Name on ballot:

Pat Beekman

Running for:

State Senate – District 16

Political party:

Republican

Campaign website:

patbeekman.com

Current occupation:

Retired

Age:

84

Previous job history:

Air Force veteran. Subsequently worked as a financial analyst for securities firms in Palm Beach County, Florida, as an international consultant in Tokyo, and as a Japanese-speaking account executive for a Ko Olina resort in Hawaii.

Previous elected office, if any:

Aiea Neighborhood Board, 2018-2021

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

I was born and grew up in Hawaii and have seen the changes for better or worse over my 84 years, such as the change from priority given to pedestrians by the government in traffic planning during the 1940s and ‘50s to priority given to drivers in more recent years. I’m aware of the propaganda that gets spun to the public, such as during the Covid mandates, and the catastrophic worldwide changes that have been predicted over the long years and never came to pass.

I have been active in politics for many years, from the “hanging chads” 2000 presidential election in Palm Beach County, Florida, to keeping up with American politics and voting during my 13 years in Japan, to joining the Hawaii Republican Party in 2006. I was appointed to fill a vacancy in the Aiea Neighborhood Board in 2018, then elected to it a year later. I served for three years as its Red Hill Fuel Tanks Committee Chair, keeping in regular touch with the Navy and the Board of Water Supply to get the best sources of information. I have continued to keep up with Red Hill, which will be one of my top priorities as a state senator.

I have also served in active roles in the Hawaii Republican Party, such as District 33 Chair, District 34 Chair and Rules Committee Co-Chair.

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

The most pressing issue facing residents in our district is the skyrocketing cost of housing. The price of keeping a roof over one’s head in Hawaii is mind-boggling. Mainlanders wonder how we do it. By living packed like sardines in a can or in little cubby holes, that’s how. This is an unacceptably low standard of living for a U.S. state. It didn’t use to be like this here.

The legislature is keenly aware of the problem and has passed bills this year to help. However, more can be done. One potential solution is for the state to release some of its public lands at low prices or maybe even for free. Additionally, state legislators should work with our federal Congressmen and Senators to secure funding for housing. If the federal government can authorize $175 billion in aid to Ukraine, surely it wouldn’t be out of line to seek some federal aid to help American citizens right here at home.

We also need to adjust building regulations so that builders can construct lower-cost housing while still making a reasonable profit. This approach, according to informed sources, can yield good results.

Our high cost of housing took a long time to reach its current state, and it will take a multi-pronged approach to roll it back. While it won’t be easy, with concerted effort and practical solutions, we can work towards making Hawaii a more affordable place to live.

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

See my answer to the previous question.

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

Property insurance rates have risen dramatically for certain Hawaii home and condo owners. Several factors are cited: increased frequency and severity of natural disasters, rising sea levels, fewer insurers willing to cover property in Hawaii, the high costs of rebuilding here, and a change to stricter building codes. These may or may not be real, but they are frequently cited in connection with the dramatically higher insurance costs.

Getting a realistic grip on these factors and ascertaining the facts is a must, as is conferring with and hearing from affected owners. These will go a long way to formulating and advocating for policies and practices aimed at lower insurance rates.

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

Hawaii has the reputation of being business unfriendly, often topping all 50 states in news stories covering that category. The state needs to ease up on its red tape, eliminate barriers and pursue the goal of making Hawaii a great place to do business, then let the private sector do the rest.

Farms could use better encouragement. Hawaii has some of the best farmland in the entire country. Sugar and pineapple were until recent years Hawaii’s biggest industries, affording a good lifestyle for many families, yet we saw those two once-thriving industries collapse over a relatively short period of time. Plantation owner family members told me back in the ‘70s when their businesses dominated the islands that the increasing cost of labor forced on them by unions was forcing them to close down and leave the islands.

Cooperation among government, private business, labor unions and the community is essential for a realistic view that anticipates impacts and promotes a better business environment.

Taking the longer view, promoting education both academically and in skilled trades to align with viable and emerging industries is a critical element in the quest to provide a good lifestyle for Hawaii’s people while improving the state’s business environment.

