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 Jesse Fitzgerald, Green candidate for state House District 50, which includes Moku Manu Island, Popoia Island and Kailua. 

He will face incumbent Democrat Michael Lee.

Go to Civil Beat’s 2026 Elections Guide for general information, and check out the other candidates on Civil Beatʻs 2026 Hawaiʻi General Election Ballot.

Why are you best suited for the job? And why do you want the job?

I am suited for this job because I am from the people. I was educated in the public school system, I sent myself to the UH to earn a bachelors degree in Anthropology with a focus on Pacific Island cultures. I started working with my dad when I was 11 and later after college joined him in the private sector working as a painter and later a partner in our small subsistence-based licensed painting company. I am well aware of working-class struggles and what we need to keep our families together.

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 biggest issue facing my constituency is the economy. It structures social life and all of our interactions. It has become too hard to survive here in the islands, causing stress and anxiety among local working class families. If I were to list one thing I would push for in my first six months it would be to eliminate property taxes on homes occupied by local families. However, Investment properties, second homes, vacation and homes rented and owned by military personnel would be taxed.

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

I am generally not a fan of any type of monopoly. Wherever competition occurs then prices are kept competitive. No competition allows certain corporations to charge what they want. To revive agriculture and inter island commerce and flow of goods competition in this area would be warranted and perhaps necessary. After all keeping prices lower for consumers would help local families and business get their goods to wider markets.

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?

The good: limiting the amount of corporate and outside donations to political campaigns a rejection of the insidious Citizens United. Also rejecting foreign influence and investment on energy infrastructure. Should have passed: free school lunches for our children, this would have helped local families and farmers. Also the Keiki ride free to provide mass transit to children between 0-18. The Farm to Families bill should have passed, providing local produce to working families.

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?

A corruption response team made up of legislators would be important to revive public trust. Public officials in all capacities, elected or otherwise must be held to the highest ethical standard of any other group. They are taxpayer funded and receive pensions and benefits and many of their constituency do not. They must prove worthy of such public funds. Any officials caught breaking this public trust should be stripped of all benefits and punished with harsher anti-corruption laws.

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?

Kāneʻohe and Kailua were hit hard by the Kona low storms. The citizens themselves were issuing warnings and suggestions prior to the occurrence. The citizens themselves also provided relief and support for their neighbors hit by this catastrophe. Moving forward, we need to listen to the constituents that warn us of problem areas and act accordingly and expeditiously. Failure to do so should result in the loss of jobs and benefits if applicable. The citizens deserve a responsive government apparatus.

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 are an island state and nation in fact. We need to act accordingly moving forward. We must lead the nation in clean energy, and a not-for-profit insurance system that provides real relief for those affected. Mansions on the beach, those built by billionaires and out of town millionaires, should not be guaranteed by the state and should pay a higher insurance and tax rates. Investment properties, mega homes, will be built at your own risk. The State should not prop up the real estate market.

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?

Perhaps we should limit the amount of bills it seems excessive and confusing. If we have so much debates on all these bills then the ones we really need get buried in the confusion limiting the amount of progress made. We need to have substantive reform not the multiplication of bills to confuse the electorate and take up legislative agendas that lead us down the road to nowhere.

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 all state legislation must be accounted for, just as every household in Hawaiʻi must account for its own budget so should the State. In the end legislation should pay for itself in cost savings for its constituents and the generation of wealth for its people.

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?

Yes term limits should be implemented to insure that elected officials do not become a separate class of citizen and to create a legislature made up of younger citizens that can help shape theirs and Hawaii’s future.

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

Teachers need a raise, many teachers are working unaccredited for the lack of qualified teachers seeking these positions. These teachers work for less money and benefits to the detriment of the student and the public school system. The system is made to fail driving many to send their children to private schools further eroding working class spending and the larger economy. The public schools should become hubs of the community providing resources, family therapy, even food to the community.

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

Hawaii is an island, its resources are limited, tourism needs to be kept in check and not allowed to be a main economic driver. We should create our own energy and food to maximize the tourist dollars and insure they create jobs and keep the money they spend in the islands. Perhaps they should also pay an entry tax to offset the government expenditures on rescues, hospitalizations, and perhaps a parking pass, as they utilize our free parks, residential roadside parking and hiking trails.

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?

We need to lower or eliminate property taxes, car registrations, GE tax on food. We need to produce our own energy and our own food. We have to stop pushing for never ending building as an economic engine, it is unsustainable and does not produce affordable homes. We need to look into free public mass transit, rent control, Medicare for all, a living wage and the military out of local housing. Cannabis legalization with revitalization of the agricultural sector would bring in billions of dollars.