Response

Public service, for me, is a calling informed by my profession, my faith, and my commitment to helping others.

Ewa Beach needs a strong voice to represent our interests, to speak up and take action on the issues that matter the most to my constituents. My foremost statewide concern is, of course, is the current health and safety crisis as well as its economic fallout, but in my district, where I live, we need a leader to focus on everyday regular issues too, like the state of our public schools, alleviating soul-crushing traffic, and our infrastructure that is either crumbling where it stands or nonexistent where it is needed most. Just because everything is on pause doesn't mean that any of these issues have gone away - they are right where we left them and are waiting for us whenever it is that we return to our regular day-to-day lives. But we must not just go back to the way things were, because the way things were was a system that was failing working people living paycheck to paycheck, it was failing our children with underfunded schools and stressed out unsupported teachers (I have since been endorsed by HSTA), it was failing people who need real affordable housing closer to where their jobs are, it was failing to provide even the most basic worker protections that nearly every other modern nation has - like paid sick and family leave. The system was failing so many of us in so many ways before this crisis hit. What many voters and policy makers have now - I hope - is a shared clarity of the injustices built into the current system that need serious attention and which you the voter must hold legislators to account for in the months and years ahead. The worst thing that could happen once we find our way out of the current crisis is to just go back to the way things were and we need to elect leaders today that will do what it takes to make the changes necessary to get us back on track towards a more just society.

Our community needs a leader who will consistently stand up for democratic principals, but we also need someone with a proven record of accomplishments who can understand and work with people from all backgrounds to bring needed change to our current system as well as to bring home needed resources for Ewa Beach. People all over my district, from all backgrounds and political persuasions have approached me of their own volition expressing their desire for me to represent them again for these very reasons. They know that I am an effective fighter for progressive causes and for our community. I feel that it is my duty to step up and dedicate myself to public service, and I am deeply humbled to know that I have the faith and confidence of so many in our community and across our state. I will do my utmost to honor your faith in my abilities to represent working families and put my community's needs above my own.