Our islands are in the middle of one of the worst crises we’ve seen in the last 60 years. Our schools are failing, businesses are fleeing our state, and our cost of living keeps exploding. And we keep wondering why. I see a state that has been handcuffed by a decision to listen to a machine that can’t keep up with the demands of a state that looks nothing like it did when that machine first took over.

For nearly 70 years, one party has led Hawaii. For much of that period, Hawaii seemed to be going on a good track. But there were signs things were slipping out of control. A tax raise here. Some legislation there and things would always seem to get back to normal. But behind those tweaks, the train had really departed the rails. Much of what we lack today can be traced to periods during those 70 years when the machine hid its inability to meet the problems we faced.

Today, we are in crisis. But we don’t have to be. Seventy years of the Democratic machine has left our state limping when it should be soaring. In the “bluest” state in the Union, the machine is cracking: Between 2016 and 2020, Hawaii registered 82% more new Republican voters, nearly 83,000 voted in the 2020 Republican primary.

What caused such a dramatic increase? The need for new ideas in a state run by one party. Look back to all the missed opportunities to improve our economy, honor our ancestral lands and bring stability to our local businesses. Aloha Stadium is literally falling apart, the Thirty Meter Telescope debacle on the Big Island, the never-ending rail project, our state’s draconian response to COVID-19.

Hawaii’s people are struggling. They pay too much at the pump, too much at the grocery store, too much for their rents and mortgages, too much to just live. Our keiki don’t have the high quality education they need to compete in a swiftly changing economy, and the ones who can compete too often get educated on the mainland and can’t afford to come back.

What’s hardest for the average person in 2021? By far the pandemic. At best, our state’s response has been inconsistent, confusing, and, in its worst iterations, punitive to citizens. While there were only approximately 289 deaths attributed to COVID-19 in 2020, and only 50 more total deaths in Hawaii from 2019 to 2020, we’ve seen stay-at-home orders unlike any on the mainland or anywhere else. That is not aloha, and a fine for walking/stopping on the beach of $5,000 makes no sense to a people whose hearts are in the ocean.

What the people of Hawaii need is substantial, fundamental change. And they need it now. Hawaii’s Republican Party is ready to answer their call. We want to represent the real needs of the people, keep our politics aloha and serve our state honorably.

Our No. 1 focus is quality of life. We want to create and maintain robust communication with the people, no matter their politics, because we want to serve ALL of Hawaii. We will listen through social media, share through civics education, and develop leaders who understand how to represent the people where they live and work. We know we are in a “deep blue” state, but we also know that only way Hawaii wins is when its government represents and acts on behalf of the people.

To craft a government that works, we must choose people who are part of the solution and not part of the problem. The Republican Party of Hawaii stands ready to be your advocate and bring much-needed balance to our island home.

Shirlene DelaCruz Santiago Ostrov chairs the Hawaii Republican Party.