Name on ballot:

Mike Lee

Running for:

State House – District 50

Political party:

Democrat

Campaign website:

mikeleeforhawaii.com

Current occupation:

Director of Education and Stewardship Programming

Age:

42

Previous job history:

Educator, Mediator, Corporate Trainer, Executive Director, Shoe Salesman, and Laborer

Previous elected office, if any:

No answer submitted

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

I am a respected educator, small business owner, and community leader with extensive experience advancing community initiatives with government, business and nonprofits. I have served in numerous leadership capacities in the community including with the Kailua Neighborhood Board, Windward Neighborhood Security Watch, The Pacific American Foundation, Hawaii USA Wrestling, and NALU Studies.
More importantly I am qualified to represent the people of this district because I am one of you. As a husband and father raising my family in Kailua I understand firsthand the daily challenges facing our residents. The high cost of living and commodification of our natural resources has changed our way of life.
I have felt the burden of our high cost of living. I have had to rent rooms in my house to strangers while raising my children to make ends meet. I have had to pull my children out of sports leagues to help support a multigenerational family. I’ve lost my job due to funding cuts and had to consider selling our home to move to the mainland.
Over my lifetime I have seen what has happened to the district. Once a small residential coastal community, district 50 has become a tourist hub. The streams we used to play in, mountains we used to climb, and waves we used to surf have become someone else’s vacation fantasy. Tourists’ sense of entitlement has decimated our natural resources from Kailua Beach to Kāneʻohe Bay. I grew up learning to body surf at Kalama’s and to fish and dive in Kāneʻohe. I miss a simpler time watching movies at the drive-in on dump road and eating Andyʻs burgers smothered in yellow sauce.
My intent to serve comes from a sincere place of empathy and compassion for neighbors like you. I am here to help because you and I are the same.

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

The biggest issue facing our district is public health and safety due to aging infrastructure and a lack of community resources. Both Kailua and Kāneʻohe Bays are adversely affected by an outdated wastewater treatment plant that pumps waste out to the sea. This leads to constant beach closures, coral disease, and poor water quality. This impacts our ocean ecology and residents’ ability to safely interact with our waters. Either the discharge point needs to be closed altogether or we need a complete overhaul of the treatment center including modern disinfection treatment technology and updating our city and county’s sewage intake systems.

The district currently also has no emergency shelters in place. Our communities have high risk areas for brush fires and flooding where properties are only 1-2 inches above sea level. Having no emergency shelters in place is a lethal problem.
I will work with the state, city, and private landowners to implement fire mitigation measures and put emergency shelters in place immediately for our residents.

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

I believe we need to cut taxes for struggling families, increase affordable housing, and diversify our economy to include better paying jobs for our residents.
To do this we need to reform our tax code. Increasing property tax on out of state landowners will allow us to decrease income taxes for residents. The state should also repeal the GET tax on food and drugs for all residents. Lastly, we should cap property tax for our kupuna so that they can age with dignity.
If elected, I will work closely with the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation to increase the number of affordable units for rent and purchase; particularly in the urban core of Oahu. Housing is the greatest household expense in Hawaii and we need to increase the supply of affordable housing for local residents.
Diversifying our economy so we are not so reliant on tourism is a necessity. I speak on this in another answer specific to our economy below.

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

The state should be taking more active measures to show insurance companies that our residents are not a risky insurance market. The state needs to finance and execute fire mitigation measures, maintain green spaces, keep drainage channels clear to minimize flooding risk, and move infrastructure back from our depleted shorelines. The state should support homeowners by providing subsidies for home protection (hurricane tie downs etc.). By taking preventative steps to minimize damage from natural disasters, we can present a more attractive market for insurance companies and drive down insurance premiums.

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

We need to diversify our economy now. We can do this by investing in renewable energy, diversified agriculture, and the tech industry. Too many of our talented youth are leaving the state. We should do more to keep them home. These industries can offer them that support through an increased job market, higher salaries, and the ability to work from home through increased telework capability.
As an educator I believe this starts in our schools. We should be educating our youth about all options available to them, not just college. I support the DOE’s academies and CTE programs (Career and Technical Education). Our schools should give our youth the ability to develop employable skills that will prepare them for immediate entry into Hawai’is labor workforce, especially in burgeoning industries.

