Column: After 4 years as governor: Major progress to secure more affordable housing

Editor’s note: With residents now starting to voting via mail-in ballots in the primary election, we asked the three main Democratic candidates to tell us their vision for Hawaii, four years into their administration.

Specifically, what does Hawaii look like in 2026 if your promises are coming true? For instance:

>> What’s going on at the Aloha Stadium site?

>> How far has the rail gone, and TOD?

>> Has ground been broken on a new Oahu jail; if so, where?

>> How much affordable housing has been achieved or is underway — and where is it?

>> What sorts of renewable projects are underway now that the AES coal plant is closed?

>> What’s happening with coastline erosion and sea-level rise?

>> What have you done for tourism?

>> What specifically is happening for the better with the Department of Education?

>> What’s happened with the $600 million allotted for DHHL, and where do projects stand?

>> How have government processes improved, in both efficiency and transparency?

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What does Hawaii look like under Gov. Vicky Cayetano’s administration in 2026?

Let’s start with affordable housing and the cost of living in Hawaii. Having worked with the Legislature to implement a state of emergency (for two years in 2023), we have been able to accelerate the construction of affordable housing for the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands with the $600 million that was allocated in 2022. A state-backed financing plan now allows Native Hawaiians to get the mortgage they need, but may not be able to qualify for, without the state-backed guarantee. This has allowed us to place homesteaders and freed up inventory for affordable housing.

Other segments of my affordable housing plan — 1) rent to own, 2) designated workforce housing and 3) affordable rentals — are underway either with permitting or construction on all islands.

Utilizing underdeveloped state lands, we have identified areas on each island where such projects can jump-start and begin in a timely manner. A thorough analysis of construction permitting, approvals and monitoring, along with input from all counties, has streamlined the process so that builders can get state help with the infrastructure, and produce more units in half the time it has taken previously.

A moratorium on the general excise tax for food, over-the-counter drugs and diapers for those earning less than $100,000 has helped to stem the growing ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) population.

To support small businesses, many of them local and family-owned, we have lowered the general excise tax on enterprises making up to a certain annual revenue that qualifies them as “small businesses.”

We have made a decision — with the public’s input — whether a new stadium is built at Halawa or on the University of Hawaii-Manoa campus. We will have put in place a system to manage the $350 million in funds projected for this major development to ensure that there is accountability and that another rail debacle does not happen.

>> RELATED: Column: After 4 years as governor: Easing the cost of living, uniting Hawaii’s ohana

>> RELATED: Column: After 4 years as governor: A government that cares about working people

We have made massive improvements to the health care situation in our state and have brought the crisis under control from 2022 by resolving the shortage of health care personnel, inadequate insurance reimbursements to physicians, and lack of facilities for those with mental illness, substance abuse and general medical needs. We have increased the number of students graduating from our medical school. Working with our hospitals, we have also increased the number of residencies available to the students.

There is alignment between the state Board of Education, the schools superintendent and the Department of Education in its goals and management. The department is showing significant improvement in recruiting and retaining teachers, addressing student progress and special education. Capital expenditures and repairs have been accelerated and better managed for schools.

The University of Hawaii is a gem of international acclaim. UH is world-renowned in astronomy, marine sciences and other areas of excellence. We need to support it more. Education, research and discovery tend to be “clean” businesses with low to no carbon footprint and good-paying jobs. This could become a stronger sector of our state economy than it has been historically.

Climate change issues and coastal erosion are being addressed with a plan to prioritize projects on each island. Working with our congressional delegation, we will leverage federal funding to determine the cost to relocate highways inland, and we will be engaged in community discussions with designated areas where homes will need to be removed.

We continue to build an economy that is more diverse than it was in 2022, puts our families first, and enables our children and grandchildren to come back home for they are the future of Hawaii.

That is why I am running and that is the future that I see for this place we love so much.