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

See my answer to the first question in this questionnaire, about my district’s most pressing issue.

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

To better support and improve public education in Hawaii, schools should focus on the essentials: reading, writing, math, science, history, literature and technology. They should avoid pushing personal beliefs, such as certain views on LGBTQ issues, gender fluidity, anthropogenic climate change and politically correct history, as facts. Additionally, students having a desk and quiet place to study at home should be looked at and any problems, which there will be, addressed.

As a child of deaf parents, I am particularly interested in students who are deaf or hard of hearing. They have much potential and should not be looked upon as second-class citizens, as it has been reported they often are. They deserve a learning environment that caters to their needs, respects their potential and allows them to succeed and excel.

Taking the longer view, we need to promote education both academically and in skilled trades to align with viable and emerging industries. This approach will help provide a good lifestyle for Hawaii’s people and improve the state’s business environment. By focusing on essential education, making the appropriate adjustments as times change and new technologies and circumstances appear, we can ensure that our educational system serves the best interests of our children and our community.

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

I’m skeptical and lean towards killing the Aloha Stadium project as now envisioned, although my mind is not firmly made up. It’s a private-public partnership with a 99-year lease and encompasses entertainment amenities and affordable housing. It will be backed by general obligation bonds, which will put Hawaii’s hard-pressed taxpayers on the hook for more cash. Big projects like this, similar to our rail, tend to run into delays and financial troubles. Because of uncertainties like these, the Aloha Stadium project is looking like an unnecessary gamble of taxpayer money.

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

Yes, term limits is a good idea.

Liaisons good for the incumbents but not necessarily good for the people tend to become stronger over the years. Term limits reduce this source of corruption.

Knowing their time is limited encourages legislators to waste little time in implementing their ideas and strengthening their causes. Their restricted time encourages them to focus on doing their job rather than prioritizing reelection efforts.

The vacancies opened up by this practice encourage more citizens to seek office, bringing fresh energy and perspectives with them.

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

The legislature does sometimes make access unnecessarily difficult. For example, its email subject lines give almost no clue to the contents, other than perhaps the initials of the committees that are featured. Those committee initials are Greek to the vast majority of the public. This practice discourages the public from learning what’s happening. Changing just this one custom to more informative subject lines would be a big improvement.

It would add considerably to transparency if one could easily bring up on the capitol website a list of bills a legislator sponsored and a list of the bills he voted yes on as well as no.

The Public Access Room and the Legislative Reference Bureau are superb resources that are already in place for more transparency and accessibility. They are underutilized. When elected I plan to inform my constituents about them.

What will be your top priority if elected?

My top priority will be to tackle the pressing issues that directly impact the daily lives of our community. These include, but are not limited to, the high cost of housing, high food prices, the ongoing threat of the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Facility releases to our drinking water and environment, the high cost of gasoline, crime and road safety. By focusing on these areas, we can create a safer, more affordable and healthier environment for all Hawaii residents. My commitment is to work tirelessly to find practical solutions and make our community a better place to live for everyone.

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

Born and reared in Hawaii, I have a love for Hawaii as my home. My father was from upstate New York and arrived in the islands as a young man in his early 20’s. He was an author who specialized in war history, particularly the Pearl Harbor attack, which he witnessed, as well as the Nikkei of Hawaii, Japan and the Japanese. His interests eventually rubbed off on me. My mother was a nisei from Hilo. Both deaf, they met in a Honolulu lip reading class.

I have lived on the mainland for around 30 years, in Canada for one year, in Tokyo for six years and in Kumamoto, Japan, for seven years. Kumamoto is where both my maternal grandparents were originally from before coming to Hawaii to work on a plantation, which apparently they wasted no time in leaving.

In school my natural leaning was towards math and science and I still like to get into the weeds on those more than most. However, my degree was in history. My greatest history interests are American war history, such as the Revolutionary War, the Civil War and the Pacific Theater of WWII.