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 Dalene McCormick, Republican candidate for State House District 5 covering communities in Puna, Kaʻū and South Kona.

Her opponents are the incumbent, Jeanne Kapela, and Hawaiʻi County Council member Matthew Kaneali’I-Kleinfelder

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 represent the values of the people living in my community and I want to bring integrity and transparency to the Capitol.

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?

First, I would ask. My representative has never asked me what my biggest issue is. My district has the largest land mass of all districts in the state. As a member of this community, I would not be expected to know about every issue, but I would be responsible for asking and being engaged with my constituants. We are rural and have large agriculture issues, we have roads with issues, we have an active volcano, plus now we have vulnerabilities with the large earthquake we just experienced.

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

Not necessarily, I believe in free markets. I won’t claim to be a subject matter expert; however, I know how it makes me feel when I hear about frequent price increases. I don’t understand why the shipping companies are threatening bankruptcy but continually get increases with no competition. I also understand the risk if they become insolvent and we have no means to get our goods. It’s a Catch-22 and needs common sense solutions from smart people.

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?

I believe many bills that come from the minority caucus are good bills that don’t pass because they come from Republicans. And example is HB 281 – No GET on Food and medical expenses. HB 282 – No tax on tips, and HB 291 – stand your ground laws. I believe the voters in my district would like to see these commonsense bills get passed instead of HB 1518 that places more people on SNAP, and HB 2023 which adds more government oversight, more government control, and unknown costs to the taxpayers.

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 issue with public trust goes well beyond legislators. Trust in government systems is a nationwide issue that has become alarmingly exposed in recent years. Hawai’i residents continue to call out the fact that Hawai’i has always been at the top of public mistrust and corruption. Legislatures need to have integrity. You can’t legislate righteousness you have to vote it in, and currently people don’t even trust that system.

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?

More government is not the answer. It’s not hard to see how people feel about big governments handling our disasters. As a lawmaker, I can ensure funding for prevention and recovery flow to the community, not to nonprofits and other non-governmental agencies who are often not transparent on where the money goes. My district has community, love and aloha for the land and their neighbors. We have a strong civil defense and disaster responders.

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?

The climate changes, this is a reality. There are not enough tax dollars in existence to change it. The U.S. and Hawai’i already do a lot to save our planet. We support initiatives for clean air, clean water, clean emissions and so on. How many taxpayer dollars go to nonprofits only to pay high salaries and publish reports with little oversight of where the money goes? Does this move the needle related to our climate? I would much rather see common-sense solutions at the local level.

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?

I looked over all the bills to properly answer your previous question related to the ones I like and the ones that should not have passed, and yes, I think it’s a bit overwhelming. I see that legislators are doing a lot to better our communities, but more is not always better. For every new law there are financial and productivity costs that are never seen on paper.

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?

I campaign on transparency. I am in favor of educating the public about the cost of the many law changes that are made. As I previously mentioned, most every change that does not generate revenue is a burden to taxpayers. However, if the analysis is not done with the proper tools and diligence, the data is irrelevant. And if ongoing oversight is not part of the process, the reason for providing it is void.

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 and the principles of our founding fathers that public office was intended to be a temporary duty of citizenship. This is why service is a key component of my campaign. I want to serve my community not build a lifelong career. But I also want good legislators to be afforded enough time to implement positive change for their constituents.

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

Public schools are a nationwide topic of conversation. You need to determine what datapoint you are using to measure performance. Hawai’i is one of the few states in which school boards are appointed rather than elected. I support an election system that has high public trust, high voter turnout and elected school boards.

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

Why would you not want to diversify? The beauty and climate of our land is what drives tourism, but it does not have to define us. My district alone is abundant in coffee, macadamia nuts and other agriculture. We have abundant land for livestock. I think the better question is what prevents us from diversifying? I would say our remoteness, high cost of doing business, land use restrictions, energy costs, and workforce and talent constraints.

An estimated 60% of Hawaiʻi 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?

A term my ʻohana uses is “Hawaii Retired,” which means you only have one job instead of two or three. That’s a sad reality for our communities. Let’s have transparency and look at the amount of taxpayer money our government throws at affordability issues. Does it move the needle? Is there oversight into these funds? If we can tackle those two questions, we might be able to find tax relief for our residents who have the highest tax burden in the United States.