Hawaiian Island Journal Candidates Survey
Anthony Marzi -- 4th District, State House of Representatives (Democrat)
1. What are your legislative priorities?
The district of Puna is currently challenged by a lack of infrastructure that cannot meet the demands of our unprecedented population growth. For this reason, my legislative priority lies in creating an economically, medically, and agriculturally self-reliant and sustainable district.
Puna urgently needs a 24-hour hospital that is equipped with dialysis care, a maternity ward, and emergency facilities. As the 4th district Representative, I will fight for the resources we need to provide health care to our community.
My candidacy will also be dedicated to promoting educated and sustainable growth in Puna. This can be accomplished by supporting island-wide mass transportation, economic diversification, and agricultural self-sufficiency. I believe that with strong incentives and community involvement, lower Puna can become the state model of sustainability.
2. What should be done to remedy our state’s health care provider crisis?
With its growing population, Hawai’i needs immediate political actions to mitigate our healthcare provider crisis. The primary contributor to this crisis is our inability to retain young healthcare professionals upon graduation from nursing and medical schools. I plan to introduce legislation which allocates loan repayment funds to recent medical school graduates working in medically underserved communities. I also support medical residency programs, which have been proven to attract youthful, active, and compassionate physicians.
3. Specifically, what would you do to protect Hawai‘i’s economy from the U.S. recession?
Hawai’i ’s economy is threatened by the U.S. recession because of our states’ dependence on imports. Hawai’i has all of the resources it needs to be a self-reliant entity, and yet our local products comprise only a small minority of total consumption. In order to shelter Hawai’i from the economic fluctuations of the nation and world, we must shift our two-industry economic system into a highly diversified and sustainable market.
Our economy is currently threatened by our dependence on crude oil, the price of which is rapidly soaring. However, our island alone has the capability to produce energy from five natural sources: wind, geothermal, deep-sea tidal-energy, solar power, and biofuels. As a Representative, I will support current initiatives by the state legislature to establish a loan program to provide financial assistance to farm producers involved in sustainable energy production. I will also introduce legislation to increase the amount of local workers involved in growing, producing, and processing foods to consume and export. Self-reliance and sustainability are our state’s only hope to overcome the imminent recession.
4. How will you promote a sustainable agriculture infrastructure?
Although we are rich in fertile lands and potable water, our state imports over ¾ of consumable foods. Once they reach our islands these products sell for 25% to 45% more than they do in the U.S. Mainland. If we are overcome the current recession, we must shift our energies and resources towards producing our own food. As a State Representative, I will support legislation that provides low-interest loans to sustainable farmers and homesteading families. I also endorse programs that assist in the startup of local businesses which sell Hawai’i’s produce and products. Just by producing and distributing our own food, we could create over 30,000 jobs here in Hawai’i.
5. Should the state of Hawai‘i have more than one school district?
I believe that decision-making for public schools should occur closer to the classroom and with the advice of each school’s community. However, decentralization of the Hawai’i Board of Education will leave our schools susceptible to unequal distribution of funds. In most educationally decentralized states, schools in affluent areas receive much more funding than those in lower-income areas.
I am strong advocate of equal education, and therefore, I cannot support any measures that will create a funding disparity amongst our public schools. However, I absolutely support the strengthening of School Community Councils, which increase community participation in our public educational systems.
6. Do you support charter schools? If so, how could they better be supported?
I wholeheartedly support our state’s charter schools and their efforts to attain equality within Hawai’i’s educational system. Although net charter school funding has increased in recent years, this money does not keep up with schools’ anticipated enrollment. Currently, charter school students receive, on average, $4,000 less per year than their peers in conventional schools. Because many students thrive in alternative and individualized school systems, it is only fair that every Hawai’i student receive equal funds regardless of their educational preferences. To further support charter school students and parents, I will also push for initiatives to lift the cap on charter school startups. It is our duty as a community to sustain these institutions of growth and mental development.
7. What should be done to avoid situations, such as the Superferry and Hokulia, in which the legislature feels that it must to override the EIS system or state court decisions?
The preservation of Hawai’i’s natural and cultural resources should be paramount in our State Legislature. Although development is critical to our islands, blind development based solely on monetary gain is the root of our economic, social, and cultural crisis. For this reason, I strongly denounce legislative action that runs contrary to environmental standards.
With such a limited amount of territory, our state must be devoted to the correct usage of land. In the case of Hokulia, historic cultural property and needed agricultural lands are threatened by the interest of developers seeking to redesignate these areas into a luxury subdivision and golf course. These actions do not represent the needs of the people and communities of Hawai’i at large and therefore, I stand firmly against them.
8. What should be done to better control invasive species and their effects?
Our state has suffered the greatest loss of indigenous plants and animals in all of the United States due to the rise of invasive species. The island of Hawai’i is a fragile sanctuary, and unless we are able to control the threat of invasive species, we will be at risk of losing our treasured ecosystems. I strongly support the continuation of Early Detection and Rapid Response programs. However, such programs treat only a symptom of the problem and not the cause.
Over 70% of invasive species reach our islands through imported horticultural products. These species will continue to arrive on our shores unless we immediately reduce our dependence on imported plants. Instead, Hawai’i’s communities must shift their priorities to homegrown products. Threats to our ecosystems can only be eliminated by decreasing our reliance on goods from overseas. Therefore, I support reducing the risk of invasive species by promoting sustainability and agricultural self-reliance.
9. Do you think the state’s economy is too dependent on large corporate investments? If so, what can be done to generate more opportunities for local businesses?
External corporate interests and investments drive over 75% of Hawai’i’s economic activity. This system leaves our district extremely susceptible to the volatile trends of the U.S. and international markets. The only way to reduce this vulnerability is by creating opportunities for self-sufficiency through internal economic growth. To generate more opportunities for local business, Hawai’i must implement a state program to grant low-cost loans and provide strategic assistance to entrepreneurs, especially during their first critical year of business. Because local businesses thrive in times of smart development, I also support the Puna Community Development Plan, which will establish a “village center” in Representative District 4. This village center will allow businesses to prosper through efficient and educated development.
10. Is it appropriate to accept large campaign donations from citizens, political action committees, corporations or organizations living or headquartered outside your district?
The role of a Representative is to embody the positions and needs of the community in which he or she is elected. Unfortunately, candidates are often elected with the monetary support of organizations and corporations whose interests do not reflect those of the community at large. It should be the goal of each candidate to maintain an untainted campaign that is free of private deals and owed favors. By accepting this monetary aid, a candidate is plowing the ground for future political bias and disparity. Therefore, I do not consider it appropriate to accept these funds.