Civil Beat has asked candidates for the Hawaiʻi General Election on Nov. 3 to answer a survey about where they stand on various issues and what their priorities will be if elected.

The following comes from Ian Ross, Democratic candidate for State House District 26 which includes portions of Downtown Honolulu and Kakaʻako as well as Makiki, Punchbowl and Kaheka.

His opponents are Nathan Kenichi Char, Janel Fujinaka, Arjuna Heim, Robyn McCreary and Tony Silva.

Go to Civil Beat’s 2026 Elections Guide for general information, and check out the other candidates on Civil Beatʻs 2026 Hawaiʻi Primary Ballot.

Why are you best suited for the job? And why do you want the job?

I was born here in Makiki, and this is the place where I built my life after graduating from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. My career has been dedicated to public service, advocating for healthcare at the state Legislature. As a volunteer, I served as the Makiki Neighborhood Board Chair for five years. At home, I’m the primary caregiver for my mother, a retired civil rights attorney. I’m running to restore a sense of safety to our neighborhoods and to help all our community members thrive.

What is the biggest issue facing your district, and what is the first thing you would do to address it in the first six months after being elected?

The biggest issue is public safety in our neighborhoods. There are several reasons for this. Many people no longer feel safe walking outside, due to increased levels of street crime, crumbling walkways and dangerous pedestrian crossings. On the roads, we have regular problems with drunken driving, speeding and drag racing. We need to address this by having better enforcement of the law, as well as by making repairs and improvements to our infrastructure, especially roads and sidewalks.

Here’s one question from your constituents: Do you support maintaining a monopoly for interisland shipping?

Interisland shipping is a highly regulated industry. I understand that many people find these laws frustrating, but these regulations exist for good reasons: keeping products safe, fighting human trafficking and preventing foreign countries from dominating the local shipping market. Though a single company handles the vast majority of interisland shipping, other companies are free to enter the same marketplace — provided they comply with the same laws.

What do you think were the most important bills to come out of the 2026 Legislature? What failed that should have passed? What passed that you wish had failed?

One of the biggest successful bills to pass this year was HB1546, which provides critical assistance to people at risk of being kicked off Medicaid. Another success would be SB2471, which improves government accountability by reducing the influence of corporate money in politics. I was also happy to see several new bills that curb the power of federal ICE agents in our communities.

The 2026 session was also overshadowed by an issue of public trust: $35,000 in the brown paper bag given to an “influential” state lawmaker. What do you think the Legislature needs to do going forward to rebuild public confidence in state government?

The $35,000 in the paper bag speaks to two concerns: bribery and undue influence. Bribery is already illegal, and we already have law enforcement teams that exist to investigate bribery matters — so we must make sure these investigators have the resources they need to do their jobs effectively. But there is also the broader concern about undue influence, and we can address this by closing loopholes — for example, banning political campaign donations by family and employees of government contractors.

In recent years, Hawai’i has experienced a series of damaging and dangerous weather events that have exposed weaknesses in our planning, preparation and response. What could you as a lawmaker do to help your district be better prepared?

It is time to increase routine clearing of Makiki Stream and other waterways, to avoid blockage and reduce the risk of flooding. We also need to protect trees and prevent erosion, especially on Tantalus. For infrastructure, it is important that we help condominiums and single-family homes access loans at below-market rates, to assist with repairs and improvements for flood mitigation and hurricane protection. Financially, the state must help to stabilize the residential insurance market.

What would you do in office to address the here and now of climate change? And how would you address the costs to taxpayers, property owners and businesses to adapt?

For our district, much of our climate change response will be preparing ourselves for severe weather events. As I mentioned earlier, we should keep the streams in our district clear to prevent flooding, offer low-rate loans to condominiums and single-family homes for repairs and weather resiliency improvements, and take state action to stabilize insurance costs. Thinking more broadly, Hawaiʻi should continue to inspire other states and countries with a bold commitment to renewable energy.

Over 3,000 bills are introduced every session and there is always frantic horsetrading in the final days of session. Do you think there should be a limit on the number of bills introduced to enable more meaningful debate?

The State House already has strict limits on how many bills a representative can introduce per year. The number of bills isn’t the problem, since those 3,000 bills are gradually pruned throughout the session. The real problem is with the culture at the Legislature, where lawmakers are expected to cut last-minute deals without transparency. We need to have a process that is more thoughtful and open.

Hawaiʻi lawmakers are often in the dark about how much a piece of legislation will cost because the Aloha State is the only one in the nation that doesn’t require a fiscal analysis for bills. Should lawmakers be forced to put a realistic price tag on the legislation they introduce?

Yes, our legislators should know how much money their laws would cost. The state Legislature already has several offices of attorneys, who review bills to determine the legal impact. Our lawmakers should also have access to in-house financial advisors, who can assess the fiscal impact of each bill that is introduced.

There are no term limits for state legislators in Hawaiʻi, so incumbents tend to win. Would you seek to change that? Why or why not?

Public service should be a calling, not a career. I support term limits at the higher end, restricting decades-long political careers. I also support expanded public financing options for legislative candidates. Right now, it is necessary for potential candidates to ask wealthy donors for money or to be wealthy themselves. A stronger system of public financing would help other qualified candidates put themselves forward for public office.

What would you do to help improve the state’s public school system?

Our public school system has had a constant shortage of teachers. We can recruit and retain more teachers by offering higher pay and building more teacher housing. In addition, we need to be doing more to support the well-being of our students. Specifically, we need to provide better mental health services for students and provide free school lunches. We also need to roll out universal Pre-K, so that every family has access to early childhood education, regardless of ability to pay.

Hawaiʻi is heavily reliant on tourism. What would you propose to diversify Hawaiʻi’s economy?

We can fix our shortage of healthcare workers by increasing the size of our training programs, creating an employment pathway for many more applicants. We can also build a stronger renewable energy industry by restoring tax credits for solar energy and streamlining the permit process for renewable energy sources. There is also a real opportunity to support the local film industry with investments and tax credits. Hawaiʻi should never lose local film or TV work to New Zealand.

An estimated 60% of Hawaii residents are struggling to get by. It’s a problem that reaches far beyond low-income folks and into the middle class, which is disappearing. What would you do to help?

We should create more affordable housing in Transit Oriented Development areas, particularly along the rail lines. At the same time, we need to stabilize insurance prices for condominiums and single-family homes by having the state stabilize the insurance market. In terms of energy, we must expand renewables, making ourselves less reliant on volatile oil prices. We also need to increase public investments in childcare, senior care and higher education.