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.

The following comes from Ikaika Hussey, Democratic candidate for State House District 29 which includes Kamehameha Heights, Kalihi Valley and a portion of Kalihi.

His primary opponent is Democrat John Mizuno. The winner of the primary will face Republican Tess Abalos in the November 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?

Democracy is in crisis. We need leaders who are not career politicians, and are able to bring new ideas to the table. My focus is economic self-determination for Hawaiʻi — moving us off a model where land, money and decisions concentrate in fewer and fewer hands. I want the job because the people most affected by these decisions are rarely the ones making them, and I intend to keep changing that.

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?

Affordability – rising costs and stagnant wages compounding until working families are pushed out, all while the federal government directly threatens to cut programs for those most in need. We’ve championed deep reforms, combined with a robust constituent-services approach that actually moves cases — SNAP, benefits, landlord disputes — because policy and casework reinforce each other.

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

A regulated monopoly can be justified for interisland shipping, because the low-volume neighbor-island routes only stay served if they’re cross-subsidized by the busier ones, and a single carrier under public-utility regulation is one way to guarantee universal service. But “regulated” has to mean something. I support the universal-service rationale, but I do not support locking in rate increases without regulatory scrutiny. Monopolies should earn protection due to strong performance.

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?

1. I’m proud to have introduced the House version of our Citizens United bill. Stopping the flow of corporate money is the best way to protect our democracy. 2. The Legislature did not address the military lands question. This was a missed opportunity.

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?

I’m a new member in the House, and am just beginning to witness to the pervasiveness of political corruption across all the floors of the Capitol. It requires more than the Legislature. We need the independent press to hold politicians accountable; we need the voters to get organized; and we need our elected officials to be willing to stand up against a culture of pay-to-play.

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?

Kalihi has rich and strong community networks, upon which we are deploying digital tools, phone trees and physical hubs to assist us in resilience and recovery. This summer will be very challenging, but I think we’re up to the task.

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?

We need policies (like the community co-management bill) that push us toward restoring a stewardship relationship with ʻāina. A resilient community looks a lot like the Ahupua’a model, which provides a margin for instability in an increasingly climate-unstable future. This includes public financing of renewable energy and agriculture. A public insurance fund should be explored, and it should serve as a capital source for the de-risking investments in ʻāina, infrastructure and people.

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.

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?

Yes.

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?

I disagree with the premise. Incumbents tend to win for a range of reasons – name recognition, familiarity, ability to leverage official communications to solidify their standing. Term limits address the symptom — incumbents almost always winning — but they can shift power to lobbyists and unelected staff who outlast every member. I’d pair any term-limits discussion with the things that actually make seats competitive: public financing and transparency.

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

Raise taxes on the ultra-rich so that we can invest more in education. Private schools spend $30-45k per pupil; the DOE is a fraction of that.

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

I’d invest in import substitution — producing more of what we currently ship in, starting with food — to keep money circulating locally and improve food security. I’d back local manufacturing and agriculture, the creative economy and Native Hawaiian economic development through organizations doing indigenous economic transformation. The goal is an economy that builds local ownership and wealth rather than extracting it.

An estimated 60% of Hawaii 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?

The ALICE (Asset Limited,Income Constrained, Employed) data is clear: a majority of households are above the poverty line but still can’t cover basics, and that now reaches well into the middle class. The priorities are housing cost, wages that track the actual cost of living here, healthcare and childcare affordability, and reducing the cost of essentials like food and energy. I support tax policy that confronts the land and wealth concentration that drives so much of the cost pressure in the first place.