Note: Neighbor Island And Uncontested Races Are Not Profiled
District 36: Pearl City-Pacific Palisades
Christopher Lum Lee
Nonpartisan
Age: 22
Job: None given
What qualifies you to be a state representative?
My community involvement with the Pearl City Neighborhood Board and my professional experience in the emergency management, health-care, and public-sector experience will be my single greatest asset in understanding the plethora of issues that faces the community. My dedication, leadership abilities and “no strings attached” personality will enable me to serve Pearl City effectively.
What is one thing you would do in office to improve the local economy?
*Please see previous question.
Do you support convening a Constitutional Convention? Please explain.
At this point, I don’t have an opinion regarding the Constitutional Convention because I haven’t seen which specific issues are intended to be addressed in the Convention. I have heard opinions from residents both in support and opposition of the convention. However, I would need to see more concrete information about this before I can provide a valid opinion.
Do you support Oahu’s planned rail-transit system? Please explain.
I support the rail system as a potential solution to the long-term traffic congestion problems facing the community. Do not misinterpret this as me saying that I support only rail! I say that the voters should be given the opportunity to decide what they want. If they want the rail, then we can move forward from there. If they don’t want the rail, then we have to look at other alternatives. Legislators are people, elected by the people for the people, and should allow opportunities like this to be given to the people that are being represented.
What can the Legislature do to improve Hawaii’s public education?
The Legislature should look at different sources of revenues for the state. By doing this, it will have a domino effect that will ultimately benefit the education system. I’ve gone on the record to say that I strongly support the education system and believe that pulling funds from it is unacceptable! To clearly explain, multiple revenue sources will produce higher overall revenues. The new revenues can be divided to the departments to mitigate against budget cuts, so the departments can continue to fund programs and positions. And by continuously gaining revenues, the Legislature won’t have to arbitrarily make budget cuts because we will already have the revenues.
Roy Takumi
Democrat
Age: 55
Job: Communications specialist, Hawaii State AFL-CIO
Past: Board member of several nonprofit groups
What qualifies you to be a state representative?
I am committed to public service, passionate about public policy, and dedicated to the community. More importantly, anyone can have ideas; it’s about getting results such as lowering the cost of prescription drugs and expanding early childhood opportunities.
What is one thing you would do in office to improve the local economy?
Invest in education. This past session, we established the Keiki First Steps program, an early-childhood learning system for the state. One study showed that the total benefit cost-ratio was $17 for every dollar invested in early learning. In other words, funds that go into establishing these programs ultimately prove to be an investment as savings amass from a reduction in crime and welfare payments and an increase in economic productivity
Do you support convening a Constitutional Convention? Please explain.
Since this question will be on the ballot, it will be up to the voters to make the decision. That said, I don’t see compelling reasons why the Constitution needs changes. I’m also concerned about the cost given the current state of the economy.
Do you support Oahu’s planned rail-transit system? Please explain.
Yes. While it is important to alleviate traffic, it is crucial that as our community gets older that viable options are developed to enable our elderly to enjoy a quality of life that can only be maintained by their ability to get around.
What can the Legislature do to improve Hawaii’s public education?
There are no guarantees in education reform but I believe the best potential for success is to give as much autonomy, authority and flexibility to each individual school to make decisions that best reflects the needs of their community.
It’s also about resources. A 2005 study concluded that an additional $278 million was necessary to ensure “adequate” schools. Finally, it’s also about qualified teachers, principals as leaders and parents as partners.
