Name on ballot:

ANDERSON, Jillian T

Running for:

State House – District 24

Political party:

Republican

Campaign website:

www.jillianforhawaii.com

Current occupation:

Chief-of-Staff for House Minority Policy Leader

Age:

27

Previous job history:

Legislative Analyst & Researcher at the Hawaii State House of Representatives

Previous elected office, if any:

No answer submitted

Please describe your qualifications to represent the people in your district.

Despite being young, I have substantial experience on both sides of the qualification equation – experiencing the issues faced by my community firsthand and knowing how to fix them through the abilities of our state government.

I was just three years old when I moved to Waikiki and have lived there ever since. Over the last 20+ years, I have seen our sense of public safety diminish, our cost of living skyrocket, our infrastructure deteriorate, our tourism grow increasingly unsustainable, and homelessness and mental illness grow much more prevalent. As a member of our Waikiki Neighborhood Board, I hear these same concerns echoed by my neighbors on a monthly basis.

I do not take the role of a State House Representative lightly. It is for this reason why I have made it a point to learn the ins and outs of the position and how I can be most effective from day one. I spent my first Legislative Session serving our State House of Representatives Minority Caucus as a legislative analyst, requiring the drafting of legislation, analysis of policy, extensive research, and the tracking of hundreds of bills. This experience provided me with a solid understanding of the legislative process and offered a fantastic foundation for my future role at the Legislature. Following my first run for this office in 2022, I became the Chief-of-Staff for our House Minority Policy Leader. This position, which I currently hold, provides the opportunity to shadow the responsibilities of a legislator from brainstorming bill ideas and meeting with lobbyists to addressing a wide array of constituent concerns and maintaining constant communication with the community.

It is this lived experience, just short of holding office myself, which equip me with the necessary knowledge and skills to successfully represent the people of my district.

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

Edging out Waikiki’s numerous other problems are issues related to condominium insurance and mismanagement. Thousands upon thousands of residents are being left largely powerless as insurance premiums rise drastically and boards of directors struggle to properly manage aging buildings and make financially sound decisions.
The majority of Waikiki’s condominiums were built 50+ years ago, making major projects, in both cost and disruption, inevitable. Yet, many owners are only finding that out once it is too late.

In addition, buildings are facing insurance premium costs with exponential year-over-year increases, leaving condos to resort to hefty assessments and increased maintenance fees, or instead make the risky choice to proceed with cheaper policies that leave their building underinsured and put their owners on “do not lend” lists.

This year, the Legislature’s answer to condo issues such as these was to initiate a two-year study of the problems, and only then propose – and after that pass – bills that offer solutions. Measures that would have made actual strides in helping our hurting residents now never made it to the finish line.

As a legislator, I would advocate for urgent action on the needs of condominiums, especially as it comes to stabilizing our condo insurance market. In addition, I would introduce policies that better enable boards of directors to make good decisions for their fellow owners as well as provide condo owners with increased protections and abilities for recourse where necessary.

What would you propose to be done at the state level to help residents cope with Hawaii’s high cost of living?

The degree to which the cost of living has been allowed to grow is frankly unacceptable for a state government whose number one job is to provide its own people with the ability to at least have a fighting chance of providing a good life for themselves. But today, no matter how hard you work or how well you save, life has simply become too expensive to enjoy.

I have already announced that as a legislator I would serve under the “Priced out of Paradise” Promise – pledging to withhold support from any legislation that will increase Hawaii’s cost of living. Any increase to fees, or taxes, or the cost of doing business, no matter how small, cannot be sustained and we need more legislators who acknowledge that fact.

The cost of housing is the greatest factor in making our state unaffordable for the middle class. There must be a special emphasis on housing affordability by our Legislature – which has already been proclaimed as an emergency by Governor Green – leaving no stone unturned as it comes to lowering development costs and making our housing market one tied to local, and not national or international, incomes.

What can the state Legislature do to help Hawaii home and condo owners with rising property insurance rates?

As I shared in my answer to Question #2, this is the top issue facing many in my district of Waikiki. In my current role working in the office of a State Representative, I encounter concerned constituents on a daily basis asking this very same question.
In response, I was an instrumental part of my office’s coordination of a highly popular community town hall which brought together insurance industry experts and government officials to provide a thorough explanation of our current crisis and share ideas that may be taken to help mitigate it.

What makes this situation unique is that our associations, no matter how meticulously they put together their 30-year financial plans, had absolutely no way to know this would happen. With the 2023 Maui wildfires returning Hawaii to the insurance industry’s national map of catastrophes for the first time since Hurricane Iniki in 1992, our rates were put into the spotlight and hiked to bring them up to par with what the industry deems fair for our risk profile. With so many factors contributing to these new high premium costs, there is unfortunately not just one silver bullet for the Legislature to solve this crisis. Yet, there are numerous levers that can be pulled in order to help stabilize the market.

