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

The following comes from Lisa Marten, Democratic incumbent for state House District 51, which includes Waimānalo, Keolu Hills, Lanikai and parts of Kailua.

She is running against Micah C.K. Kalama and Steve Haumschild in the Democratic primary.

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?

Over six years I have proven I have no self-serving agenda, I am honest and hardworking, I listen and learn (though I am sometimes overwhelmed), and I care deeply about all the people in my district and the ʻāina that sustains us. I love to help, and have been training for this job all my life, through graduate degrees in public policy and public health, through service work and through insight gained growing up in-district, raising my kids here and seeing my parents age here.

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?

Homelessness tied to mental health and substance abuse disorders is rated the biggest issue. As committee chair, I fought for permanent homeless services funding, and for construction and operation of homeless shelters with wrap-around services across the State. The Waimānalo Emergency Shelter just opened 20 new units this month. We have an almost unused law which allows court mandated treatment for people who are a danger to themselves or others, and I am working to get that law into use.

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

I need more data to know – will our market support more than one company? The upside to the current regulated monopoly is regular service to all ports. A free market might not serve small ports, or charge disproportionate rates for doing so. This would be comparable to the current lack of air service to Molokai. The downside is we depend on them and have bailed them out and allowed price increases to keep them solvent, though that came with strings to make financial reforms.

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?

Good government bills passed, including a prohibition on corporate donations, and protections for immigrants and criminal justice reform. Over $85 million was added to the budget to replace federal cuts to Medicaid and SNAP and $250 million was allocated to different housing supports. My bill to help people at risk of losing Medicaid and SNAP achieve required hours to meet new work requirements failed. SB 3125 could have provided safe harbor for tax credits to solar projects already completed or underway in ’26.

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?

Support courts in prosecuting. I am proud that Hawaiʻi does not tolerate public corruption. Former legislators Ty Cullen and Kalani English were incarcerated. Those under current investigation lost government jobs pending resolution of the cases. SB 2494 passed this session supports prosecution of these types of bribery cases. It increased the statute of limitations and also set the clock to start when an incident is discovered, rather than from the date of the incident itself.

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?

For flood prevention in Waimānalo, I secured a federally-funded U.S. Army Corps of Engineers study that updated water flows as baseline data for flood infrastructure projects. For known bottlenecks, I am working with the state Department of Agriculture and Bellows and joined the new House working group on flood prevention. I support Lanikai efforts to be a Firewise Community and to seek escape routes in case of a wildfire.

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?

I arranged meetings with national experts and the Attorney General and asked her to sue Big Oil for damages to state infrastructure. Honolulu and Maui also sued. I supported a bill this session to allow private suits. I support public investment to prevent wildfire through grazing or planting native forests, to prevent flooding through right-sized infrastructure and to rebuild and protect (and even move) shoreline roads and harbors. Adapting is not enough, we need to stop burning fossil fuels.

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?

The number of bills introduced is not necessarily correlated to the number of bills heard or debated. It is the responsibility of committee chairs to select priority bills so there is time for full public testimony and public debate on bills actually considered. The House limits members to 20 bills the first year of the biennium and 10 the second. The Senate does not restrict. Further limits on bill numbers would incentivize better thought-out bills that are truly priorities for members.

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. Fiscal analysis was started this year in Finance for select bills. Informally, I have always been asked for ongoing costs of my bills. For example, one-time construction costs to build kauhale for the homeless comes with ongoing annual costs for wrap-around services to the residents. My bill for a single State Benefits Hub could have used a fiscal analysis: an excessive price estimate thrown out by someone who did not want to do the work stuck and became an excuse to kill the bill.

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 support term limits. The terms should be long and the length should be the subject of public debate. Effective legislators need to become knowledgeable about a wide range of issues and it takes time on the job to do so. Within a term there is an opportunity to vote out incumbents every two or four years. There is high turnover in the State House, but less in the Senate. Term limits would discourage career politicians who might be more interested in keeping their jobs, than in doing their jobs.

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

I work with schools through my non-profit and know we have many excellent public schools. I see dynamic project-based learning, access to community college credits, hands-on vocational training, Hawaiian immersion schools, and public charter schools with specialized areas of learning. For these improvements to reach every student, we need trained teachers in every classroom. People love to teach. We can recruit and retain teachers if we pay a living wage and and make teacher training affordable.

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

The most promising industries are renewable energy and agriculture. We currently send our tourism dollars right back out of the state to buy imported fossil fuels and food. Producing our own energy and food (as much as possible) will keep money and jobs here, and make us more resilient and secure in the case of extreme weather or conflicts. We need to implement more policy to incentivize transition to renewable energy, to invest in farm infrastructure and give young farmers access to land.

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?

I am happy to have supported efforts to raise the minimum wage, make the earned income tax credit permanent and refundable, and pass a significant income tax reduction for low and middle incomes. I worked to maintain residentsʻ access to Medicaid and SNAP, despite federal cuts. For the future, I would like to exempt food and medication from general excise taxes, and to continue to fund and build more affordable housing, particularly housing on public land that will be affordable forever.