelessness,” Olds said. “Someone’s got to start getting them off the streets.”

He enthusiastically supports the Legislature’s push to build a new Oahu Correctional Community Center, estimated to cost nearly $1 billion., although, ideally, Olds wants to look at what can be built for a much lower cost. And for the jail’s mentally ill homeless population, he wants to build a special wing for people to receive treatment.

Major Hawaii unions have backed him. These include the , the state’s largest union with about 37,000 members, and , which represents about 11,000 public workers across the state. He’s also backed by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 142 and the political action committee .

Read Ikaika Old’s Civil Beat Candidate Q&A survey here.

Ian Ross Says He Can Cut Costs Of Homeless Programs

Ian Ross, 33, is an ardent supporter of Gov. Josh Green’s homeless and housing policies. And he has an idea that he says would fund them more effectively.

Ross points to state on homelessness in Hawaii. It shows that about of the state’s $2 billion annual Medicaid budget is spent on homeless people going to the emergency room.

“Emergency rooms are one of the most expensive and least effective treatment centers,” he said.

Instead, he wants to front-load the state’s medical spending to fund proactive health services for homeless people before they need to go to the emergency room. This could include mobile health vans, he says.

But Ross believes that housing is the true long-term solution to homelessness on Oahu.

“Housing is health care,” he said.

As Public Affairs Director at the , Ross writes reports sharing the center’s work with the public. He says this gives him knowledge of what works in reducing homelessness and how to connect people with the services they need.

“I’m running for office as sort of an extension of the public service and the volunteering and the community work I’ve been doing my entire adult life,” Ross said.

At a local level, Ross has spent six years as chair of the Makiki Neighborhood Board, where he’s focused on combatting illegal game rooms and supporting neighborhood watch programs.

Ross has also spent time at the Capitol. In 2022, he became a legislative aide to Sen. Stanley Chang, chairman of the Senate Housing Committee. He supports Chang’s ALOHA Homes proposal.

Contributors to Ross’ campaign include Chang and real estate developer Christine Camp.

In terms of union support, Ross is backed by the , which represents more than 13,000 public school teachers across the state. He’s also got the support of the powerful , plus the Hawaii Nurses Association.

Read Ian Ross’ Civil Beat Candidate Q&A survey here.

Paul Robotti Says He’s Not The Best Candidate, Or Worst

After two decades living in Moiliili, Paul Robotti says his once family-friendly neighborhood has become inundated with aggressive homeless people.

Echoing Olds’s tough-on-crime platform, Robotti, 75, thinks the state should impose tougher penalties for things like stealing shopping carts from Safeway and Foodland.

“They need to learn right from wrong,” he said.

He said he wants to serve in an elected position where he can play more than an advisory role. Over the past four years chairing the McCully Neighborhood Board, he says the Honolulu City Council has routinely ignored his resolutions. He wants more of a voice in the Legislature.

Asked what sets him apart in the race, Robotti said he listens to everyone, even those he disagrees with. But he said that Ross is also able to listen and articulate his points well.

“I may not be the best candidate, but I’m certainly not the worst,” Robotti said.

In 2018, Robotti ran as a nonpartisan candidate for lieutenant governor, a race that Green ultimately won. He campaigned on the promise to legalize marijuana and use the tax revenue to raise teacher’s wages.

Robotti has not submitted a Civil Beat Candidate Q&A survey.

Patrick McCain Cites His Government Experience

Patrick McCain says the state must implement a system to track and identify who is sleeping on the streets.

“If you’re going to be living on the street, the government needs to know your name, your next-of-kin and what medications you’re supposed to be on,” he said.

Asked what sets him apart in the race, McCain, 67, cited his long list of experience in state, federal and local government.

One of many career highlights was his long run — from the late 1980s through the mid-’90s — working for then-U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie in Washington, D.C., as legislative director and chief of staff.

Correction: An earlier version of this story said McCain was office manager for Abercrombie.

More recently, he has served on the Waikiki Neighborhood Board, and currently sits on the board of the condo association at Holiday Parkway in Kapahulu.

Unlike many Honolulu condo association boards, McCain said his board has managed to keep maintenance fees low because he knows how to negotiate with the developers to keep construction costs down.

If elected, McCain said he will use his negotiation skills in the Legislature. He promises to stand his ground against politicians and lobbyists with big money behind them.

“I’ll start shaming everyone for unethical behavior, pay-to-pay politics and all of that,” he said. “I got nothing to lose.”

Read Patrick McCain’s Civil Beat Candidate Q&A survey here.