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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 Adrian Tam, Democratic candidate for state House District 24, which covers Waikiki. His opponent is Republican Jillian Anderson.

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?

The biggest issue now facing our district is that condominium insurance is unstable.

Homeowners across different groups are grappling with varying levels of concerns and fears regarding coverage and costs. Entry-level homeowners are struggling to secure homes, new homeowners who have recently made purchases or financed properties and existing homeowners are feeling uncertain about how the insurance market will affect their home’s protections and their cost of living.

As a condo owner myself, I am also living with this uncertainty.

This year, the Legislature was able to pass a bill that would enable condominiums to participate in C-PACER financing. This provides financing at low interest rates and longer amortization periods for plumbing updates. This would help condominiums update their plumbing systems to prevent leaks. It also provides some reassurance to the insurance market.

I will continue to support expanding coverage written by the Hawaii Property Insurance Association and to restart and expand coverage for the Hawaii Hurricane Relief Fund. This will help address availability in the insurance market thus stabilizing it.

The Legislature needs to continue to address ways to mitigate and prepare for natural disasters so that insurance providers are confident that the risks of a natural disaster creating massive damages to homeowners are relatively low.

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 was happy to support the recently approved income tax cut that provides the relief that working people and families deserve. The changes to the tax code lower the income taxes paid by working-class families significantly and households will see an increase in take-home pay in the amount of thousands of dollars by 2031. By increasing individuals’ and families’ take home pay, citizens will have more funds to contribute back into our local economy.

I understand the concern that these reductions could lead to under-funding for state services, however, I view this as an opportunity for the state to operate with greater efficiency and for the Legislature to propose more innovative funding mechanisms to ensure that critical services are not cut.

One such idea that I have long supported is a tax on regulated recreational marijuana.

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?

Stamping out pay-to-play politics and corruption is key to restoring public trust in our government. The Legislature has taken meaningful steps in the right direction such as mandatory ethics training, implementing rule changes and passing laws proposed by the House’s Commission to Improve Standards of Conduct, and gift bans, but I believe that more can be done.

I support a prohibition on fundraising for both incumbents and candidates during the legislative session. This is to ensure that special interests groups would not be able to pressure incumbents to vote a certain way by throwing their support behind their challenger.

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?

One such proposal that I continue to support is the establishment of a full-time Legislature. A benefit that a full-time Legislature would bring is a prohibition on outside employment. Outside employment can often lead to conflicts of interest on certain bills for legislators that hold employment in firms that work directly with in the public sector. It would greatly help limit pay-to-play politics and corruption. 

I have been public with my support as it would allow the Legislature to address issues that occur outside of the January to May legislative calendar without the need of a special session. A full-time Legislature would also provide more time for meaningful dialogue between stakeholders and the public. It would also allow the Legislature to craft major reforms for outstanding issues or as issues arise throughout the year.

Under the current legislative timetable, the deadline to submit bills for introduction would be in late January. Meaning, if a constituent comes to my office with a bill idea on the first day of February or an issue arises during the interim, we wouldn’t be able to introduce additional legislation until the next session the following January.

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

I support a comprehensive public financing system for those who choose to participate. I believe that it would increase accessibility for more people to run for office who often can be intimidated by the costs of running a campaign. However, I would only support a comprehensive public financing if they were to meet a reasonable threshold of support from registered voters.

If we implement a public financing system it should have a budget and not an endless pot of funds to ensure that funds can’t be taken out from vital programs in human services, education and public safety. I also believe that candidates that participate in the program should file monthly financial disclosures because they are spending public funds. Candidates should also undergo a background check in the qualifying process to ensure that they were not found guilty of a crime, particularly financial crimes and/or egregious campaign spending violations.

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

I support a statewide citizens initiative process. This initiative would allow regular citizens to take matters into their own hands if they also have good ideas for the state that simply aren’t being heard during the legislative process.

I do believe that there needs to be a reasonable threshold that citizens need to meet for an issue to appear on the ballot to ensure that the item would be meaningful and something that the populace wants.

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 support term limits. Fresh perspectives and new ideas are great contributors to change, however, I believe that terms should be long enough to allow for consistent advocacy. 

Also if an incumbent meets the needs of a district I don’t believe that a district should be forced to vote out an incumbent simply because they are term-limited. Many issues are complex and evolve over time, incumbents often have more historical background and greater understanding of the nuances of their district to support effective solutions.

While incumbents may have some advantages their position is never guaranteed. If an incumbent is stagnant, is not effectively representing their district and constituents’ needs are not being met, any opposing candidate has the opportunity to be a strong challenger.

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 banning campaign contributions for all candidates during the session. I support the Sunshine Law for all official decision-making. I think that if we want to apply the Sunshine Law, we really need a full-time Legislature because four months to craft legislation would be very difficult.

I believe the lawmaking process should be transparent and accessible to the public. Bills continue to go through multiple hearings and any member of the public is able to submit testimony and testify on bills via zoom or in-person.

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 continue to advocate for a full-time Legislature as it would be the best way to provide meaningful and open discussions on various issues before the Legislature. A longer session would facilitate and create more opportunities for discussion and creation of legislation.

The pandemic greatly expanded accessibility for outer island and disabled community members expanding virtual remote ability to view and participate in committee hearings. I support continued virtual accessibility to hearings, floor sessions and other legislative business.

I also support a more transparent disclosure of lobbying. During the pandemic, we had a practice of record keeping of individuals visiting the capitol for contact tracing and I would be open to supporting bringing that back for the purpose of transparency. I think this could also aid in addressing pay-to-play influence.

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?

Diversifying our economy continues to be a top priority of mine as I believe that our economy cannot rely solely on one economic engine. Oftentimes, the discussion about diversifying the economy suggests that we abandon tourism. That is not how I approach the issue. We must seek a sustainable balance. I believe that we need to find new economic opportunities that complement our economy and create resilience. 

The strongest way to diversify our economy is through renewable energy. It would create jobs and help us meet our clean energy goals. We should also look into ways we can reinvigorate the agriculture and manufacturing industries as well as creating protected commodities so that we can increase the value of our locally produced export products while also supporting our own food security.

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?

Housing continues to be the No. 1 driver in high costs of living. This year the Legislature was able to pass a housing reform proposal that would make it easier to convert commercial properties into housing, which is a major step forward. I continue to view housing in the form of supply and demand. Currently, demand for housing is high and supply of housing is low. For us to solve the housing crisis, we need to increase supply, and prioritize housing local residents. 

I will also continue to support proposals such as tax credits for working families and paid family leave. These proposals combined with housing initiatives would help us provide much-needed relief to families in Hawaii.