Name on ballot:

Jackson D Sayama

Running for:

State House – District 21

Political party:

Democrat

Campaign website:

www.jacksonsayama.com/

Current occupation:

Hawaii State House Representative for District 21

Age:

27

Previous job history:

No answer submitted

Previous elected office, if any:

Neighborhood Board #5 Member

Please describe your qualifications to represent the people in your district.

As a fourth generation Japanese American born and raised in this district, I am proud to call District 21 my home and am honored to serve as its representative for four years. Driven by a vision to create a Hawaii where local families can stay and thrive, I’ve advocated for legislation to grow affordable housing for locals, increase funding for public education programs and infrastructure, and eliminate bureaucratic inefficiencies. Outside the Capitol, I’ve been active in my district listening to constituent concerns and the door and organizing community events to clean public spaces. If elected to serve another term, I hope to work on these issues as well as healthcare workforce development, condominium governance, and converting underutilized state properties to affordable housing.

What is the most-pressing issue facing residents in your district and how would you address the problem?

Like the rest of Hawaii, the cost of living, particularly housing, continues to burden residents of District 21. As a young professional myself, I know how expensive it is to afford housing in its many forms. The proliferation of “Monster Homes” is one such issue born out of Hawaii’s high housing demand and poorly enforced county zoning laws. While fighting against state laws that undermine counties’ jurisdiction to restrict poorly planned developments, I am working toward building affordable housing on underutilized state property in the neighborhood.

What would you propose to be done at the state level to help residents cope with Hawaii’s high cost of living?

This year, I voted to give Hawaii residents a historic cut to individual income taxes and doubled the standard deduction. These changes will move Hawaii from being the second highest-taxed state to the fourth-lowest. We also reduced costs of most medical services by exempting them from the GET. I hope to continue support similar tax reform that would further bridge the gap of economic inequality and empower local working families to thrive in Hawaii.

What can the state Legislature do to help Hawaii home and condo owners with rising property insurance rates?

While there are many factors contributing to the rise in insurance premiums that are beyond the control of the State, we are taking steps to minimize the risk tied to insurance costs. One of the biggest risks associated with increases to homeowner’s insurance is wildfire risk. In response to the Maui wildfires and growing risk of similar disasters, I voted to increase funding towards land management and wildfire mitigation/response initiatives. These investments, along with community oriented land management, will reduce the risk and insurance premiums for homeowners. As for condominiums, we passed a bill giving condo boards access to long-term financing to make necessary repairs to the condo’s deteriorating infrastructure. I hope to introduce legislation that would provide property owners, both homeowners and condo unit owners, with financial incentive and assistance to mitigate the risks driving insurance costs. Risk mitigation efforts can include installing hurricane clips or upgrading the water lines of a condo.

Can Hawaii’s tourism-dependent economy be diversified, and, if so, what can state government do to support the effort?

While tourism will continue to be one of Hawaii’s major economic engines, the State has found success in supporting budding industries like film/creative media, renewable energy, and agriculture engineering. Instead of picking and choosing certain industries, I believe the government’s role is to create an regulatory and business environment that stimulates innovation and growth for local businesses and talent.

What would you propose to help increase affordable housing in Hawaii?

To increase the supply of affordable housing, I began the process to redevelop public properties in and around the district that could be repurposed for affordable housing. In coordination with the School Facilities Authority, we identified several underutilized DOE properties that can be repurposed for housing local teachers and the broader community.

What can state government do to better support and improve public education in Hawaii?

No answer submitted

Should the state continue to pursue building a replacement for Aloha Stadium in Halawa? Please explain.

No answer submitted

Should members of the state Legislature have term limits like Honolulu’s mayor and City Council members?

No, I do not believe term limits would improve the quality of service and decision making provided by elected officials. After four years in office, I see first hand the importance of institution knowledge and experience in the legislative process. The breadth and complexities of legislation considered during the Session makes adopting term limits modeled after Honolulu’s City Council unrealistic and detrimental.

What reforms, if any, would you propose to make local government more transparent to the public?

While the legislative process has grown more accessible to the public, the extraordinary pace of the legislative session make it very difficult for the layperson to engage and trach the process in any reasonable manner. If the process is to honor the democratic principals of civic engagement and transparency, I believe extended the length of the legislative session would be reasonable and fair. Clearly, this proposal would be a considerable change to the constitutionally established 60 Session days, but I feel warrant serious discussion and debate.

What will be your top priority if elected?

On a state level, I will be working to improve Hawaii’s condominium governance regime. Nearly one third of Hawaii’s residents live in condominiums – many of them are in poor shape and are deteriorating. For years, the state has held a “self-governance” position for condominiums, which allows voluntary condominium boards to make decision for the condominium and its unit owners. Unfortunately, a number of factors relating to this self-governance model has led to the current state of affairs in condominium insurance and management companies. Over the interim, I’ve been meeting with stakeholders in the condominium industry to find consensus and propose bills to create a more sustainable and fair governance model for unit owners and condominium stakeholders.

Is there anything more that you would like voters to know about you?

No answer submitted