Civil Beat has asked candidates for the primary election on Aug. 8 to answer a survey about where they stand on various issues and what their priorities will be if elected. There are four nonpartisan candidates on the primary ballot for Honolulu City Council District 4 that includes the areas Waikīkī through Kaimukī, Kāhala and Hawaiʻi Kai.

If no candidate acquires 50% plus one vote cast in the primary, then the top two finalists will go into a runoff in the General Election in November.

The following comes from incumbent Tommy Waters, nonpartisan candidate for Honolulu City Council Member District 4.

His primary opponents are Tara Malia Gregory, Jason Liang and Trevor Ozawa.

Go to Civil Beat’s 2026 Elections Guide for general information, and check out the other candidates on Civil Beatʻs 2026 Hawaiʻi Primary Ballot.

Why are you best suited for this job? And why do you want it?

I believe I have an obligation to continue serving because Honolulu is at a critical inflection point. Families face rising costs, housing challenges, infrastructure needs and declining trust in government. As council chair, I have brought people together, made tough decisions and delivered results while maintaining fiscal discipline. Public service is about responsibility. My focus is to lower the cost of living, strengthen neighborhoods, improve quality of life and earn the public’s trust.

What is the biggest issue facing your district, and what is the first thing you would do to address it in the first six months after being elected?

The biggest challenge facing District 4 is the rising cost of living. Housing, utilities, transportation and everyday expenses are making it harder for local families to remain in Hawaiʻi. I have always championed affordable housing development, homeowner tax relief and efforts to reduce city-driven costs like sewer fees. In a new term, I will continue to focus on increasing housing supply, improving infrastructure and making government more cost-conscious for residents.

Here’s one question from your constituents: How would you get homeless off beaches?

The goal is not to move homeless individuals from one beach to another, but to connect them to stable housing while keeping beaches and parks accessible to all. We need outreach, behavioral health services, shelter and supportive housing for those willing to accept help. Public spaces cannot become permanent encampments. The city must expand services while consistently enforcing laws that protect public health, safety and access. Compassion and accountability must go hand in hand.

After years of looking for a new spot to dump Oʻahu’s trash, the city is proposing that the Westside host an expansion of the island’s only municipal landfill. Is this a workable solution? If not, where should Oʻahu put its trash?

No community should bear a disproportionate burden indefinitely, but Oʻahu needs a realistic waste management plan. Expanding the existing landfill is not a long-term solution. We need to continue to reduce waste through better recycling, composting, diversion programs, and invest in emerging waste-to-resource technologies. Long-term success means reducing our dependence on landfills while ensuring affected communities have a meaningful voice in these decisions.

Honolulu’s housing market doesn’t have enough units that are affordable for residents. How would you try to increase the housing supply for locals? Are there approaches you think should be more seriously considered?

Housing affordability starts with ensuring existing housing is used for housing, not held as investment while families struggle to find homes. We need policies encouraging long-term occupancy and continued affordable housing construction. As council chair, I have supported bringing properties back into housing supply, infrastructure, transit-oriented development, permitting reform and thousands of affordable/workforce units. We must increase supply while also better utilizing what we have.

Homelessness remains one of Honolulu’s top issues. What should the city be doing to get more homeless people into housing? And what should it be doing to prevent more residents from ending up on the street?

Every homelessness strategy must start with prevention. Tackling housing costs, expanding behavioral health care and helping vulnerable residents stay housed. For those already unhoused, we must invest in outreach, shelter, treatment and supportive housing. Support those willing to accept help. When individuals are unable or unwilling to engage services, the legal system must be a last-resort pathway to connect them with care.

Hawai‘i has experienced a series of damaging and dangerous weather events that have exposed weaknesses in our planning, preparation and response. What needs to happen for your district to be better prepared for these events?

Recent flooding and coastal impacts show preparedness must begin before disaster strikes. As council chair, I have regularly supported funding for flood mitigation, stream maintenance, drainage upgrades and resilient infrastructure. In the FY27 budget, we continued these investments while expanding emergency management capacity. We must keep prioritizing risk reduction, stronger response, improved communication and protecting communities before hazards become disasters.

What should Honolulu County do to get in front of climate change rather than just reacting and adapting to it?

As an island state, Hawaiʻi bears a disproportionate share of climate change’s impacts. Honolulu must continue leading by example. As council chair, I have championed cleaner transportation, sustainable infrastructure, water security, and coastal resilience. As climate risks grow, we must also confront difficult but necessary questions about where and how we build to protect our communities and future generations.

Many of Honolulu’s parks are in rough shape. What are your solutions?

Our parks are among Oʻahu’s most valued community assets, but maintenance has not kept pace with demand. As council chair, I have supported continued investment in parks, recreation facilities and community spaces across the island. We need a stronger asset management approach that prioritizes preventative maintenance, modernizes aging facilities and directs resources where they are needed most. Parks should be maintained before they fail, not repaired after they break.

Skyline, the city’s rail system, has experienced vast budget overruns and construction delays. What’s your vision for the future of Skyline, and how would you help make it happen?

The question is no longer whether Skyline should be completed, but how we maximize the value of the investment taxpayers have already made. Skyline must be integrated with TheBus, housing, jobs and services through stronger first- and last-mile connections and transit-oriented communities. We owe taxpayers a transportation system that works. Success will not be measured by miles of track, but by the positive impact it has on the lives of its riders.

More than 80 people were killed last year on Oʻahu’s roads. That was a 20% increase over 2024 deaths and the highest number of fatalities since 2007. How can our roads be made safer?

Eighty-two lives lost in a year is not a statistic; it represents families forever changed. Most fatal crashes are preventable and stem from speeding, impaired or distracted driving, and unsafe road design. We need targeted enforcement, safer intersections, crosswalks, lighting, traffic-calming and data-driven investments in high-risk corridors. The government must build safer streets, and drivers must make safer choices. One traffic death is one too many.

What is your most out-of-the-box idea to solve a county problem?

Until technology eliminates the need for landfills, Hawaiʻi should explore packaging and shipping our existing waste-to-energy ash to larger landfills on the continent. We import thousands of shipping containers each year, many of which likely leave empty and could potentially be utilized. While transportation and disposal would have costs, they may be far less than the billions required to site, build and maintain a new landfill on Oʻahu.