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 Nani Brown, Democratic candidate who is challenging incumbent Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz in the Aug. 8 primary 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?

My connection to the ‘āina and the people allows me to move through our community and policy spaces seamlessly. I am running because I am a problem solver and am unafraid to speak truth to power and do my absolute best to make the establishment more reflective of our people. Money is not being spent for the betterment of the lāhui as a whole, just a very select few.

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?

Two very serious and pressing issues. Pesticide use (RUPs) is almost 217,000 lbs in a single year. Immediately reintroduce the Telone-3 ban bill House Bill 1880 with education and pressure. Forty other countries already ban it (cancer). Dole is the primary user, there are alternatives. It is a no-brainer to pass the ban. Second are the homeless/encampments. Immediately deliver dumpsters and restroom facilities, allowing them to be accountable for their space. Connection to ‘āina is healing. Sweeps solve nothing.

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

No. Competition leads to lower prices and better service for consumers.

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?

Senate Bill 2471 without a doubt. I am so proud of Hawaii as a whole for leading the nation in this sentiment: GET MONEY OUT OF POLITICS. Senate Bill 1880 the Telone-3 ban should have easily passed. As a Kanaka, I would find it hard to find a reason to side with Dole on anything but over this pesticide and during the floods no less? Absolutely not. I wish the budget Senate Bill 3125 did NOT eliminate the solar tax credit which is counter-productive to our renewable energy goals.

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?

More transparency and enacting laws of accountability for lawmakers with consequences. If someone is found to have violated bribery or any laws regarding ethics in particular, they should be held accountable and no longer allowed to serve. For too long law makers have been unaccountable and the people are tired of that.

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?

My district contains the Wahiawa Dam, which was of great interest and account during the March flooding. Making sure our natural waterways are maintained and preserved, taking the ahupua’a system in to account, our warning systems are engaged and our disaster/rescue response is deployed immediately. Enacting “kuleana” laws that require people at the top of the system do not affect the people below them would be beneficial for lāhui as a whole. The Kona-low floods exposed the States failures.

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?

The most extractive businesses should be footing the bill for the damage they are causing to our land through taxes as a moral obligation. These would be tourism oriented and pesticide companies top of mind. Foreign and non resident owners of property especially beach front should not receive bail out money or consideration from the State. Our local and Native Hawaiian population should not have to pay to fix and live on our ancestrial lands.

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?

I support reducing duplicative and competing bills for efficiency, but also would love a longer legislative session.

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?

The introducer of the bill should have to put a realistic price tag on said bill. I would oppose hiring consultants to do this work and consider it part of the legislative job description.

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 believe with things like publicly funded elections – the problem will fix itself because stagnant officials will not have the monetary advantages. Publicly funded elections will level the playing field for all candidates, making the legislators out there getting the real work done the attention they deserve, and the comfortable and ineffective ones lose support.

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

Investing in our teachers and administrators; offering a more real world experience for students. Including more connection with our land, making the environment conducive to all types of learning for all types of kids. More outside time and experiences and more civic engagement and financial education as age appropriate.

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

I would steer completely away from tourism which has been exploitive and extractive in nature for our people and our State. Focusing on self-sufficiency, bio- and food security and renewable energy would be my priorities. The less dependent we are on the continent, the better. The world already knows about Hawaiʻi, we don’t need to advertise it for people to visit. Thus far, that has largely created an entitlement mentality by visitors(not all).

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?

Simply put: Make less things cost money. Free school lunches, bus transport and early childcare on top of an actual living wage would fix that issue. Two or three of these suggestions would take the weight off our people’s shoulders.