My name is Ian Ross. I’m running for State House District 26 (Makiki, Punchbowl, portions of Papakōlea and Tantalus) because we deserve a community where we can afford to thrive, feel safe, and know our State Representative will listen and work for you. I was born in Makiki and raised on Kauaʻi, and a decade ago, after graduating from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, I came home to Makiki to build my life here. I’ve served as your Neighborhood Board Chair and have worked in government and public health, and I’m a family caregiver who understands kuleana. Now I humbly ask to serve you at the State Legislature.
I was born in Makiki and raised on Kauaʻi by my mom, Linda, a civil rights attorney who worked for the Hawaiʻi Disability Rights Center. I’d sit in on community meetings after school and watch her advocate for people who needed someone in their corner. She instilled in me the importance of serving others.
Like many families during the Great Recession, we were hit hard. My mom lost her job. I picked up two jobs through high school, one at a care home and the other as a computer technician, but we still lost our home. Medicaid kept us covered, and when my mom was hired by the County’s Elderly Affairs office, proudly becoming a member of HGEA, we slowly got back on our feet.
I attended the University of Hawaiʻi where I threw myself into service. I helped establish the Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council, became involved with ASUH, and worked with my closest friend, Kaulana, to create a student bus pass program. After she passed away during a mental health crisis, I spent a year fighting to win the support of government, faculty, and students for the program. The bus pass program was established in 2011 and named the Kaulana Pass in her honor. The program we came up with has now helped more than 10,000 students get to school.
I graduated with honors from UH Mānoa with a degree in economics and came home to Makiki a decade ago. Since then, I’ve worked in the State Legislature on health and housing policy, served as Policy Manager at the Alzheimer’s Association where I helped pass legislation establishing a state Alzheimer’s coordinator and training standards for first responders. I now work as Public Affairs Director at the Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center, which serves some of the people with the greatest need in the islands.
As Chair of the Makiki/Lower Punchbowl/Tantalus Neighborhood Board from 2019 to 2024, I didn’t just show up for the big wins like shutting down illegal game rooms, securing our new Punahou Square dog park, and standing with Papakōlea against a risky city water project. I also did the quiet work: attending committee meetings, meeting one-on-one with concerned residents, fighting to keep the Mānoa post office open, supporting community gardens, addressing homelessness in the Makiki stream and parks, and organizing vigils for neighbors we’ve tragically lost.
Today, I’m the primary caregiver for my mom. I understand kuleana, the responsibility we have to care for those we love and to serve our community. I’m running because I know how hard life can get, and I want to do the work and put community first.
As your neighbor, public health advocate, and former Neighborhood Board Chair, I’ve experienced how homelessness has changed our parks, sidewalks, and streams in Makiki. We need mental health support, addiction treatment, truly affordable housing with wraparound services, and real pathways to steady work to restore public spaces in our community.
My family lost our home during the Great Recession, so I know how hard it is to afford Hawaii, especially when times are tough. I’ll fight for homes that regular people can afford, support stable and affordable condo insurance, push for increasing housing in the urban core and along transit lines that respects our community, protect our green spaces, and put kamaʻāina before outside investors.
As Neighborhood Board Chair, I worked with police and the City Council to pass legislation that shut down illegal game rooms and made our streets safer. Everyone deserves to feel safe where they live, so I’ll keep partnering with police and neighbors to strengthen safety, reduce gun violence, and support neighborhood watch programs.
I attended and graduated from Hawaiʻi’s public schools and worked two jobs in high school to help my family get by, so I know education opens doors in ways that nothing else can. Our teachers deserve better pay and respect, and schools like Roosevelt, Stevenson, Lincoln, and Queen Kaʻahumanu need the resources to provide the best education so every student can succeed.
Dysfunction in Washington D.C. has made it clear that we have to lead on climate here at home. With investments including the new green fee, I’ll support accelerating the transition to renewable energy, shoreline protection, and tree planting right here in Makiki and Punchbowl to cool our neighborhoods, and climate resiliency infrastructure to save lives and homes.
I’ve dedicated my career to working on policy and public service in the interest of working families and our most vulnerable, not corporations and their special interests. I’ll hold the powerful accountable, close campaign spending loopholes, and put people over politics.
I helped get safe routes to schools and all-way stops in Makiki and Punchbowl and stood with the community to stop concerning city projects in Papakōlea. Major projects need real community input, so I’ll work hand-in-hand with the community for safer streets, better sidewalks and crosswalks, smarter flood mitigation, and infrastructure that works for our community.
My legislative career got its start at the Legislature’s Health Committee in 2017 and I have worked ever since to get better care for our kūpuna. As the primary caregiver for my mom who is experiencing cognitive decline, this is an issue that IWespecially near to my heart. As a State Representative, I’ll protect Medicaid access, prioritize fixing our provider shortages, support family caregivers and our healthcare workers, and ensure that Hawaii remains the best place to live a long, healthy, and dignified life.
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