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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 Pat Beekman, Republican candidate for State Senate District 16, which covers Aiea, Aiea Heights, Halawa, Pearlridge, Newtown, Royal Summit, Waimalu, Waiau, Momilani, Pacific Palisades and Pearl City. Her opponent is Democrat Brandon Elefante.

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?

Most pressing is the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility, because we’re not out of the woods yet. Red Hill continues to spring unpleasant surprises on the public.

Past Red Hill contamination of the Navy’s water system continues to lurk as a latent threat to much of southern Oahu’s drinking water. Airborne toxic gases could flow down Halawa Valley as the tanks are vented during the decommissioning process, posing a danger to human health. Firefighting chemicals containing the “forever chemical” PFAS have flowed from Red Hill into the surrounding area, posing yet another threat.

My Senate district is in close proximity to the tanks and I was chair of the Red Hill Fuel Tank Committee at the Aiea Neighborhood Board for three years. When elected I will keep a close eye on developments at Red Hill, pushing for comprehensive inspections of the facility to assess the current state of the tanks, pipelines, groundwater and aquifer. I will seek the public release of all inspection and maintenance records.

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?

The tax cut is welcome news for Hawaii residents. It puts more money into their pockets, supports the local economy and encourages the government to make good on the tax cut by focusing on its own fiscal responsibility.

Certainly state service reductions are a possibility because of the cut, but as a legislator my job will be to keep an eye out for that and take timely steps to avert such an eventuality.

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?

Term limits would limit the time in which politicians and companies build unhealthy relationships and would also bring in new people who would be less likely to be enmeshed in corruption. Four terms in the House, two in the Senate is good. This should also cut down on retirement pay, saving the taxpayers money.

Registration of all lobbyists is needed.

Legislators should accept no gifts. Not even a donut or a cheap ballpoint pen.

Shut the revolving door. No serving as a legislator or on their staff, then getting a lobbying job or a job in the industry they primarily dealt with or favored.

Cut down on the number of nonessential things the Legislature deals with, leaving less room for 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 fully intend to back good government proposals and don’t see that going against leadership is a problem. Reasonable, responsible leadership expects pushback and opposition.

However, if it turns out that leadership makes things difficult, I will still actively support good reforms.

I am not an incumbent, but I have strongly supported via testimony before the Legislature, for example, the elimination of mandates for shots and masks. In a free society that decision must be left to the individual. It is the individual and his family or support circle who will have to bear the burden of any damaging consequences of such decisions on himself and his children. As things stand today, it won’t be his employer, or his doctor, or the mayor, or the governor, or the pharmaceutical company. He will bear the burden for what they told him he must do.

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

Yes, I support public financing. Running a campaign is inordinately expensive. Public financing would encourage more qualified candidates to run for office. It lessens the risk of elected officials becoming obligated to campaign contributors who back legislation that doesn’t serve the public interest.

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

Sounds good. Hawaii’s Legislature is the most lopsided, one-party-heavy legislature in the country. This means that certain segments have little to no clout. Having an alternative means to approach legislative action would be good for promoting the freedom-loving individuality this nation was founded upon.

Citizens initiatives would put legislators on notice that voters have found they are being ignored and so are going to the considerable trouble of taking matters into their own hands. That encourages legislators to consider more seriously what they are hearing from the public. It would in turn encourage citizens to be more engaged in their government and to understand that they can make a difference. It could lead to fresh, more effective policies.

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, establishing term limits is a good idea.

Liaisons good for the incumbents but not necessarily good for the people tend to become stronger over the years. Term limits reduce this source of corruption.

Knowing their time is limited encourages legislators to waste little time in implementing their ideas and strengthening their causes once elected. Their restricted time encourages them to focus on doing their job rather than prioritizing reelection efforts.

The vacancies opened up by this practice encourage more citizens to seek office, bringing fresh energy and perspectives with them.

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?

There are effective steps in place to ensure accountability at the Legislature. For example, the Public Access Room regularly reaches out to the public, telling them how to check the status of bills, follow their progress and give effective testimony. The Legislative Reference Bureau has excellent resources that are open to the public. The Ethics Commission requires a quick report from all state legislative candidates, which is accessible online and for free.

To promote accountability, I will inform my constituents on the Legislature’s activities through public engagement, such as emails, informative newsletters sent through the mail and in-person reports to their local neighborhood board and town halls.

The Sunshine Law has a name that sounds good, but it can be overly restrictive, stopping not just a little, but a lot of important information from reaching decision-makers. While I’m all for a fully informed public, I would approach a Sunshine Law for the Legislature with a healthy amount of skepticism.

I do not agree with banning campaign contributions during legislative sessions. Restricting the freedom of the people to financially support their candidates is not in keeping with the American way.

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 does make access unnecessarily difficult. For example, its email subject lines give almost no clue to the contents, other than perhaps the initials of the committees that are featured. Those committee initials are Greek to the vast majority of the public. The practice discourages the public from learning what’s happening. Changing just this one custom would be a big improvement.

Opening conference committees to the public is a possibility, but would anything essential be sacrificed by that move? Such as candor? It’s something that should be subject to careful consideration, rather than my making a snap decision before I’ve even taken part in any conference committees.

The disclosure requirements on lobbying and lobbyists seem strict already. Again, not having been subject to lobbying at the legislature, making an uninformed decision in favor of further strictness is not the way to go. Lobbyists have their place and provide useful information.

The Public Access Room and the Legislative Reference Bureau are superb resources that are already in place for more transparency and accessibility. When elected I plan to inform my constituents about them.

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?

Everyone knows what the problem is. Hawaii has the reputation of being business-unfriendly, often topping all 50 states in that category. The state needs to ease up on its red tape, eliminate barriers, pursue the goal of making Hawaii a great place to do business, then let the private sector do the rest.

Farms could use better encouragement. Hawaii has some of the best farmland in the entire country. Sugar and pineapple were until recent years Hawaii’s biggest industries, affording a good lifestyle for many families, yet we saw those two once-thriving industries collapse over a relatively short period of time. Plantation owners told me back in the ‘70s when their businesses dominated the islands that the increasing cost of labor was forcing them to close down and leave the islands.

Cooperation among government, private business, labor unions and the community is essential for a realistic view that anticipates impacts and promotes a better business environment.

Taking the longer view, promoting education both academically and in skilled trades to align with viable and emerging industries is a critical element in the quest to provide a good lifestyle for Hawaii’s people while improving the state’s business viability.

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?

It seems that just about everybody agrees that the high cost of housing is the biggest problem: to the point that it can be called a no-brainer. The price of keeping a roof over one’s head in Hawaii is mind-boggling. Mainlanders wonder how we do it. By living packed like sardines in a can or in little cubbyholes, that’s how. It didn’t use to be like this. The Legislature needs to keep focusing on the problem and keep coming up with solutions.

Perhaps the state can release some of its public lands at low prices or maybe even for free. State legislators could work with our federal congressional delegation to get money for housing: If the federal government can spend hundreds of billions of dollars on foreign aid, surely it wouldn’t be out of line to seek some of that federal money to help American citizens right here at home.

That said, the solution of a better standard of living will take a multi-pronged approach, such as healthier lifestyles, financial literacy, effective planning, workforce training and more. The Legislature can play a role in these worthy goals.