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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 Johnny Aguirre, Republican candidate for state House District 47, which includes Waialua, Haleiwa, Kawailoa Beach, Waimea, Sunset Beach, Waialee, Kawela Bay, Kahuku, Laie, Hauula, Punaluu, Kahana. His opponent is Democrat Sean Quinlan.

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?

Trying to survive is the biggest issue in my district and on the island in general. This is an umbrella statement which encompasses trying to rent or purchase a home, the cost of electricity and purchasing food. National policies are a factor but at the state level we should have some influence over these issues.

The high costs and low availability of housing in District 47 is one of the results of short-term rentals. STRs have changed the landscape and catered to tourists and left long-term residents in a difficult situation. Hawaii has the highest electricity rates in the nation and our government should be able to ensure adequate and cost-effective utilities.

Most of Hawaii’s agriculture is imported and as a result the cost of food is high.

I will become more informed on the details of these issues and seek a solution to resolve or reinforce existing measures. It may mean a higher property tax for non-resident homeowners (increasing yearly), allowing more bed and breakfast permits to homeowners, regulating the utility fees of single source utility providers (especially when they are publicly traded) and offering attractive incentives/less regulation to farmers who grow our food.

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?

Tax cuts are great and will offer increased relief to residents over an extended period.

With these tax cuts, however, a shift in spending priorities is necessary so that core government services, such as emergency services, utilities, infrastructure and education, are never reduced. Core services are vital for our people and this tax cut is an opportunity for the state government to prioritize spending.

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?

We are living in an age where the internet and social media allows the public to know what is happening minute by minute. There are also state offices that track the assets, contributions and expenditures of candidates and elected officials. Hawaii’s State Ethics Commission and the Campaign Spending Commission have financials available to the public online.

The “reform” that may need to happen is more internal accountability of our partner elected officials and the public’s involvement checking in on who is financially supporting their representatives.

I am struggling to find a valid reason why elected officials would need to accept campaign donations if it wasn’t an election year or they weren’t actively engaged in a campaign. The internet has allowed us to have subscribers to our newsletters, which almost eliminates the need for wasteful “latest update” or “vote for this” mailers. We all know where those go … I am aware I am new to this but If I cannot find a valid reason, I will pursue the prohibition of receiving contributions unless it’s an election year and they are actively campaigning.

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?

I will support any good proposals regardless of which political party generated it. I am seeking a position for state representative of the people, not of a political party/leadership.

We are at a point where open and genuine communication needs to take place between parties. The term, “across the aisle” should be a thing of the past. If we just voted what the party leadership wants, why would we need more than one representative?

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

I cannot support a “comprehensive public financing of elections,” as there are no details provided to evaluate what that entails. However, I do support the continued use of voluntary public financing from our established Hawaii Election Campaign Fund.

The fund was established in 1978 to “establish a campaign fund to be used for partial public financing of campaigns of the state and its political subdivisions.” The source of revenue is a state income tax check-off system. Tax filers can indicate on state tax forms whether they want $3 to go to the fund. This is a voluntary donation to the fund and as of June 30, 2023, the balance was $1,929,885.67.

I believe this voluntary form of public financing for those who may not have their own funds to start a new campaign is helpful. An individual may have great ideas, the ability to represent the public well, have great leadership and communication skills, so a lack of funds should not hold someone back from running for office.

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

At this point I do not support it. I believe the state can get to a balanced point of party representation and veer away from party-line policies. When this happens, better policies can be made for the people of Hawaii. I hope to be part of that change.

If I see that change cannot happen, then I would support a citizens initiative process. Distrust of the Legislature is a catalyst for a citizens initiative process. If the Legislature is spinning their wheels, not representing the people adequately, then I would support a system that would allow our citizens to initiate public policy changes.

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?

Absolutely yes on term limits. I would support that.

There is nothing wrong if someone wants to make a career in politics, but it shouldn’t be done in the same position. Let’s say term limits were set at eight years for a state representative, eight for state Senate, eight for U.S. representative and 12 for U.S. Senate. That’s a total of 36 years being a public servant. If you have served your state well, you should be able to move to all positions.

No term limits leads to government stagnation and the institution of status quo. However, times change and term limits would allow for new ideas and viewpoints to enter into leadership positions and that can be healthy.

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?

The Sunshine law is beneficial in allowing the “people’s right to know.” As it stands now there seems to be a battle between the fine line of the “people’s right to know” and the privacy of certain topics that may need to be held outside of the public’s eye. Until that middle ground can be more defined, I would not support it applying to Legislature.

A good public servant will keep the public informed of the topics at hand and how it may affect them. I sat in on a meeting this past week and there was friendly general discussion and nice exchanging of ideas. It was suddenly stopped to make sure there wasn’t a violation of the Sunshine Law and the open discussion was hampered. That doesn’t seem to support open communication.

As for accepting campaign contributions during the legislative session, I support the current ban. I believe that accepting funds outside of election campaigning seems unnecessary.

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 believe our Legislature is transparent. The State of Hawaii has a great archive full of information and videos of sessions. You can find them on YouTube as well. Each bill can be tracked online and information regarding them is available to the public. Some of our elected representatives are even using social media to post clips of how they voted in the chamber. This is fantastic and we can reach out to the public and keep them informed.

With that said, legislators should adhere to the strictest disclosure rules in regard to any lobbyist communicating, supporting and donating to any legislators. If elected I would like to propose legislation that would require that every legislative measure discussed and ultimately voted on have a list of elected officials who have received contributions from lobbyists who will benefit from that measure either directly or indirectly.

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 remains the backbone of Hawaii’s economy and diversification of our economy is not only a good idea, but also crucial.

There are a few things that Hawaii currently does well, but we need better infrastructure and more efficient pathways into those industries to facilitate enough growth to reach true diversification.

The Hawaii film industry is strong, but we are currently only seeing a small amount of business compared to our counterparts in Hollywood, Atlanta and New Zealand. Due to the lack of crucial post-production infrastructure, after filming we see productions wrap up and take the rest of the work elsewhere.

This is especially disappointing because we’ve worked hard in our school systems to build efficient pathways in this industry, but many young people leave Hawaii for better opportunities elsewhere.

We need to develop our agricultural industry. Hawaii has large amounts of fertile ground and without the proper pathways or modern innovations, this abundant resource has digressed and remains underutilized.

Better support for farming, agriculture and especially for programs that teach and nurture the creativity of our young people is critical to spur the innovation and infrastructure needed to lift this industry to a position of prominence.

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?

Streamline the permitting process for new housing. Evaluate and possibly alter regulations regarding new housing construction.

Encourage industrial hemp farming which would create new industries for items such as clothing, shoes, rope, nets, carpet, tarps, building materials (Hempcrete), mulch, composting, animal bedding, oil, food supplements, birdseed, soap, beauty products and moisturizer. Let’s export.

Offer increased and attractive incentives for farmers to grow crops. We should have stickers on our agriculture that says grown in Hawaii not overseas.

Evaluate and encourage permitting for the use of shipping container homes. Encourage lending institutions to accept shipping container homes for loans.

Evaluate and possibly alter the rates of single service utilities.

Set a benchmark for our education system’s national rating and as our rating goes higher, the teacher’s income tax reduces. When the benchmark is reached teachers’ pay no income tax.

Eliminate the compound interest charged on credit cards for residents of Hawaii.

I may get into hot water for saying some of these things, and many of them could face legal challenges. The goal is to make the cost of living, livable, and hopefully prosperous for the people of our state.