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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��Dan Johnson, Republican candidate for State House District 12, which covers a portion of Keahua, Haliimaile, Pukalani, Makawao, Pulehu, Waiakoa, Kula, Keokea and Ulupalakua.��His opponents are Democrat Kyle Yamashita and Green Party candidate Rita Ryan.

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?

An Upcountry-specific issue that has continued for well over 30 years has been our water supply. A lack of a sustainable water supply is directly contributing to the cost of housing and food production.

Too many years have gone by with long water meter waiting lists and empty promises for solutions. As defined by Hawaii Revised Statutes §174C-2; “it is recognized that the waters of the State are held for the benefit of the citizens of the State. It is declared that the people of the State are beneficiaries and have a right to have the waters protected for their use.”

However, in reality, the state has been disregarding this right for a lot of Upcountry residents and landowners, and leaving it up to the county and private water board to maintain and distribute water. As a legislator I will push the state to fund and work in collaboration with the county to upgrade our water collection and distribution systems and end the stale waiting lists.

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 strongly support each of the recent bills which reduce taxes that were recently passed. These had bipartisan support in our Legislature including unanimous support for the income tax bill. These are policies that the Republican Party had been trying to push forward for years, and I’m glad to see them being implemented.

When our state has operated at a tax surplus a few times in the recent years, it’s just a testament to our citizens being overtaxed. People and small businesses just need a break when it seems like costs are rising on all fronts. I would also like to see expansions in GET tax exemptions that were also passed. I believe this will be a good move for our economy and state revenue in the long run via increased economic activity similarly to how the 2017 federal tax cuts helped the national economy.

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?

I strongly support term limits for public office. I think this would help in both providing greater turnover in representation and preventing the potential for the same few to be bought for a longer period of time.

Banning corporate donors would also be a huge step in the right direction of mitigating potential corruption issues.

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?

The true definition of representation is answering to your community. The status quo has remained more or less the same for many years in the Legislature. I would have no issues voting my conscience or proposing a bill that is not in favor of leadership.

My vote would always be for what is in the best interest of Upcountry Maui residents, heavily weighed upon public testimony and community forums.

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

I have heard compelling cases for both sides of this, but ultimately, I don’t think public-funded campaigns are the best use of taxpayers’ money.

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

Our system was originally intended to operate by representation, in which we elect legislators who hold our opinions to vote on laws and bills on our behalf. I see some value in a citizens initiative and fully support power being in the voice of the people, but I believe something like this is better suited for just the action of repealing laws.

I would be in favor of a process similar to those states that have veto referendums, and this process is not used for proposing new statutes.

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?

We need term limits in our Legislature very badly. It feels like our state has been led by the same handful of people for the past 30 years. We need to encourage more public servants to step up from the community and serve in the Legislature, and then return to their lives. We should not have career politicians.

I think it would be appropriate to start with term limits equal to 10 years for both representative and Senate positions. There would be certainly enough time to become effective in the Legislature and get things done, but also while allowing some degree of replacement to occur.

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?

Legislators should be upholding a high standard of care when in session, and they should not be out soliciting campaign contributions. However, I’m not sure if banning contributions all together during session would have much effect on transparency.

There should be more positive decorum displayed from our legislative leadership, and removal of hypocrisy. It’s frustrating when we hear stories of politicians drinking alcohol in the State Capitol through amended state rules, but it’s prohibited on all other state property or public buildings. That loophole should be closed.

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 think it would be a great idea if, just like we include public testimony whether in favor or opposition to a bill, that we should also include any lobbying agency pushing an opinion one way as well.

At the very least you can see if your representatives and senators are voting on bills with the people or with lobbyists very clearly.

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?

We need to return to encouraging agricultural and food production. One simple way that I’ve heard through the agricultural community is to require the state Department of Education to purchase 30% (or more) of their school means through Hawaii-based producers. This both supports the health of our community and our food production industry.

Furthermore, decriminalization of commercial hemp production would bolster potential exports from the state and create a new tax revenue stream as well.

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?

The cost of living has continued to be one the largest issues facing most residents, and unfortunately, it’s trending even worse in the wrong direction.

When a family brings home a six-figure income and can barely afford to pay rent or a mortgage and buy groceries, there is a big problem. More and more people that I speak to are sacrificing things they would have normally afforded a few years ago, just to get by.

We desperately need incentives for affordable housing, and lower food costs. There should be a GET exemption on all food sales to lower grocery costs as done in many states.

For the island of Maui, our already slim housing supply was depleted even further by the Lahaina fire. We need to get commonsense state land use and zoning reforms to allow people to rebuild their homes affordably.

I would like to create tax credits for developers of homes for owner-occupants to help drive down the price point. We have seen the renewable energy tax credits supplement the cost of solar, so I think this could be used in the same way to encourage housing prices to come down.