Ian's Platform
Community First
I advocate for a comprehensive approach to reducing homelessness, which combines mental health services, truly affordable housing, and the creation of well-paying jobs. By making use of flexible federal Medicaid funding, we can put medical vans into the community, pay for drug addiction treatment, and provide youth services at shelters.
Hawaii needs more housing that is truly affordable, concentrating new development in the urban core and along transit lines. I understand the need to preserve our green spaces and treat every community with respect. We must create new housing while preserving what makes Hawaii special, allowing our friends and families to remain living in their community.
We must foster safer communities by promoting neighborhood watch programs, community-oriented policing, and access to victim support services. I will push for common-sense reforms that will reduce gun violence and shut down illegal game rooms.
It’s time for us to fully invest in our K-12 public education system, which includes giving our keiki safe places to learn and thrive. We need to increase recruitment and retention of qualified teachers, repair school facilities, and provide mental health services to students.
A warming climate is a threat to the entire world. Hawaii should embrace a leading role on this issue by incentivizing the growth of green jobs that boost the local economy and bring us to a clean energy future. Additionally, we should plant more trees, providing shade and reducing heat in our urban neighborhoods.
We must enforce transparency and accountability for elected officials. Additionally, I support reforms to reduce the influence of money in politics, ensuring that our representatives prioritize the needs of their constituents over special interests. Let's make sure that service is a calling, not a career.
Public input and feedback need to be better implemented by large projects like the Ala Wai Flood Mitigation Project. Honolulu’s roads also need to become safer for pedestrians and alternative forms of transportation, and this includes reducing speeding near schools and residential areas.
Hawaii is facing serious health challenges, from inequity in the healthcare system to high rates of chronic diseases. We must do more to properly support our kūpuna and their caregivers. As a public health champion, I’m committed to ending our shortages of nurses and doctors, as well as addressing factors like poverty that are often the root causes of poor health.