I would ask Governor Ige what issue is most important to you to resolve at this time. Why, and how? I’d ask this questions so that I know where he stands, or what he values and what his plans are to resolve it.
– Michelle Medeiros
It would be on homelessness here in Hawai’i. There are many homeless individuals living on beaches, parks, at bus stops, behind dumpsters, etc. My questions would be what can be done to assist these individuals? What is being done? Recently, I’ve seen City and County at Waimanalo Beach Park throwing away the belongings of the residents there. How does this help them? What does it do and who does it help anyone if these homeless individual’s personal items are being thrown away? I also see police officers removing homeless/houseless individuals out of parks and beaches. Does relocating these individuals solve the problem? Some of these houseless individuals work and come back to this beach they call home to find that their belongings (clothes, blankets, toiletries, food) have been thrown away. I have been homeless on a few occasions and seen this happen many times, so my questions to Governor Ige would be: Is there anything you can do to assist these individuals and what can be done to either end or decrease the number of houseless individuals? What kind of services are available to these individuals? Do they know these services are available? If not, why not? How can we ensure these individuals are aware of services available to them?
– Yecenia Perry
I would like to address the issue about military living off base. The BHA (Base Housing Allowance) is more than most locals make in two months. So the homeowner can make their rent high, but where does it leave us? The government builds big nice homes for their troops with everything they need is right there on their bases. My way of thinking is that if we treat the military as tourist, because that’s all they are, they are here for a three year tour then they moved. So if we treat them like tourists and keep them on the bases, then they will spend money on other things instead of driving our rent through the roof. Also, the homeowner can’t be so picky and greedy for over-valued rental units.
– Lester Makali’i
It would be about fixing the sewage system because it’s been a decade of not maintaining the sewage system and why not all of the roads around the State of Hawai’i aren’t getting any repairs. For example, some or most roads have potholes and nothing is getting done besides just doing the main roads or highways. The other issue would be the additional bicycle lane and the $20 tax. This bicycle lane is just going to create more traffic and accidents for those who drive and why don’t those ride the bicycle pay a tax every year instead of paying that one time when they register? I’m saying that this new bicycle lane is just going to create more traffic.
– Karanne Souza
I would ask about Mauna Kea and why he didn’t stand with us Hawaiians to protect our sacred land against TMT. I would ask why is his administration opposing the proposed NextEra-Hawaiian Electric merge when it claims to save citizens a lot of money on their electric bills.
– Amanda Mundon
Government offices managing our roads, sewer systems, water systems, schools, etc. seem to be lacking. With the growth in Hawai’i it seems that someone “forgot” to plan for the impact on these resources and this will result in major problems not only for those of us living here but will also have an impact on tourism. These programs need to be evaluated as well as the officials in charge. It seems with all the money coming into Hawai’i from tourism and investors that we could do a better job of managing funds to address these issues. What is happening and how could this project (rail system) be so far off budget? Who is responsible? What is being done to correct this situation? The rail system is looking more like a money pit than a viable solution to our traffic concerns. Overall, I would like to know how we can bring in so much money yet we cannot seem to balance a budget. Imagine if each of us were this irresponsible.
– Shelia Smith
I would ask him about public school systems. I feel that although high school courses state they are college preparatory classes, they don’t really prepare students for college. Coming from a public high school and going into a college in the mainland with many local students whose school systemʻs base education seems much more advanced is quite challenging. So I would ask Governor Ige why we don’t change our school systems to be more like the educational structure in mainland schools. Private schools like ‘Iolani and MidPac are more like college classes than at public schools which may be how private school students are more prepared for classes instructed like a college course. But not everyone can afford to send their children to private schools so why not improve how public schools are run?
– Erin Kanda
I would feel it would be appropriate to talk about Hawai’i’s disaster preparedness, being as multiple areas of Hawai’i were flooded just by tropical storms. What if a category 2-5 hurricane was destined for Hawai’i? What would be your plan to minimize destruction if any? Secondly, being a car enthusiast myself, I would inquire about a possible track/drag strip being built which would very likely bring more tourism and revenue to Hawai’i in a time when it needs it most with the secondary cause of getting illegal street racers off the roads and imposing heavier penalties on those that continue to race.
– Charles W. Rosers
Working in the local agriculture industry, I have been very interested in GMO testing and GMO crops on O‘ahu. Due to this interest, I would ask Governor Ige what his thoughts and feelings were on the subject. While I am aware he would most likely not be able to give an honest answer due to Monsanto’s heavy role in government, it intrigues me to know what he would say. I would also ask him if he feels GMO products should be labelled. I would ask this because I feel everyone has the right to know what they put in their bodies. They should be able to make the choice between GMO and non-GMO. At its core, this is a human rights issue.
– Ryan Taylor
An issue I would ask him about is how to make it easier for military veterans to find jobs here in Hawai’i. This state does not provide many benefits for veterans as some other states do. And it is because of this that veterans have an extremely hard time trying to make a living in Hawai’i and finding jobs available that can provide enough for them to get by. I have personal experience with this issue because, although I am not a veteran, my father is one, and he finished his 20 years of service last year. Ever since he got out of the Army and we moved back here to Hawai‘i, he hasn’t yet found a job that will take him, even with all of his years of experience.
– Akamu Wahineokai
What is he going to do to lower energy costs for the average consumer? Electricity prices have only been escalating in recent years, which is primarily due to lack of commitment towards utilizing Hawai’i’s abundant alternative energy resources. We are the only state in the U.S. that can research if not implement every form of alternative energy currently available, which includes, but is not limited to: wind, solar, geothermal, biofuel, wave energy, and even nuclear power. Yet, despite having all of these potential energy sources sitting all around us our state is still ridiculously dependent on the importation of fossil fuels to light our homes. I’m not even mentioning the environmental impact of lessening our carbon output could have on our state’s world famous eco-system. I would approach the governor from the purely fiscal standpoint of lessening our need to import oil if only to a small extent which would still have a tremendous impact on the overall quality of life of the Hawaiian citizenry.
– Bryson Cheung
The most important issues to me relate to poverty. Our homeless problem has become larger and less manageable while the property values keep increasing. I would ask him what he plans to do about Hawai’i being the most expensive state to live in.
– Kyle Leland
Issues in Hawai’i that I would ask Governor Ige about would be about the land. It deeply troubles me that Hawai’i has land that is rich in soil and has year-round sunny conditions, but we don’t take advantage of it. Instead others want to build more hotels, buildings, etc. I would want Ige to emphasize that we should steward the land towards agriculture so we would depend less on the mainland. With cultivating more land for growing, it could provide more jobs for citizens here and our money would stay here on the islands.
– Rebecca Kelley
I’d be glad to ask him to bring back the days when each family would pop fireworks each new year. Celebrating with fireworks was a tradition for Hawai’i that has been with us for some generations. We would pop our fireworks to chase away the evil spirits for our next new year to have a safe year. Governor Ige, I am coming for you so that you will legalize fireworks again.
– Nicolas Gibbons
