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 Trevor Ozawa, nonpartisan candidate for Honolulu City Council Member District 4.

His primary opponents are Tara Malia Gregory, Justin Liang and incumbent Tommy Waters.

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’m a husband, a dad and a local attorney who grew up in this district. Like a lot of local families, I worry my kids won’t be able to afford to stay in the place I love. I’ve held this seat, so I know how to turn community concerns into results. After 2019 I stepped back, raised my girls, coached and listened. More than anything, I’ll show up and fight for this community. I’ve done it before, from safer playgrounds for our keiki to flood protection for our valleys, and I’ll do it again.

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 cost of living. Local families are getting priced out of their own neighborhoods. The Council’s most direct lever is property taxes, so my first move is to get property tax reform right, targeting real relief to resident homeowners and kūpuna, and to dig through the budget for waste. The contrast: while families struggle, those in power let their own pay climb 86% since 2022, skipped the public vote, and now bend the rules to chase a third term. I’d make government answer to residents again.

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

Beaches are not campgrounds, and families deserve safe parks. After residents told me they felt unsafe waiting for the bus, I passed a law to keep bus stops clear and usable for everyone. But enforcement alone just moves people down the road, and services alone don’t clear the beach. I’d pair real outreach, mental health and addiction help, and shelter beds through HONU and CORE with consistent enforcement once a bed is offered. Compassion and accountability are not opposites. We need both.

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?

This is a mess the city created by failing to plan for a decade. Every alternative got blocked, Wahiawā over our aquifer and others by the buffer law, so the Westside keeps getting asked to carry what it’s hosted for 40 years. I won’t pretend there’s an easy new site, but the Westside can’t be the forever answer. The real fix is to bury far less through diversion, recycling, and full use of H-POWER, while bringing the state and federal government to the table on a fair, lasting solution.

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?

We need housing local families can actually afford to stay in, and too much so-called affordable housing doesn’t stay affordable. On the Council I pushed the Lilia Waikīkī developer to keep its rentals affordable for 30 years, double the 15 years they first offered. That’s the fight: affordability that lasts. Going forward I’d cut slow, costly permitting, build around rail, put underused city land to work for local workforce housing, and keep new units for residents, not out-of-state investors.

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?

Two different problems, two answers. To get people housed, we need more shelter and supportive housing tied to real mental health and addiction treatment, and better coordination so a bed is ready the moment someone says yes. The harder truth is prevention: most people are one rent hike, one medical bill or one lost job away from the street. So we have to attack the cost of living, protect kūpuna on fixed incomes, and fund eviction and rental help before a family loses everything.

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?

The March storms exposed it: East Honolulu is basically fed by a few transmission lines over the Koʻolaus, and when two of three went down, whole neighborhoods sat in the dark. Grid redundancy is the utility and the state’s job, and I’d press them hard for it. But the city has its part: clear streams and drainage before the rain, keep up tree and line maintenance, back up critical facilities, and get kūpuna and families clear emergency info. Preparedness is unglamorous, but it’s the job.

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

Getting in front means spending on prevention before disaster, not cleanup after, and I’ve done it. After the 2018 rain bomb hit East Honolulu, I funded year-round stream and culvert cleaning in valleys like ʻĀina Haina and Niu Valley, and put millions into the capital budget to prevent a repeat. We need more of that, plus updated flood maps and codes, and honest planning for sea level rise and erosion in our neighborhoods. It’s always cheaper to prevent than rebuild.

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

Parks are where our keiki play and families gather, but too many show years of neglect: dry fields, cracked courts, aging restrooms, and playgrounds that should have been fixed long ago. In my first term I helped replace unsafe playgrounds at ʻĀina Koa and Hahaʻione, and got Ala Moana’s irrigation fixed so the grass came back green. I’ll focus on the basics: safe playgrounds, resurfaced courts, working irrigation, shade trees, clean restrooms, regular maintenance, and East Honolulu’s fair share.

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?

Whatever anyone thought of rail, it’s here and billions are spent, so now we make it work and protect taxpayers from another overrun. I’d hold HART accountable on cost and schedule for the segment into town. The real payoff is less traffic in the urban core as ridership grows, but only if people can actually use it. That means transit-oriented development and easy first and last mile access. Nobody rides a train they can’t get to, and stepping off into a deserted station doesn’t cut it either.

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?

More than 80 lives lost is not just a statistic; it is families who lost someone. Many crashes are preventable. We need safer road design: fix dangerous intersections and crosswalks, improve lighting, calm traffic near homes, schools, parks and bus stops, and enforce against speeding, impairment and distracted driving. I’m also concerned about unsafe e-bike use by kids and would push clear rules, education, helmets, safer routes and accountability. Vision Zero needs to be funded like we mean it.

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

Build neighborhood microgrids. The March storms knocked out the lines over the ridge and left East Honolulu and Hawaiʻi Kai dark, because our power comes from far away. Imagine instead: clusters of homes, schools and community centers with their own solar and battery storage that can run on their own and keep the lights on when the grid goes down. It lowers bills, cuts emissions and turns our most isolated neighborhoods into our most resilient ones. We’re an island. We should power like one.