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Editor’s note:ÌýFor 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 Cedric Gates, Democratic candidate for State Senate District 22, which covers Ko Olina, Nanakuli, Maili, Waianae, Makaha and Makua. His opponent is Republican Samantha Decorte.

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 cost of living is the most important issue for the Westside. The sentiment in my community is that locals are being priced out of paradise, and I feel it in my own ohana. My oldest brother moved to the mainland several years ago because he had to do the best thing for his family and his children’s future.

We must continue to cut taxes on food and medicine, help all our residents access low-cost renewable energy, lower the vehicle registration tax and build more public housing units.

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 am a proud advocate and supporter of House Bill 2404, which I helped pass this year — this bill cut income taxes at a rate of 70-plus percent for middle-class families. The average family of four with a median income of $88,000 will save nearly $20,000 on their tax bill through 2031. This is real cash in the pockets of local people, and will show up directly in their take-home pay.

If there is a shortfall in revenues, I intend to raise taxes on out-of-state homeowners, second homeowners, and look at ways we can create additional revenue streams through new industries like sports betting, some form of gaming or cannabis.

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?

Over the past three years the House of Representatives has taken serious and immediate action to curb corruption, passing 22 of the 31 recommendations of the Commission to Improve Standards of Conduct.

Nothing is ever perfect, and we can’t always prevent people from unethical or illegal behavior, but we have put serious guardrails on our jobs that will make it less likely in the future.

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 have supported all of the reforms that I voted on; as I said in my previous answer we passed a significant number of the Campaign Spending Commission’s recommendations.

I voted yes on every campaign reform measure that was put before me, and my vote is not subject to pressure from anyone except the community I represent. 

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

Yes. As I mentioned earlier, I was one of the youngest people ever elected to public office in the State of Hawaii. I struggled to raise funds because I’m not part of the establishment, and in fact I lost my first election because of the lack of funds.

My hope is that in the future other young candidates can be publicly funded so that they can give a voice to the future of Hawaii and compete with well-funded incumbents.

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

The data from other states such as California is quite stark.

Statewide citizens initiatives invite nationwide dark money with unlimited spending, allowing our democracy to be hijacked by special interest groups that have no connection to Hawaii. 

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. I entered the Legislature at the age of 23, one of the youngest ever elected in the state, but I don’t think anyone should do this job for their entire adult life.

New blood is necessary for the health of our democracy. 

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 helped pass the measure that banned campaign contributions during the legislative session.

 Applying the Sunshine Law to the legislature could ensure greater accountability to the public, and something that we should give serious consideration. How to effectively implement this in a 76-member Legislature will be a challenge and may impede our ability to do our jobs effectively. 

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?

Ironically thanks to Covid our Legislature has become more accessible than ever, with every hearing, floor session and conference committee available via Zoom.

Residents from Waianae and Nanakuli no longer have to give up a day of work and make the nearly 30-mile commute to the Capitol and testify, and I am heartened and grateful for this new reality.

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?

Eco-tourism is the way of the future. We want informed and respectful tourists that are willing to give back to our community. We need to promote a new wave of tourism that sustains our small local businesses, so that the money spent in Hawaii stays in our local communities instead of flowing to foreign-owned hotel conglomerates.

With so many residents moving out of Hawaii for better opportunities, we need to continue to offer career pathways for agriculture, technology, health care and additional emerging industries.

As the House chair of the Agricultural Committee, I have focused on value-added products such as coffee, chocolate and macadamia nuts. The new labeling laws that I passed will ensure that Hawaii-labeled products will truly be the product of our local growers and producers.

This is the fastest and most efficient way to keep our local economy moving in the right direction. We must protect our brands, products and identity so we can keep Hawaii as authentic as possible.

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?

As a government, we have to be better at spending your hard-earned money. I am committed to pushing legislation for lower taxes and more efficient government. The historic tax cuts we passed this year are a good start, but we have a long way to go.

Small business owners know that there is too much red tape, the regulatory burden is far too high, and this hurts wages and job creation. We ultimately need to lower our overall cost of living whether it’s our utilities, vehicle registration or business taxes to ensure we are doing our part to make it an easy choice to remain in Hawaii.

Hawaii is in need of more industries that pay livable wages, because my dream is that one day my ohana, friends and classmates can return to Hawaii and raise their families here.