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Editor’s note: For Hawaii’s Nov. 5 General 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 Corinne Solomon, Republican candidate for state House District 20, which includes Leahi, Kahala, Waialae, Kaimuki and Kapahulu. Her opponent is Democrat Tina Nakada Grandinetti.

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

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

District 20 is diverse: there are beachfront properties and mansions, the area also comprises working class neighborhoods with many multigenerational homes, apartments and ohana units. Residents I have spoken with are concerned with crime, homelessness, traffic safety and the quality of public education, but the high cost of living is the most critical issue to address for the majority of District 20 residents.

The high cost of living is a main contributing factor for a myriad of issues; affordable housing, the shortage of preschool, after-school and school teachers as they cannot afford to live on a teacher salary, high grocery bills, which are especially hard for families and those living on a fixed income, the shortage of home health care aides, medical professionals and assisted living facilities for kupuna, and homelessness in our community.

The Legislature needs to be laser focused on addressing the cost of living. As a representative I would advocate to repeal the Jones Act to lower the cost of goods shipped to Hawaii, work to eliminate the GET entirely, reduce property taxes (eliminate them for kupuna), and reform housing regulations to both lower the cost of residential construction and increase the availability of housing. 

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?

It is feasible to enact tax cuts without cutting services. The governor of Arkansas has made three tax cuts since entering office in 2023, and has successfully maintained services. With fiscal accountability and responsible budget management I am confident that our government can do the same.

I am pleased to see the tax bill pass but concerned about the timeline for the rollout. We have had a high out-migration number of Hawaiʻ residents moving to more affordable states for several years now. Not only is this heartbreaking, but the out-migration results in less tax revenue for the state. During the tax cut rollout period from 2025 through 2031, more needs to be done to slow the resident out-migration for economic factors.

Hawaii is one of the hardest states in which to start a small business. As a legislator, I will advocate for reforms that encourage entrepreneurship and ease the way for small businesses to thrive.

By focusing on lowering the cost of living and reforms that help small businesses, we can make it easier for residents and families to stay and prosper in Hawaii, which ultimately helps our economy. 

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?

Firstly, to have meaningful reform the people must elect candidates with honesty, integrity and a commitment to listen to their constituents and vote accordingly. Citizen politicians, as opposed to career politicians, are better poised to resist corruption and pay-to-play politics.

Implementing term limits for legislators would be a meaningful reform. I discuss this in my response to question No. 7.

A read-through of testimonies submitted on bills quickly shows who will benefit from the bill’s passage. A red flag for me is when bills have strong support from special interest groups yet minimal support from the people. My job as a legislator will be to represent the people, not special interest groups.

We can improve bill transparency by requiring bills to include the name of the requestor. Currently anonymous bills introduced by the “request of another party” are allowed to be sponsored.

We need legislation requiring a minimum district residency of at least one year for candidates; this will help limit the field of candidates to those that are true representatives of the district in which they are running, and not those who change their residence in election years solely to get into office. 

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?

Government reform is a cornerstone of my campaign. Our government has been ruled by a single party for decades, most of this time has been under a trifecta of single-party rule. Single-party rule, by either party, is not healthy. Government needs checks and balances to curb corruption and foster transparency and accountability. A less lopsided Legislature will work in favor of the people.

Those who have worked with me in hospital settings know that I have never hesitated to go against leadership when advocating for patients. I would work to foster respectful and professional relationships with my colleagues. However, as a minority legislator, there is more freedom to vote against leadership, as all leadership is in the majority party. 

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

I do not support comprehensive public funding of elections mainly because I do not think our tax dollars should be used to fund candidates’ races. The estimate to implement public funding of elections was $30 million! That is money that could be used toward funding free school meals for keiki.

Reasons given by supporters for adopting public financing of elections don’t hold up. Advocates claim that public financing of elections encourages younger candidates to run and increases the number of candidates running for the first time.

When I look at our Legislature, I see lots of young people in office; a study done in 2019 showed that almost half (48%) of our state legislators consist of Generation X and Millennials. In District 20, four of the six candidates running for office are in these categories, and all candidates except one are running for the first time.

Claims have also been made that public financing of elections increases voter turnout. When we switched to universal mail ballots in elections, one of the selling points was that it would increase voter turnout.  It did not.

Lastly, candidates could still be backed by super-PACs, which have no contribution limit. 