One of the ideas most seriously being considered is repurposing the Hurricane Relief Fund, created following Hurricane Iniki in 1993 when private hurricane insurers left the market. Sitting stagnant since ending in 2000 when private insurers returned, this current $169 million fund could provide a safety net for associations in the most dire conditions – such as those that have been pushed out of the primary market, are facing unbearable year-over-year increases, or are otherwise uninsured.

Condo associations also have the power to lower their own premiums by reducing their risk of catastrophe by doing deferred maintenance projects or implementing life-saving measures. Within 15 years or so condos in the City & County of Honolulu will be required to have a fire sprinkler or comparable life safety system. Our State Legislature can help facilitate installations for the 300+ condos that are currently in noncompliance by offering favorable loan programs or tax credits for owners to cover the costs. By doing so, condos will reduce their risk to insurers and by extension their insurance premiums.

These are just a few of the many methods of relief I would advocate for in a crisis that sadly went unaddressed in our last legislative session.

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

As I am seeking to represent Waikiki, our state’s tourism epicenter, I of course seek to protect this main economic driver and significant source of employment. But, at the same time I am greatly interested in growing the pie in Hawaii’s many other promising directions.

Fostering the film and television industry is our most low-hanging fruit. Yet, we let major productions announce they will be coming to an end without much other than tax credits to incentivize new ones to take their place. We already have some of the most envied filming locations in the world. By creating best-in-the-nation favorability financially and labor-wise for film productions as well, our local economy will reap benefits that will greatly surpass the costs of the policies we implement.

We must also invest more in revitalizing our agriculture sector as a means of enhancing our state’s food sufficiency and incentivizing entrepreneurial ways of life. I greatly support farm-to-table efforts, especially in our DOE, which is already the state’s largest buyer of agricultural products. In addition, I would support education in the K-12 system which cultivates skill sets and encourages careers in the agriculture industry, especially in areas around our state where environmental conditions are most optimal.

Other opportunities we can no longer continue to miss out on include space tourism and jobs in STEM fields which offer high-paying careers and build upon the strong minds we already have in the islands within these disciplines.
Last but certainly not least, Hawaii is one of the most difficult states to open and maintain a successful small business. Having studied entrepreneurship myself as a college major, I am a strong supporter of those who seek to pave their own path. In the Legislature, I will strongly advocate for policies that lessen regulations and financial burdens on entrepreneurs and offer greater chances for economic prosperity in their endeavors.

What would you propose to help increase affordable housing in Hawaii?

This is easily the most challenging question on this questionnaire because if a viable answer existed, we would not have recently declared affordable housing an emergency in the State of Hawaii. Right now, the most aggressively pursued tactic is to increase supply. Yet, I question if this is really the solution to our crisis. In practice, we are still seeing new developments dot the skyline going for incredibly unaffordable rates while affordable housing units sit empty due to tight qualifications.

The root of our housing crisis is that our units are being priced for national and international purchasing power that local incomes just cannot compete with. Having worked with the House Minority Caucus for the past 3 years who have conducted extensive research on this topic, there are massive legal – primarily Constitutional – barriers which restrict the most common sense solutions, such as reserving property sales only for local buyers.

As a legislator, I would explore introducing policies that address housing from a price perspective as opposed to supply. Right now, we are pursuing increased supply with very little to curb price, while demand continues to be steadily high. When we achieve our 50,000 unit goal, what is to say we won’t still be in the same place we are now, just with even greater strain on our infrastructure, education system, natural resources, etc.? In order to truly address our affordable housing crisis, what we must do is couple supply and price together, especially as we face a fairly inelastic demand as everyone strives to own a piece of paradise.

In addition, I would pursue what can be done at the state level to reduce regulations and barriers to affordable housing development. The inordinate length of time it takes to receive proper permits and gain government approvals drives costs up substantially. It is imperative we streamline these processes as well as cut red tape when it comes to regulations that are among the strictest in the nation.

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

To improve public education our state government needs to be much more intentional with how it funds the DOE system. Recently, nearly half a billion dollars in funding for major projects at our public schools was allowed to lapse. Yet, there are countless classrooms across the state which do not have even the essentials, such as working fire alarms or air conditioning.

There need to be metrics in place which track the return on investment of dollars going into our public education system, and most importantly, whether these investments are actually improving the learning environments and educational outcomes of our students.

