There’s little question Hawaii suffers the affordable housing crisis Gov. Josh Green described in his emergency proclamation to fast-track tens of thousands of new homes.

The shame is we let the problem fester so long, with essential workers leaving in droves, that we must treat it as an emergency.

Green’s success will depend on whether he understands, and avoids, the mistakes that got us here.

This crunch has been in the making for decades. If state and county governments had faced it head-on, we could be getting it under control without such extreme measures as suspending laws.

Instead, elected leaders set lofty goals they never met and dithered in the face of conflicting demands from politically powerful interests. Our best chances to add affordable housing were squandered.

Kakaako, where the state once promised workforce housing, is instead mostly luxury condos far out of the range of the local workforce. The pricey developments attract outside speculators and help drive up Honolulu’s overall housing prices.

Honolulu rail was sold on the potential for vast affordable housing along its route, but developer incentives the city gave around the Ala Moana Center station produced mostly high-end condos and hotels, with a modicum of affordable units.

An emergency proclamation isn’t the optimal solution; we essentially have to trust one person, the governor, to do the right thing at a time when trust is elusive.

But we failed repeatedly to take the better course of the governor, Legislature, mayors and County Councils rising above pleasing campaign donors and working through established processes to fix the underlying causes of the housing crisis.

Broader problems causing teachers, firefighters and nurses to move away include overall high living costs, poor job opportunities and high taxes for subpar services.

With continuing failures of leadership, Green’s decision to declare an emergency — signaled in his election campaign — is defensible.

He’ll be judged not only on whether he delivers the promised 50,000 units in five years, but if they’re truly affordable and whether he satisfies environmental, cultural and transparency concerns over the rules he’s suspending.

It could become a repeat of Kakaako and Ala Moana if developers are again allowed to use looser rules for lucrative upscale projects, with the dubious argument that these profits are needed to subsidize affordable housing.

By some government measures, “affordable” is defined as serving those making 80% to 140% of the area median income. For a family of four, 140% of AMI is $182,840, way more than the middle-class workers we’re losing make.

One recent project tagged as affordable listed three-bedroom condos from $695,900 to $813,300, more than twice what Hawaii expatriates pay for bigger houses in low-tax states with better job opportunities.

The bulk of the new housing must be in the 80%-100% AMI range, with as many units lower than that as higher.

A project like one near Ala Moana offering 826 market units and 146 affordable helps our problem little. Those who can afford market prices can generally find homes on the existing market.

Green likes to work fast, but he also must work carefully to get this right.

Reach David Shapiro at volcanicash@gmail.com.