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 Wayne Kaiwi, Republican candidate for State House District 39, including Royal Kunia, Village Park, Honouliuli, Ho‘opili and a portion of Waipahu.

His opponents are Corey Rosenlee, Loren Doctolero and Danny de Gracia.

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 bring over 25 years of community service leadership and real world experience from labor advocacy and small business ownership to public safety and neighborhood board service. I have worked directly on issues that affect local families. Instead of standing on the sidelines, I choose to step up and serve. My goal is simple, fight for policies that improve the quality of life for the people of District 39 and Hawai’i.

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 high cost of living is the biggest issue facing District 39. I also believe this is a statewide issue. Everything else connects to it. Housing cost, traffic, overcrowded schools, workforce shortages and crime are all made worse when local families cannot afford to live here. In my first six months I would work hard to focus on affordability through housing, workforce development and government accountability. I would fight for more workforce housing.

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

No. I support healthy competition that keeps prices fair and encourages better service and reduces cost for consumers and businesses. We benefit when there are multiple players in the market.

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?

Most important bill to pass this session was SB 2471 Constitutional Amendment Response to Citizens United and a close second is the Native Hawaiian Homestead Rights Legislation where lawmakers passed measures aimed at strengthening protections and opportunities for beneficiaries of the Hawaiian Homes program.

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?

Increase transparency and accountability and introduce random audits.

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?

I would ask for funding for disaster preparedness and increase preventative action to mitigate the possibility. Clean streams and ditches regularly and maintain waterways by city and state crews to avoid the repeat of disasters such as the Kona low floods.

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?

Climate change requires practical solutions, not just more spending. I support investments in wildfire prevention, water security and infrastructure resilience and reasonable energy innovation. My focus is to protect Hawai’i’s communities while ensuring taxpayer dollars are used wisely.

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?

Yes. 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?

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?

I support term limits with consistency across the board so that it’s the same in the House as it is in the Senate.

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

Downsize the student teacher ratio and classroom size.

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

I would diversify in areas of agriculture and increasing our emergency food supply and reduce imported goods

An estimated 60% of Hawai’i 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?

Create new industries for Hawai’i with better-paying jobs. Enlist the university to help focus on degrees that benefit Hawai’i like technology and green energy and work harder to keep spending outside Hawai’i down.