Oversight of our system should also be occurring at a level closer to the activities of the individual school districts as well. Hawaii is currently the only state that only has a statewide Board of Education. Adding 4 County Boards to our current State Board would allow for more fine-tuned decision making and greater attention put to each county’s individual needs.

Finally, while unlikely to be adopted in Hawaii anytime soon, I am a supporter of school choice. Sadly, many schools are allowed to offer subpar education to students without any consequence as that student has no choice on where they receive their education within the current structure of our public school system. If schools were forced to be evaluated against one another based upon their performance, test scores, facility conditions, graduation rates, etc. and families had the ability to send their child to the school that offers the best for them, we would instantly see a dramatic increase in our education system across the board.

Should the state continue to pursue building a replacement for Aloha Stadium in Halawa? Please explain.

As a two-time candidate this is a question I have not yet seen posed, yet is one that is very important and I am happy to finally be able to address here.

This past legislative session the Aloha Stadium project was brought into the spotlight with a bill proposing shifting funding to UH Manoa to build a larger stadium there instead of replacing our current stadium in Halawa. This bill only made it through the House, but by simple discussion, stark division was exposed for a project which some call a massive opportunity and others call Rail 2.0.

Personally, I am caught in the middle. For a sports-loving culture of our size, I do think a large stadium is warranted. But, we cannot have a “build it and they will come” mentality. Before embarking on the massive costs of the project, we must first secure talent to utilize the space and sponsors to provide steady revenue generation. I support the project becoming a venue that is as flexible as possible, from hosting large sporting events and concerts of major performers, to holding graduations and being a central location for disaster relief efforts when necessary.

I do not subscribe to the vision of the stadium / workforce housing / shopping and dining destination / public transportation hub. Our state’s ability to complete projects on schedule and on budget has not yet proven itself, and I do not think this project will be any different. For that reason, I would first begin with the revenue generating portions of the project, centering around a well-built, versatile stadium with a steady lineup of attractions to fill its seats. From there, the area can be expanded to elements like transit-oriented housing development.

Ultimately, my support of a stadium replacement comes from the viability and feasibility of its plans. Across the world successful stadiums have been built which offer high returns on investment both financially and quality of life wise and our project should be no different.

Should members of the state Legislature have term limits like Honolulu’s mayor and City Council members?

I know I am of the minority opinion, but I am not in favor of term limits. When elections are free and fair, the voting public should be able to select who they think is most qualified for the job. At what point do we say that one has too much experience, has been too dedicated, or has done too well for their people?

I understand the fear of electing “career politicians,” yet it is up to each community to make each race a survival of the fittest. This election year, this is by-and-large not the case. Actually, if term limits were already in place, numerous elected offices would have an incumbent unqualified to run and no one to take their place.

Term limits are often made to sound like our ticket to government reform. But the reality is, Hawaii already suffers from not enough candidates running for elected office and the lack of an impressive lineup of candidates to choose from when a race is contested. Adding in removing incumbents from candidacy qualification based solely on time served will only force turnover in districts to individuals with far less experience and effectiveness.

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

Having worked in a legislative research department and now within the office of a representative, it isn’t uncommon for even those of us working inside the building to not know what is going on or why something happened. If this is the case, how is the general public supposed to keep up?

Current hybrid options of watching and participating in the activities of the Legislature are fantastic and should be kept.

I work in an office where every meeting request is accepted and the door is always open. While each legislator has their reasons for how they conduct business, this, even as an unwritten policy, should be instituted.

As far as improvements that can be made, a better job can certainly be done as it comes to articulating decisions, particularly for deferred bills or measures that aren’t heard at all.
The curtain should also be lifted as it comes to lobbying, by documenting and publicly releasing lists of those who lobby a legislator at any given time and on what subject.

Lastly, for bills introduced “by request” or which have a clear connection to a certain individual or entity, these specifics should be required to be disclosed.

What will be your top priority if elected?

Now that I have addressed the many important subjects touched on in this questionnaire, my overarching priority when in office would be to actually get things done in these areas. Every year, thousands of ideas are brought to the table. Over a period of four months, they are whittled down until a few hundred remain. Of these few hundred, perhaps 5 to 10 are standouts that will actually make a positive impact in the lives of the everyday person.

As we face tipping points in so many areas from cost of living to housing to public safety to infrastructure, we cannot accept a Legislature that simply talks about things rather than fixes them or who pats themselves on the back just for going through the motions. We need action – and as a legislator, I would measure my success by results rather than intentions.

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

To learn more about me, please check out my website www.jillianforhawaii.com

If you would like to hear any more of my thoughts on these topics or others, I would be more than happy to connect via email at jillianforhawaii@gmail.com.