Name on ballot:

True St Thomas

Running for:

State Senate – District 10

Political party:

Republican

Campaign website:

publ.cc/SZTvt

Current occupation:

IT Engineer

Age:

36

Previous job history:

Farmer/Hospitality/IT/Travel

Previous elected office, if any:

N/A

Please describe your qualifications to represent the people of Hawaii.

Raised in Hawaii from age 2-36 waikiki, kaimuki, kahala, hawaii kai. BSIT/ISS MS/IS 10 + years serving over 100 Hawaii’s businesses on all major islands.

What is the most pressing issue facing residents in your district and how would you address the problem?

Likely the cost of living on Oahu would be the major concern with our district 10. We need to maximize resources by applying them to innovative community projects. Also incentivize wealth transfer to Hawaii Banks using creative tax policy. The financial costs to living on the island are compounded with the emotional costs of dealing with difficult times of too many. We need a path to effective rehabilitation programs for our friends and family in distress who live on the islands with us.

Rising inflation has significantly worsened Hawaii’s already high cost of living. What can be done at the state level to help Hawaii residents cope with high consumer prices?

Tax incentives to move wealth to Hawaii’s Banks. Innovative community projects designed to improve natural resources and provide opportunities for labor force. Better tourism regulations and in some cases deregulation overall philosophical change of approach to tourism in some respects. Tax payer funded healthcare with the goal of reducing hospitalizations and opening of specific specialized facilities removing general care facilities.

Hawaii’s rising gasoline prices are among the highest in the nation. Should Hawaii lower or temporarily suspend state taxes on gasoline to help ease the pain at the pump?

I would support lowering or suspending this if the state continues on its current management path. If there would be a change in leadership in the state which shows for a more promising outcome of state managed affairs then there is a good argument not to adjust gasoline taxes.

Do you support or oppose efforts to slow or limit the number of tourists to Hawaii? Please explain.

I support increasing the experience of the individual tourist by anticipating and preparing for tourists to arrive and providing them with an uplifting experience at a higher cost. Right now the philosophy is charge them a fair cost and give them below fair experience. We need to charge much more and provide much more. This will reduce travel to those who can afford to come here, allow local workforce to make a good living wage, and keep tourists that we want coming back returning regularly.

Can Hawaii’s tourism-dependent economy be diversified, and, if so, what can state government do to support the effort?


Hawaii’s economy is already diversified, to what extent diversification needs to become is questionable. I would like to see tourism maintain it’s place at the top of the industry list while continuing to organize other industries into the best that they can mature. Likely due to being an isolated island, the more traffic going and coming the easier it is to do any other type of work so the core operation would always need to be some kind of high traffic industry.

What is your plan to increase affordable housing in Hawaii, and to help the counties deal with homelessness?

Actually an innovative solution would need to be attempted here as this has been an ongoing issue for quite some time and many management teams have made no real progress, the situation continues to get worse. An innovative plan I would champion would be to make poverty illegal, approaches to poverty would be addressed by a state controlled labor system where members can choose jobs and work as they choose. If members were unable to remain out of poverty in this situation they would be forced into labor facilities for a program period and once completed allowed to re-enter the normal workforce.

What would you propose to help protect Hawaii residents’ health during the continuing COVID-19 pandemic?

We have tried vaccines, boosters, other care this has not prevented the spread or frequency of the conditions related to COVID-19. Medical offices can continue their work on this however the state should declare abstinence from this issue. The state and federal government was not designed to handle this situation and it is not able to handle this. If the medical industry can’t handle this then we need new facilities and new approaches to medicine to arise though private competition.

Hawaii isn’t likely to see a repeat of this year’s $2 billion revenue surplus which allowed higher-than-normal spending on state programs and projects. If elected, what will your top spending priorities be?

Revamping tourism better than ever, getting the local workforce back to work, organizing existing programs and community projects.

What, if anything, should state government do in response to the decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Roe vs Wade?

The U.S. Supreme Court should be respected in it’s guidance unless of course it can be proven that harm to citizens is common. If we can’t respect the Supreme Court there is nothing we can respect and a constitutional convention would need to be called and a rebuild of the constitution would need to be completed by our greatest and most professional minds to serve all of the U.S. citizens best.

What should state government do to support and improve public education in Hawaii?

The public education plan needs to be updated to teach lessons in better sequence and valuable industry skill be a higher priority than theoretical skill sets.

What reforms, if any, would you propose to make local government more transparent to the public?

The public websites have been improving rapidly and I support this effort. I would continue on this path. I would also propose and champion innovative anti-corruption legislation.

Do you support or oppose the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope on the Big Island and why?

I support useful infrastructure in abandoned areas where even most animals and plant life will not go due to lack of functional resources. Sad to see this has become a cultural issue and I would encourage local cultural leaders to embrace an open culture, which is an abandonment of historical culture; as most of us already have if we wanted to or not.

Is there anything more that you would like voters to know about you?

I would like voters to know that I am most interested in the maturity and happiness of the many; because if one grows many fight the one, if many grow, many help the one who struggles. Help me, help you.