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 Philip Martin, Nonpartisan candidate for Office of Hawaiian Affairs at-large trustee.

His opponents are Adrian Kealiʻi Akina, Ikaika Anderson, Karl Baker, Shelby Billionaire, Jackie Burke, Michelle Costello, Kanekoa Crabbe, Brickwood Galuteria, Brendon Kalei’āina Lee, Ronald Nihipali, Kalena Parish, Keoni Souza and John Waiheʻe IV.

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 of OHA trustee? And why do you want the job?

I want OHA to deliver real results. I’ll prioritize a Guaranteed Work Initiative with Rapid Restoration Corps, mission‑critical work crews and expanded public‑sector jobs to restore watersheds, protect cultural resources, provide job training and create living‑wage work for the people of Hawaiʻi.

What do you see as the most pressing problem facing Native Hawaiians, and what is the first thing you would do to address it in the first six months after being elected?

The biggest problem is inaction — permits that sit for years, directives ignored and agencies unable to act because they lack staff. In my first six months, I’ll focus on fixing these failures with a Guaranteed Work Initiative building a trained workforce that can step in where the system stalls and finally move long‑delayed projects forward.

Here’s a question from a constituent: What are your plans to economically uplift more Hawaiians? Protect the ʻāina?

This is a core goal of the Guaranteed Work Initiative. We uplift people by supporting small farms, restoring streams, strengthening local food systems and giving workers paid training that builds long‑term skills. Protecting the ʻāina and uplifting communities must happen together, not separately.

OHA Trustees received a salary increase of 62% last June. Do you support the raise, and what will you do to ensure you are worth the money?

I support more living‑wage jobs for more people, not a select few. To justify the OHA pay raise, I’ll require time‑bound performance goals, public reporting and clear outcomes. Trustees must show results or be replaced by voters. Accountability is the only way to earn the salary.

What should OHA advocate for as negotiations continue over Army training land leases?

OHA should require the transfer of lands not essential to military missions, while prioritizing the protection and return of sacred lands. Federal land‑disposition rules (10 U.S.C. § 2687) allow this. Hawaiʻi has long received less than fair value, so we must demand independent, transparent valuation and renegotiate with strong environmental safeguards.

OHA dropped two lawsuits last year over Mauna Kea and decided that those resources would be directed to stewardship of that mountain. What types of activities or programs should those funds support?

Direct those funds into the Guaranteed Work Initiative so people can steward the mountain, restore damaged areas, support cultural practitioners and ensure respectful land management rooted in community values.

A new 12-member authority that includes members of the protest movement who opposed the TMT, as well as astronomers is set to take over stewardship of Mauna Kea by 2029. Could the new management structure help resolve long-standing disputes? And how do you see OHA working with entities that have interests in Mauna Kea, including major landowners at lower elevations?

Mauna Kea is a piko where ao‑hōkū guided voyagers, where mana flows from sky to ʻāina, and where iwi kūpuna rest. The issue was never astronomy — it was the pono ʻole ka manaʻo shown in construction and land management. Stewardship must honor this sacred legacy with cultural leadership and full transparency.

For decades, OHA believes the state has shortchanged its beneficiaries on payments from the use of public lands. The Legislature has cleared a way for a working group to determine an annual amount of revenue due to OHA. What do you want to see come out of that process? And what should OHA allocate any additional revenues toward?

I want a fair, transparent formula that reflects decades of underpayment. New revenue should strengthen and grow small communities, expand the Guaranteed Work Initiative, restore watersheds and support food‑sovereignty projects.

OHA has attempted to develop residential towers in Kakaʻako Makai. However, those efforts have been repeatedly rejected by the Legislature, stalling any development for the last 20 years. How should OHA move forward on lands it owns in this area?

I support strengthening and growing small communities and developing new communities guided by cultural practitioners, whose responsibility is to ensure respect for sacred lands and thoughtful planning. These communities should offer free or deeply subsidized housing and long‑term jobs, rather than concentrating more condos in already crowded areas.

Last year, the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court ruled that OHA trustees are subject to the state ethics code that governs the conduct of state employees and is intended to prevent things like nepotism, fraud and conflicts of interest. How would you, as a trustee, uphold the ethics code and ensure transparency at OHA?

This ruling is a good step — we need more like it. Family courts especially need oversight when a child’s right to safety is ignored. When officials act outside their authority, 42 U.S.C. § 1983 was created to hold them accountable and allow immunity to be revoked. A Judicial Oversight Board would give Hawaiʻi a fair, transparent process to address these failures.

There has often been tension between the Board of Trustees and OHA administrators. In just the latest example, the current chief executive officer has sued the board. What can be done to ease those tensions between administrators and trustees?

Clear roles, shared planning and consistent communication are essential. I’ll support structured collaboration and a public spending and performance dashboard so everyone — trustees, administrators and the community — works from the same transparent information.

Are there ways for the office to work more collaboratively with the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to address the housing shortage for Native Hawaiians?

We should coordinate to strengthen and grow small communities on recovered land parcels, expand small‑farm and food‑sovereignty projects, and align land use so families can live, work and thrive close to the ʻāina they steward.