������Ƶ

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 Corey Rosenlee, Democratic candidate for state House District 39, which covers Royal Kunia, Village Park, Honouliuli, Hoopili and a portion of Waipahu. His opponent is Republican Elijah Pierick.

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?

Our keiki are our future. Every dollar we invest in our children generates a significant return for our state in terms of economic power and social progress. Accordingly, I believe that we need to make children’s issues a top priority for our state, just as they are for my district. 

I support enacting a paid family leave program, so that people facing family emergencies don’t have to choose between caring for their loved ones or sustaining their financial security. Furthermore, I believe that we must fully fund public education to give our keiki a first-rate learning system. 

I also support expanding tax credits for child care. Currently, the average annual cost of child care services in our state exceeds $13,000 per year.

Finally, I believe we should continue working toward universal preschool and make community college free for all Hawaii residents, which would make academic excellence a priority from birth until adulthood and give community members the tools they need to maximize their potential. 

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 support tax cuts for lower-income residents and the middle class, including this proposal’s effort to boost the standard deduction for local families.

That said, I am concerned about the cost of the income tax cuts that were given to more affluent residents. According to the Hawaii Department of Taxation, the overall cost of the tax cut proposal is roughly $5 billion over the next six years. Under the proposal, the top 20% of income earners in Hawaii would receive approximately 43% of the total tax breaks. 

The money we are losing from these tax cuts could be used to fund programs that uplift all of Hawaii, including increased funding for public education, expanding our child care tax credit, building genuinely affordable housing, passing paid family leave, making community college free for all, addressing the climate crisis and more. 

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 helped to draft House Bill 2184, which would prohibit campaign contributions from individuals who are convicted of high-level ethics, campaign spending and lobbying violations. No one who is convicted of corruption should be allowed to finance our elections.

Any campaign donations that are linked to corruption should be returned to the Campaign Spending Commission, where they can be used to reinforce the commission’s efforts to prevent illegal activity from undermining our political system.

Additionally, we should establish a robust public financing program for political candidates, which would help to ensure that our legislative processes are beholden to the community, rather than wealthy campaign donors. 

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?

We must make strengthening our governmental processes a top priority for Hawaii, regardless of who may be impacted by these changes.

Lawmakers adopted a plethora of good-government policies put forward in 2023 by the so-called Foley Commission. Instead of being a one-time event, I believe that we should convene a good-government commission once every five years to review the structure of Hawaii’s government, just as we do with the Tax Review Commission’s evaluation of our tax system every five years. 

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

I strongly support comprehensive public financing of elections. We have recently seen so-called “clean elections” legislation introduced at the Legislature, which would place our elections in the hands of everyday people, rather than big-dollar donors.

While there have been discussions about the details of such a program — such as how much constituent support a candidate should obtain before receiving public money — I believe that we have an obligation to pass legislation that significantly strengthens our state’s public financing system, so that legislative outcomes are more responsive to the public’s will.  

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

In 2018, as president of the Hawaii State Teachers Association, I proposed a constitutional amendment to tax wealthy investment properties to fund education. This process was similar to an initiative process, in that the people could vote on this change to the Hawaii State Constitution.

What I saw firsthand was how big money and outside corporations can outspend advocacy organizations and community members to disrupt legislation that advances the public interest.

A statewide citizens initiative process will only support organizations that are well financed and favor wealthier interests, unless we start by passing comprehensive campaign finance reform.

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?

Of the 51 members of Hawaii’s House of Representatives who served in 2009, only 11 ran for reelection in 2022. Even fewer are doing so this year. For any institution, new ideas must be balanced with experience and institutional memory. 

At the Legislature, it can take years for an idea to move forward. Laws also often need to be modified after being implemented to address unintended consequences that weren’t anticipated at the time of their passage.

While I support term limits for executive officials, creating term limits for local legislators is a reactionary response to the very real problem of political accountability, which can be better served by establishing a robust public funding program for local elections.

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?

Hawaii must pass laws that eliminate the influence of corporate money in our elections and political decision-making. This can be achieved by fully funding public elections, as Maine has done, thereby ending the overwhelming electoral advantage held by candidates who seek corporate campaign contributions.

Additionally, we should create an independent ombudsman position within the Hawaii State Ethics Commission to determine if legislators have conflicts of interest when introducing or voting on bills. If a conflict is found to exist, then legislators should recuse themselves from taking action on those proposals.

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?

During the pandemic, the Legislature began broadcasting all hearings and floor sessions, and implemented a remote testimony system.

Hawaii should continue these practices, which will support greater transparency and participation in the legislative process, especially from the neighbor islands, individuals who can’t afford to miss work or family responsibilities to testify and people living with disabilities.

Additionally, lobbyists who are paid $1,000 or more to represent for-profit businesses or other private clients should be required to provide an oral disclaimer about their compensation before testifying on their clients’ behalf.

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?

Singapore, an island nation with limited resources, knew that in order to improve their economy, the best investment that it could make was to educate its people. Hawaii should do the same.

I support universal preschool, fully funding our public education system, and joining the eight other states who have made college tuition-free. When we invest in the education of our people, they will create a more prosperous and sustainable future for Hawaii.

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?

I fully support increasing the minimum wage to a living wage, passing paid family leave and establishing a child care tax credit.

Legislators should also take action to resolve our affordable housing crisis by incentivizing the counties to increase taxes on vacant homes and investment properties. On Maui, property investors and second-home owners own over 60% of condominiums and apartments, while 52% of homes are sold to nonresidents.

Lawmakers must also fulfill their promise to Native Hawaiians by fully funding Hawaiian Homeland initiatives.

Finally, we should urge our congressional delegation to seek funding for more on-base military housing, so that military families do not deplete the housing supply available in local communities.