Editor’s Note: In September 2012, Civil Beat sent six questions to each of the candidates running in the Nov. 6 general election for Hawaii Legislature. The questions and answers are reproduced below in full. Click on each topic listed below to read Civil Beat’s question and the candidate’s response. We’ve also put together a full list of who’s on the general election ballot.

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

Preferred Candidate Name: Corinne W.L. Ching

Party Affiliation: Republican

Senate/House District Number: House District 27

Date of Birth: 08/31/61

Place of Birth/Hometown: Honolulu, HI

Current Profession/Employer: State of House of Representatives

Education/Alma Mater(s): Punahou School (Class of ’80); University of Hawaii at Manoa, B.A. – Liberal Studies Certificate – Ethnic Studies

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?

No, I would not support a raise in the excise tax as we are already ranked near the bottom nationally for business, and the cost of living here in Hawaii is already extremely high – e.g. electricity costs to rent and housing, etc. An increase in taxes would exacerbate this problem. A better approach to meeting budget demands is to be more efficient and look at curtailing costs, cronyism etc. ↩ 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 stood with those who helped to defeat the “Dirty Dozen”. Public input and cultural, environmental reviews are important to intelligent approaches to development, preserving what is special about Hawaii and actually the health of our community physically as well as economically for tourism. I am not against all development but rather callous, insensitive development. It could be sped up through allowing departments to have the necessary support and tools to complete the work faster and more efficiently. ↩ 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?

The detrimental effects of legalized gambling are well documented. It is a well known fact that Las Vegas had the highest rate of foreclosures in the Nation, and that gambling preys on small business as well as the poor as it’s true goal is to keep visitors inside the Casino as long as possible. It’s link to drug use and other unhealthy elements is horrendous. Las Vegas is a desert, they may need it, however Hawaii is an oasis environmentally as well as culturally and does not need gambling. We just had an exceptionally successful year in tourism without it. I am opposed to all forms of legalized gambling in Hawaii. It is a myopic approach to governmental budgetary woes. ↩ 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 am not only for the Sunshine Law but have fought for it, prefer that transparency and accountability be increased rather than decreased. ↩ 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 under the Lingle Adminstration looking at ways to get us off of oil dependency by exploring alternative energy and holding us to a deadline. Our State is most likely the only one is the Nation with potential for practically all forms of alternative energy: Wind, Solar/Photovoltaic, Wave, Geothermal and Biomass. Yet we suffer the highest electricity costs by 3x the National average. This affects the ability for schools to balance their budgets, provide programs for students, for small businesses to survive and for good ideas to come to the fore. The worst legislation is recent years was the proposal of a State Bank administered by Governor Abercrombie and the public sector unions which would infringe on private sector and cause a chill in the business community. The State has a hard time taking care of its own account (huge unfunded liability etc.). Going into banking with taxpayers money would be a disaster. ↩ 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?

While there are so many multifaceted issues from crime, education reform to long term care that I will work on, in the short term one of the less known causes of budgetary woes is the astronomical costs associated with the Diabetes epidemic in Hawaii, which costs over a billion a year and is in many cases preventable. Hawaii has the highest rate of amputation due to diabetes in the Nation. My district has a high rate of it and its costs contributed significantly to the closure of the HMC – Liliha the former St. Francis Hospital not to mention the heartbreak of families. Leaders have not been willing to be specific as to the preventable nature of this disease and I would like to continue to help resolve this issue. ↩ back to top