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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 Kanoa Wilson, Republican candidate for State House District 3, which covers a portion of Hilo, Keaukaha, Orchidlands Estate, Ainaloa, Hawaiian Acres, Fern Acres, portions of Kurtistown and Keaau. His opponents are Democrat Christopher Todd and Libertarian Austin Martin.

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?

Growth without the fundamental stepping stones being set in place along with rising costs of living.

The amount of growth and development on the one hand helps the economy by providing jobs, having money transfer hands and boosting the economy, but along with the positives come a wide range of cons such as inflation caused by rising need and lack of infrastructure.

The Big Island is the cheapest in our state, but in just the past few years costs have skyrocketed and like many people have seen before, a lot of people come here and see money signs instead of a community they love.

I believe introducing programs to educate the youth would be essential to keeping Hawaii pure instead of bringing outside investors to build and give opportunities. It’s not the ones working day in and day out who truly gain, it’s those who use them.

2. How do you feel about the massive tax cut approved by the Legislature and the governor? Do you have any concerns that it will force reductions in state services to come?

I feel it’s a great step in helping people keep their hard-earned money and allows the state to do more for the taxpayers.

Our job is to take care of those in our state as it should be our job to come together and create other forms of revenue and finding funding that doesn’t impact the community.

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?

Transparency and accountability are two massive topics that must be enforced. Not just in government but across the board, at the same time, all individuals in a government role should be held to a higher standard.

Ultimately, I believe those who do wrong should be held accountable for their actions but as we all know, greed takes a massive stake in how things work.

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?

Our leadership should always put the people in front of their gains and even take a loss here and there if it is focused on doing good by those who have put their trust in us to do righteous by them.

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

I am in support. It would give the candidate without a massive following or a political background an equal opportunity and slightly even the playing field.

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

I completely agree and would love to see this put into play.

The people need a voice and while we are supposed to meet that responsibility, many of the people in office fail to do so and I believe it will give them a better opportunity to get things in motion that the people and community need.

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 legislators as there are for the governor’s office and county councils? Why or why not?

There should be term limits for all in the elected political world. It is my understanding we are all here to do good by our communities, our state and our people, and with that being said there are many other boards, committees and organizations we can move on to and still do what we are proudly doing by serving our communities.

It may also help reduce long-term corruption,

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 sessions?

I believe nothing we do should be done in secret and everything should be well documented with our statements being published along with our stance on everything we vote for or against.

I support the Sunshine Law and banning of campaign contributions during session

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?

As I said in the prior question, I believe nothing should be done in secret. Lobbying and/or lobbyists should have a full picture painted for all to see.

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?

This is a very hard and touchy subject and we cannot please everyone every time even though our intent would be to do that. Bed and breakfasts, if traditional such as in the movies where it is an inn with an older couple baking muffins for their guests in the morning at their own home, I feel this is acceptable and a means of income for every family.

But to take it to the extreme where there is no aloha shown or hospitality and just another cog in their empire of bed and breakfasts, they should be heavily penalized as to not make it worthwhile. Those spaces are needed for the people unable to afford to live here because of their lack of heart and too much greed.

Tourism is a huge part of Hawaii but that is only due to the reliance in modern society. I believe we should support tourism with reservations regarding the residents.

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?

One of the issues I have with the current aid or welfare that we provide is once people finally start getting on their feet, we take away their food stamps or financial aid, and then they’re back to square one and not making ends meet. On the other hand, you see people with thick gold chains, nice trucks and fancy clothes using food stamps.

I drive Lyft and Uber to make ends meet and provide for my family while being a business owner. I know firsthand how difficult and frustrating things can be.

What can be done? Colorado has legalized marijuana and had massive revenue when it first was put together and since then the initial boom has slowed massively. Gambling has its perks, but it also has cons.

Farm-to-table goods need to be implemented more, but there aren’t enough people actively doing it.

Today’s society is so set on cheaper, faster, easier. What happens when, God forbid, World War III happens and the merchant marines are caught up in moving military cargo or something along those lines, or the shipping lines are hindered due to attacks? it’s not something we think of on a day-to-day basis, but it is a reality we could be facing.