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 Michael Ratcliffe, Democratic candidate and incumbent member for State House District 28, which covers the urban Honolulu communities of Sand Island, Iwilei and Chinatown.

His Democratic opponents are Reno Abihai, Nadia Alves, Ernest Caravalho and Anthony Nagatani.

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 appointed by Gov. Josh Green for this job. I served on the Kalihi-Palama Neighborhood Board. I am a labor law attorney that represented various public sector unions and their members with a practice that emphasized economic fairness and workers’ rights. I want to continue my work because people in my community have been suffering for too long. We need new energy and perspectives in the Legislature.

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?

Public safety. Many public safety incidents arise from the homeless in the area who have mental health problems. They are not well and need support. I would introduce a bill to create the Chinatown Community Action Center which will serve as a resource for positive urban change. This bill will assess the physical, social and economic conditions of every property in the area and how we can provide the necessary resources to make it a safer place.

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

This is a complex issue in a highly regulated industry that primarily affects neighbor islands. I would collaborate with my neighbor island colleagues to determine whether it’s a net harm or net benefit to working people in Hawaiʻi.

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?

The most important bills were preserving the 2024 income tax cuts for working class families, keeping SNAP and Medicaid funded, and the bill that made Hawaiʻi the first state to enact stronger controls on political spending by outside organizations influencing elections. I wished the bill that changed the hiring process of the Hawaiʻi Teachers Standards Board (HTSB) executive director failed because HTSB itself opposed this.

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?

In 2022, Ty Cullen met with an “influential state legislator” who provided $35K for a campaign. It’s now 2026 and their identity is still unknown. Justice too long delayed is justice denied. If the AG’s independent and fair investigation does not disclose the facts soon then the Legislature must act on Professor Ali Silvert’s (my former law school teacher) now filed petition to conduct its own investigation. The people deserve answers and criminal government officials must be held accountable.

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?

Iwilei Road is in a low-lying area that was still flooded long after the Kona low storms passed. We all suffer from our weaknesses in planning, preparation and response. The root problem is infrastructure improvements. I would push for funding these projects with frequent assessments. I would also allocate more funding to Hawaiʻi Emergency Management Agency to create more events like the recent Community Preparedness Fair that addressed natural disaster responses in the area.

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?

I support managed retreat — shifting development inland from the coast. I would also expand tax incentives for battery storage for renewable energy generation. I would advocate for incentive structures that are accessible to lower-income households and renters, not just property owners, so the clean energy transition doesn’t leave behind the working families.

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?

No. Elected officials should be allowed to bring forward their ideas; some have few and others have many. There are different ways to weed out the stupid bills early and engage in more meaningful debate on substantive matters than by putting a bill limit (e.g., extending the legislative session).

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, but in an efficient matter.

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 do not support term limits, but I support mandatory retirement ages like we have for the Hawaiʻi State Judiciary. We have seen leaders at the federal and state level criticized for their lack of capacity to do their job. A mandatory retirement addresses this issue and allows new voices to enter the Legislature. I will also support more public funds to candidates to ensure that everyone has a fair chance to become elected.

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

Educational bias is a silent injustice in our state — rarely discussed, yet powerful in shaping opportunity. While well-resourced private schools thrive, working families are left with aging campuses and underpaid teachers. I will fight for increased baseline educator compensation, teacher housing solutions and an accelerated modernization initiative so every public school campus is safe, funded and built for success.

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

Manufacturing and entrepreneurship. We need people to create new businesses with a market that goes beyond Hawaiʻi. State organizations like Entrepreneurship Sandbox and PACE help to generate the entrepreneurship culture to create the jobs of the future.

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?

60% struggling is an economic crisis. I will address affordable housing by supporting office space conversion into residential areas. I will push for new approaches: expanding local job pipelines, supporting small business manufacturing on Sand Island and investing in our local workers.