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

The Hawaii state constitution lacks a direct statewide citizens initiative process and a popular referendum process. The history behind this is fascinating. We also lack constitutional sheriffs. Key government officials, including the Attorney General and chief officer of elections, are appointed, and not elected, which is the case in most states. I would like to see these changed to elected positions.

There are pros and cons to citizens initiatives. The most worrisome is that they can be used by special interest groups with deep pockets to go around the Legislature. 

I think we should focus on government reform, enacting term limits for legislators, and limiting the power of the committee chairs before enacting citizens initiative and popular referendum.

If our government can be reformed to represent the people as intended, we do not need to introduce statewide citizens initiatives and open the floodgates to the potential pitfalls they bring. If we cannot pass reforms, then I am certainly open to supporting statewide citizens initiative and popular referendum processes, if there is adequate oversight of their drafting in place to prevent them from doing more harm than good.

 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?

If you compare incumbent reelection rates nationwide, Hawaii does not stand out as an outlier.

I support implementing term limits for state legislators, not as a remedy to incumbent reelection, but as a measure to curb corruption. The Founding Fathers never intended for the United States to be run by professional politicians.  As the French economist Frederic Bastiat wisely wrote, “When plunder becomes a way of life, men create for themselves a legal system and a moral code that glorifies it.”

I do not aspire to be a career politician but rather a citizen politician. I see my life experience — a daughter of an immigrant, wife, mother and pharmacist, as a foundation that will help me to best serve the residents of my district as a regular citizen politician, not as a stepping stone to a lifelong career in politics. 

 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?

I support requiring that the Sunshine Law apply to the Legislature. I would work closely with the Ethics Commission on legislation that improves transparency and accountability.

As far as banning campaign contributions during session, I wonder if the contributions made during the bill writing period are actually even more telling. I think we should allow campaign contributions during session and provide an easily accessible system for the public to see who is making donations to which legislators, and what bills are tied to the donors and the legislator(s).  Exposing this may be a better way to hold legislators accountable than banning campaign contributions during session.  This would make a great Civil Beat feature to run during the legislative session.

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?

I support stricter disclosure requirements for lobbyists.

The Public Access Room resources are a valuable and underutilized asset available to assist the public with navigating the Legislature.

People work during the day; the Legislature should allow the public to submit recorded oral testimony.

The House committee meeting hearing notices posting requirement should be changed from 48 hours to 72 hours to allow the public to prepare testimony. 

To change the internal rules of the Legislature requires electing people who are committed to transparency and accountability, and have the fortitude to stand up against leadership.

The Legislature needs to change the structure of the committees to reduce the powers of the chair and afford the members at least some degree of influence beyond just their vote. There is too much power concentrated in the chair.

Term limits should be implemented for committee chair positions. Chairs can kill bills without explanation. Chairs decide which bills are granted hearings. I would like to see more grassroots bills that are important to the public granted hearings. 

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?

An article released just a few days ago places Hawaii in the No. 2 spot as the most over-touristed state in the country.

We must take steps to reduce the negative impacts of overtourism. The reservation system for state parks needs to be expanded. Continue to focus on regenerative tourism and expand the Malama Hawaii program.

We need to encourage local farming and agriculture. I support passing legislation to assist local farmers and prohibit the sale of agricultural land to foreigners. Currently 9.2% of privately held agricultural land in Hawaii is owned by foreigners, which is the second-largest percentage in the U.S.

Our House minority leader has worked on legislation to support diversification of our economy in the film, tech and agricultural sectors. If elected I will work with the Minority Caucus to continue to advocate for measures that expand diversification of our economy.

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?

My daughter has seen two of her best friends move away in recent years, as their families left for better economic opportunities elsewhere. More Hawaiians live in the continental U.S. than in Hawaii. Please see responses in questions 1 and 2 on how I will work to keep residents and working families here, where they belong, in their communities with friends and family.

Additionally, my core commitments to my community directly support the residents of District 20, including the middle class and working families:

Cost of living: Advocate for government reform that lowers expenses, and vote no on legislation that increases the cost of living.

Community Service: Serve as the community’s voice and conduit to the Legislature and support local programs through my 20 for 20 Pledge — if elected, I pledge to donate 20% of my salary back to the district and will choose which organizations to donate to based on feedback from community surveys.

Clarity in legislation: Focus on laws that directly address our highest priorities.

It would be an honor and a privilege to work for the people and help to keep local families and those entering adulthood here at home.