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 Tyler Dos Santos-Tam, Democrat incumbent and candidate for Honolulu City Council District 6 including portions of Kakaʻako, Downtown Honolulu, Chinatown, Punchbowl, Papakōlea, Pauoa Valley, Nuʻuanu, Iwilei, Liliha, ʻĀlewa Heights, Kalihi and Kalihi Valley. His term expires in 2027.

He will face nonpartisan candidate Corey Morihara.

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 this job? And why do you want it?

We deserve a city that works: a city that creates enough housing that local people can afford; makes sure that Oʻahu families can achieve greater economic security; and offers everyone better public transportation and public spaces. None of this happens by accident; it only happens when we push forward good policy. I’m proud of my record in passing more of my bills into law than any other council member over the past three years, and in a new term, I will continue to fight for these priorities.

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 city needs to do everything it can to reduce the cost of living for our residents, starting with those who need the most help. As someone who rides the bus daily, I will continue my work expanding the low-income bus fare program to make it easier for my fellow transit riders to get to work and appointments. I will also work to strengthen our housing subsidy programs to create more housing that local families can afford.

Here’s one question from your constituents: How would you get homeless off beaches?

Making sure all people are housed goes beyond just our beaches. We need to continue to work on an “all of the above” approach involving 1) expanding CORE’s services beyond just Chinatown; 2) expanding transitional housing for those at 30% AMI + below; 3) utilizing the MH-1 and MH-3 procedures to address the homeless who are a danger to themselves and others; and 4) working to free up beds at Queen’s and other hospitals by creating more transition pathways for the homeless ready for a fresh start.

After years of looking for a new spot to dump Oʻahu’s trash, the city is proposing that the Westside host an expansion of the island’s only municipal landfill. Is this a workable solution? If not, where should Oʻahu put its trash?

The city must go back to the Legislature to reevaluate the most restrictive prohibitions under Acts 73 and 255 and develop a robust strategy to utilize federal land. The city also must be thoughtful about the conditions for the waste at a future landfill: maximizing H-POWER to reduce volumes sent to the landfill, using new tech to remove heavy metals and extract valuable materials, reutilizing waste ash, diverting organic waste, and recycling in general.

Honolulu’s housing market doesn’t have enough units that are affordable for residents. How would you try to increase the housing supply for locals? Are there approaches you think should be more seriously considered?

I’m going to continue leading the way on affordable housing. In my first term, I passed bills expanding city financing for affordable rentals, giving Oʻahu residents the first right to access city housing, undoing barriers preventing new walk-up apartments in the urban core, and authorizing a Downtown office-to-residential conversion program. Soon, I will work to expand incentives for low and middle-income housing and ensure the TOD plans in town actually create housing for Oʻahu residents.

Homelessness remains one of Honolulu’s top issues. What should the city be doing to get more homeless people into housing? And what should it be doing to prevent more residents from ending up on the street?

Solving homelessness will take leadership and patience. First, to create more transitional housing, we must unlock some of the city’s housing funds tied up in layers of bureaucracy. Second, by expanding CORE and other diversion programs, we can break the cycle of treating homeless in the ER only to send them back out onto the streets. Finally, let’s work with private and Medicaid providers so adult care homes can accept treated individuals exiting homelessness to reduce them returning to the streets.

Hawai‘i has experienced a series of damaging and dangerous weather events that have exposed weaknesses in our planning, preparation and response. What needs to happen for your district to be better prepared for these events?

In my urban district, it starts with maintaining and improving our existing infrastructure: that means clearing streams on a regular basis, trimming back our trees, and working with our utility companies to make sure we have redundant and resilient systems in place. We also need to make sure that every family, particularly those in apartments, are prepared in case of a disaster, and the city can play a role in educating every family to be ready for when disaster strikes.

What should Honolulu County do to get in front of climate change rather than just reacting and adapting to it?

We have studied what to do about climate change for years – it’s time for us to actually put those studies into action. This means actually implementing our TOD plans and other community plans to direct housing along the rail line instead of our shorelines, using building codes to make sure structures are more resilient, reducing hardscapes and runoff which causes erosion, and more.

Many of Honolulu’s parks are in rough shape. What are your solutions?

Like so many other critical city functions, we need to make sure the Department of Parks and Recreation is fully funded and has the equipment needed to do the job. We have opportunities like at ʻAʻala Park to partner with the private sector on cleaning, maintenance, and security. Additionally, we must reexamine how the “park dedication fee” funds that developers pay when new housing is built actually goes to the community, instead of sitting underutilized.

Skyline, the city’s rail system, has experienced vast budget overruns and construction delays. What’s your vision for the future of Skyline, and how would you help make it happen?

In the early 2000s, we were promised a full system from UH Manoa into the heart of Kapolei. To deliver on that promise, I introduced Bill 60 to allow HART to study Skyline expansion. As a transit rider myself, I know how important Skyline is for local families today; and in the future, it will be even more important. We must also actually advance – and not keep punting on – innovative financing programs like TIF (Tax Increment Financing) or CFD (Community Facilities District) to get us there.

More than 80 people were killed last year on Oʻahu’s roads. That was a 20% increase over 2024 deaths and the highest number of fatalities since 2007. How can our roads be made safer?

Road safety requires behavioral change, Honolulu Police Department enforcement, and physical infrastructure changes too. I’ve successfully passed bills on e-bike safety, lower speed limits around schools, and updates to our 1930s-era traffic code. I’ve also delivered on speed bumps on hazardous roads like Nuʻuanu Ave, Tantalus Dr, and Bernice St, new stop signs at problem intersections in Punchbowl and Kamehameha Hts, and improved crosswalks throughout the district. We need to keep up these efforts.

What is your most out-of-the-box idea to solve a county problem?

I’ve been focused on improving the Department of Planning and Permitting, so that the city is a partner to creating housing and supporting entrepreneurship, rather than a barrier. We should explore two options: a self-funded DPP, so that the permit fees, fines, and other charges collected are reinvested into DPP rather than dumped into the general fund. The city should also explore splitting DPP into a more focused and accountable Permitting Dept., and a visionary Planning Dept. dedicated to the island’s long-term planning needs.