Editor’s Note: In July 2012, Civil Beat sent six questions to each of the candidates registered to run in the Aug. 11 primary for Hawaii State House of Representatives District 33. Two out of three candidates responded, including Mark Takai. The questions and answers are reproduced below in full. Read the response by his competitor, Sam Kong. Heather Giugni did not send in her questionnaire. Click on each topic listed below to read Civil Beat’s question and Takai’s response.

• General Excise Tax
• Environmental Regulatory Review
• Gambling
• Sunshine Law
• Best and Worst Legislation
• Overlooked Issue

Preferred Candidate Name: K. Mark Takai

Senate/House District Number: House 33

Date of Birth: 07/01/1967

Place of Birth/Hometown: Honolulu, Hawaii

Current Profession/Employer: Preventive Medical Officer, Hawaii Army National Guard

Education/Alma Mater(s): Master of Public Health in Health Education, UH Manoa; Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, UH Manoa; Diploma, Pearl City High School

1. With the exception for Honolulu rail, the state has not raised the general excise tax in decades. Would you consider increasing the GET to help the state meet its budget demands?

I am against increasing the general excise tax because it unfairly hurts those on fixed incomes. I also voted against the pension tax in 2011. ↩ back to top

2. Lawmakers proposed relaxing environmental regulatory review to spur development and job growth in the 2012 session, and the issue is expected to resurface next year. Where do you stand?

I voted against these bills in 2012 and will likely vote the same way in the future. Permitting and environmental review should be streamlined, but it should not be at the expense of community dialogue and comment. Transparency and accountability must be maintained to allow for public review. Procurement and environmental review laws are in place to protect from cronyism and political corruption. Streamlining of these laws should be done, but any change must ensure that all bidders have a fair chance of winning. ↩ back to top

3. Gambling — are you for it or against it? If not, why not? If so, what type of gambling and with what kind of restrictions?

I have been against legalized gambling; however, I would support allowing our Native Hawaiian community the same legal allowances provided to Native Americans on the Mainland. Additionally, I can support a state-supported lottery with the proceeds going to education. Any attempt to legalize gambling must be balanced by the need for services to address compulsive and addictive gambling behaviors. ↩ back to top

4. The Sunshine Law is a hallmark of an open democracy accountable to its citizens. Yet, the Legislature exempts itself from this requirement. Do you support more transparency in government operations, or are there legitimate reasons to conduct some of the people’s business behind closed doors?

I support full transparency of the legislative process and other governmental operations. There are no legitimate reasons for exempting the legislature from the Sunshine Law. All our work needs to be done in the open. People are fed up with the “old boy” cronyism that continues to occur as a result of legislative business behind closed doors. ↩ back to top

5. What is the best legislation — and worst legislation — that the Legislature has approved in recent years? Please explain.

The best legislation was the reduction in taxes by over $752 million over four years (I voted for this measure). The worst legislation recently was the increase in the vehicle weight taxes by 133 percent and increase in the vehicle registration fee by 80 percent (I voted against these tax increases). ↩ back to top

6. What is an issue that you would champion at the Legislature — one that perhaps has not received much attention, or an issue that is important to your district?

I would continue to question why we pay exorbitant salaries at the University of Hawaii. I will continue to advocate for the consolidation of the UH President and the UH Manoa Chancellor positions and offices. These two offices now cost more than $6 million each year in duplicative personnel. When the position of UH Manoa Chancellor was created more than 10 years ago, the Chancellor and the new office were to be revenue neutral – not cost any additional funds. Our beloved University is becoming too expensive for our local students. Savings in reduced salaries and consolidations for the UH system should go to reduced tuition for students across the 10-campus system. We also need to realize that our University of Hawaii cannot be all things to everyone. In other words, we need to focus on the liberal arts core, and expand our program offerings in areas that we excel in, including Hawaiian language, Pacific Islands studies, marine biology, and astronomy . . . to name a few. ↩ back to top