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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 Sharon Moriwaki, Democratic candidate for state Senate District 12, which includes Waikiki, Ala Moana, Kakaako and McCully. Her opponent is Republican Shotaro Dabbs.

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?

Homelessness and the concomitant lack of affordable housing. We must solve the lack of coordination among the various sectors and agencies dealing with homelessness and housing problems as well as related mental health and substance abuse.

I called together 14 agencies — police, prosecutor, public defender, court, state and county homelss coordinators, state departments of health, human services and public safety and homeless community agencies — to identify where closing gaps would help end homelessness.

The Legislature then passed bills or funding to help close five gaps: housing assistance; ohana zoning; one-stop triage center for unsheltered homeless dealing with mental illness and substance abuse; prisoner re-entry support upon release; and a permanent state homelessness and housing solutions office.

We will continue working to expand on these initiatives, advocating for adequate funding to build the needed housing and services.

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?

We need the tax cut to overcome regressive taxes on ALICE (asset limited, income constrained earners) households.

I am concerned about the impact of the state’s reduced revenues on other needs of the state.  It may force reductions in services unless the administration restructures government, eliminates positions that have been long vacant, and funds priority needs of the most vulnerable while maintaining infrastructure and state assets.

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 should fine and publicize all violators of the campaign finance laws.

The Legislature passed bills mandating ethics training of legislators, executive department heads and selected boards (the Senate requires the training and takes roll); and prohibiting fundraising events by state and county elected officials during the legislative session.

We also funded and staffed the Attorney General’s criminal justice division to investigate and prosecute public corruption.

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?

Yes I support good-government proposals.  See No. 3 above which I co-introduced and/or supported which were signed into law.

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

I support public financing of candidates supported by a minimum number of registered voters.

Financing should not come at the cost of services to help ALICE households through tax cuts and tax credits, eliminating general excise tax for health care providers serving those on medicare, medicaid and tricare, affordable housing and homeless services. 

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 citizen initiatives. We serve the people; they are our bosses.

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?

Yes.

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 press monitoring and reporting on the Legislature’s actions is effective in increasing legislators’ accountability. 

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? 

The Legislature made changes to be more transparent and accessible to the public.

We need stricter regulation of lobbying and lobbyist requirements, including required ethics training; internal rules to identify and eliminate conflicts of interest; and to require more open discussions at hearings and briefings.

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, the heart of Hawaii’s economy, must be sustained. I support the Hawaii Tourism Authorityʻs pivot from “putting heads to beds” to “regenerative tourism,” securing our natural and cultural assets by limiting the visitor count, collecting admission and parking fees, and offering education to protect fragile ecosystems.

Make the tourist experience more enjoyable with residents and visitors experiencing the best of each other. The target isnʻt visitor count, itʻs higher per visitor expenditures — quality, not numbers.

Additionally, I support green industries that attract quality tourists. As Silicon Valley, Boston’s Route 128, North Carolina Research Triangle and Austin’s University of Texas have shown, funding a strong University of Hawaii research and education system is one of the best paths to prosperity.

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?

Positive steps we’ve taken include increasing the minimum wage, establishing tax credits (a permanent refundable earned income tax credit and a dependent care tax credit), providing the biggest tax cut in the state’s history, and exempting from the general excise tax doctors and dentists serving patients on Medicare, Medicaid and Tricare.

The Legislature also appropriated $600 million for Native Hawaiian housing, and, this session, $230 million to build more affordable housing. But we must do much better at building homes that working and middle class households can afford.