Editor’s Note: Civil Beat has asked candidates for the Hawaiʻi general election on Nov. 3 to answer a survey about where they stand on various issues and what their priorities will be if elected.

The following comes from Sue Keohokapu-Lee Loy, incumbent Democratic candidate for State Senate District 2 covering Hilo.

Her Democratic challenger in the Aug. 8 primary is Cristina (Tina) Holt.

The winner of the primary will face Republican candidate Jonathan Kennealy in the general election.

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 the job? And why do you want the job?

I’m honored to represent the community that I’ve grown up in; Hilo is my hometown. I’ve served this community for 10 years (eight with the County Council) and look forward to building upon the knowledge of the County of Hawaiʻi budget and synthesizing with state resources and programs to better serve Hawaiʻi island.

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 shortage of affordable housing coupled with a high cost of living are two of the biggest issues facing the district. Both the state and county have provided multiple streams of resources to help with these issues.

Here’s one question from your constituents: Do you support maintaining a monopoly for interisland shipping?

Currently, interisland shipping costs are regulated by the Public Utility Commission (PUC). I fundamentally believe there is little to no connection between utility rates and transportation rates; they are distinct and necessitate different approaches. I propose to handle transportation rates and introduce legislation similar to SB 2171, which transfers the jurisdiction of the Hawaiʻi Water Carrier Act from the Public Utilities Commission to the Department of Transportation.

What do you think were the most important bills to come out of the 2026 Legislature? What failed that should have passed? What passed that you wish had failed?

I strongly support SB 3025 — this bill is a medical debt erasure for local families; leveraging $500,000 to erase $91 million in medical debut. Life-transforming illness can be a financial setback and SB 3025 will change local families’ ability to move forward without medical debt.

The 2026 session was also overshadowed by an issue of public trust: $35,000 in the brown paper bag given to an “influential” state lawmaker. What do you think the Legislature needs to do going forward to rebuild public confidence in state government?

Trust is a process — I’ve taken the approach to make myself available for community and work to advancing and advocating for their goals on new policy and legislation.

In recent years, Hawai’i has experienced a series of damaging and dangerous weather events that have exposed weaknesses in our planning, preparation and response. What could you as a lawmaker do to help your district be better prepared?

Hawaiʻi island has experienced its fair share of severe weather and natural events, prompting us to formalize our planning, preparation and response strategies. Additionally, we have equipped communities on Hawaiʻi island with the resources and information necessary to establish their own local resilience hubs. Similarly, I would collaborate with state emergency agencies and fellow legislators to launch comparable hub programs, led and maintained by the communities themselves.

What would you do in office to address the here and now of climate change? And how would you address the costs to taxpayers, property owners and businesses to adapt?

Hawai’i imports the vast majority of its food; emissions from shipping and aviation are heavily tied to the local carbon footprint. I have witnessed our Hawaiʻi island resiliency hub share locally grown produce and homemade products to help taxpayers and locally owned small business. Expanding these efforts helps address food insecure areas and become incubators for tackling larger climate action goals and initiatives and minimizing our local carbon footprint.

Over 3,000 bills are introduced every session and there is always frantic horsetrading in the final days of session. Do you think there should be a limit on the number of bills introduced to enable more meaningful debate?

No. Every legislator is sharing policies that help their community. I have witnessed bills take unique approaches that modify different areas of the law to address community issues that can be adopted by other communities.

Hawaiʻi lawmakers are often in the dark about how much a piece of legislation will cost because the Aloha State is the only one in the nation that doesn’t require a fiscal analysis for bills. Should lawmakers be forced to put a realistic price tag on the legislation they introduce?

Having a separate background sheet with a fiscal impact analysis to compliment legislation could become a good evaluation tool. It could also assist on identifying other areas of the law and agencies that can better synthesize resources and demonstrate better use of funds.

There are no term limits for state legislators in Hawaiʻi, so incumbents tend to win. Would you seek to change that? Why or why not?

Representatives are on the ballot every two years and this gives community an opportunity to evaluate their legislator. It keeps representatives engaged and focused on delivering for community.

What would you do to help improve the state’s public school system?

An innovative concept to consider is the adoption of hybrid education in public schools, which merges online learning with traditional classroom experiences. This approach enables children to learn in diverse environments, allowing students, parents and educators to discover what suits them best.

Hawaiʻi is heavily reliant on tourism. What would you propose to diversify Hawaiʻi’s economy?

Hawaiʻi island has a number of signature events such as Merrie Monarch, Ironman, Haili Volleyball and has hosted World Sprints (canoe racing). Working on enhancing events similar to these and creating a different type of travel experience and economy for local business would be one approach I would like to pivot towards.

An estimated 60% of Hawaiʻi residents are struggling to get by. It’s a problem that reaches far beyond low-income folks and into the middle class, which is disappearing. What would you do to help?

This year the Legislature kept its promise to maintain a tax cut for the middle class and working families. Doing more around our tax policies is how we help our working families, kūpuna and keiki.