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

Housing is the greatest household expense for our residents and we need to increase the supply of affordable housing now. To accomplish this we need to reduce housing regulations, finance infrastructure, and streamline state and county processes and policies. These three challenges inhibit our ability to build more housing quickly and affordably. Tax increment financing is a great tool for financing infrastructure and community improvements.

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

The largest obstacle facing the DOE is teacher recruitment and retention. Our teachers have one of the most important jobs in society and we need to treat them accordingly. The teacher shortage is so bad this past year the DOE had to bring 80 teachers from the Philippines over to fill vacancies. This doesn’t include teachers from Teach for America and emergency hire teachers.
To help with teacher recruitment, we need to support funding for competitive teachers salaries, professional development, and better facilities. We should encourage our youth to participate in programs like UH’s “Grow Our Own” (GOO) teacher initiative. This initiative reimburses graduates tuition who are willing to teach in our public school system for three years.
Keeping our brightest and best local teachers is an imperative for the DOE. To help retain our teachers the state can work to create a better incentive package and career pathways that include: retention bonuses, pro-family policies, new growth and compensation structures, and merit based awards. We also need to provide new teachers the classroom support they need to get through the difficult first years of teaching.

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

The state has already made this decision. We need to make sure that it doesn’t become the next “Rail”. The state needs to hold contractors accountable to their labor agreements so the project is on time and on budget. It is also important that redevelopment of the area is made with local residents in mind. This cannot become a new tourist hub. The area needs truly affordable housing, commerce that serves local people, and the infrastructure necessary to support it.

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

I support term limits but we need to be very careful when taking away a voter’s right to choose who they support. I would not want to preclude an effective legislator from serving his or her community and/or shepherding multi-year projects to their conclusion. For decades, Cynthia Thielen built a strong relationship with the community and completed many beneficial projects. With shorter term limits this would not have been possible. That is why I support longer term limits in the range of 16-20 years.
Many of the current proposals for term limits are in the range of 4-6 years. This can lead to disaster. There is a learning curve with any new job and an especially steep one at the legislature. I can’t imagine any professional workforce staffed by employees with only 4-6 years of experience let alone our government. I want someone with more than a few years of experience making decisions about my taxpayer dollars.

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

I support any and all efforts to make our government more transparent. The legislature has done a good job in this regard recently but can do much more. I believe in open meetings, making information accessible to the public, public input, stricter disclosure laws, and ethics oversight.
As suggested by retired Judge Daniel Foley, Chair for the Commission to Improve Standards of Conduct, constituents should “pay attention, engage your legislator, and see what your legislator is doing because legislators respond to their constituents.”

If elected to the state House, I will hold regular town hall meetings to hear directly from the community about issues that affect their lives. I’m working hard to make sure that I speak to as many voters as I can to understand their needs and how to best represent them in the state House.

What will be your top priority if elected?

If elected, my foremost commitment will be to ensure our community is equipped with the necessary resources to safeguard themselves during natural disasters. It is imperative that we modernize our aging emergency shelters to meet current safety standards and effectively protect our residents.

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

I am a devoted husband to my wife Cherylin, and father of two boys Angel, and Phoenix. I love my family. Together we enjoy camping, hiking, going to the beach, eating at Willow Tree, and cheering for the Buffalo Bills. #Billsmafia

Cherylin is a typical Kailua girl who loves nothing more than lying on the beach on a warm summer day. She is an Aikahi Elementary, Kailua Intermediate, and obnoxiously proud graduate of Kalaheo High School ℅ ‘01. She is a natural born fish and swam on one of Kalaheo’s fastest relay teams in school history. She is slow to catch on to jokes at times but has an unyielding demand for self respect that I admire.

Angel is creative, sensitive to the needs of others, and quickly becoming a young man about to enter the ninth grade. His favorite activities other than video games include wrestling, judo, and grilling. This summer he got his first job working with youth in summer programming and I couldn’t be prouder of the man he is becoming.

Phoenix is entering the seventh grade, strong willed, independent, and self assured. He has developed a growth mindset towards life and really understands the world through a bigger picture lens. Phoenix enjoys singing in the car to songs he doesn’t know, excels in wrestling, and loves watching Pawn Stars.

I am so grateful to have a loving family and to be living on the windward side. I love the work I do with our youth and I am privileged to be surrounded by people that love and support me. Regardless of the outcome of this election I am blessed with an incredible life and I will continue to support this community.