Response

As Speaker of the House, my opponent Scott Saiki, struck a deal with the Chamber of Commerce, a monied special interest group, to allow corporations and the state to continue paying poverty wages til 2024. Despite the findings of the ALICE report, DBEDT and federal guidelines that demonstrate $13/hour would be considered a poverty wage today, let alone 4 years from now.

This was the result of meetings that took place behind closed doors and without input, or rebuttal, from any labor or community organizations. Speaker Saiki exhibited such disdain for working people and the democratic process, that I was inspired to run against him because the working people in our district deserve to be represented, not disregarded.

I'm sure when Saiki entered the Legislature 26 years ago, he probably had a brighter vision for the Hawaii he wanted to shape. Now his leadership is focused on maintaining the failed status quo that keeps him in power. It is slow to to prepare for, or solve, Hawaii's challenges. Homelessness is worse than it was and worst in the nation. We now have the highest average personal credit card debt per capita given our high costs of living. 40% of all privately held land is now owned by out-of-state investors.

Today, the unemployment insurance fiasco was the result of decades of bashing departments every time they requested funding for infrastructure upgrades. The Democrats we have in power are fiscally Republicans: even in periods of economic growth, they want to avoid taxing the rich, and keep government services underfunded to further the propaganda that private contractors are the better solution.

The Supreme Court just noted that over the past 30 years, the State has ""done little to address the ever-lengthening waitlist for lease awards of Hawaiian home lands."" This follows its earlier decision that the Legislature failed to uphold its Constitutional obligations to properly fund the Department of Hawaiian Homelands, failed to deliver on the promises of the U.S. Constitution and Federal government.

It is an open secret around the capitol that the Legislature's response to the State Court's earlier decision was to cut the Judiciary's budget - ultimately hurting programs related to legal aid for the poor and victims of domestic violence.

I know we can do better for Hawaii - both in the process of legislating and the outcome as it impacts Hawaii's people. I will work towards greater transparency and access to government, specifically as it relates to remote testimony at committee hearings so that our neighbor island residents aren't kept out of having their voices heard because they cannot afford to hire a sitter or buy an airline ticket at the last minute. Meanwhile corporations are spending millions on lobbyists to ensure their voices are heard everyday by Committee Chairs and the rest of the Legislative leaders in backrooms throughout the capitol.