David Ige in 2014 Hawaii Governor's race

On Education: Quality public education necessary for a strong economy

As a proud product of public schools, education created great opportunities for me that I would not have had otherwise. Hawai'i's children deserve quality public education that provides an opportunity for all students to achieve their highest potential. Quality public education also creates a workforce with the skills and knowledge that are necessary for a strong economy.

On Education: Implement early education through DOE, not private schools

As Governor, I would allocate those tax dollars to the Department of Education and task the DOE to implement early education, starting in the areas of greatest need.

On Energy & Oil: Reduce fossil fuel use; increase renewable energy

Energy Action Plan:
• Direct the Hawai'i State Energy Office to execute policies and programs to develop a clean energy industry in Hawai'i, including training and hiring a strong local workforce.
• Work with key stakeholders to address and overcome the challenges in meeting more aggressively our Hawai'i Clean Energy Initiative goals and targets by modernizing the electrical grid, determining the proper mix of fuels at affordable cost, and working with the counties to reduce fossil fuel use in ground transportation.
• Support state-of-the-art technology that increases distributed generation and power sharing between consumers, and enabling installation of rooftop solar systems.
• Create programs and incentives to increase clean energy production in Hawai'i.

On Environment: Push Congress to spend more on Hawaii tourism

Tourism Action Plan:
• Increase commercial airline flights.
• Work with our Congressional team to make it easier for international travelers to visit our islands by improving the visa issuance process in China, and through customs and immigration pre-clearance for visitors from Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and Korea to any of the Hawaiian Islands.
• Increase the hotel capacity and provide needed infrastructure improvements in all our counties. I will hold state departments accountable for expenditures of funds and completion of improvements.
• Work with the Hawai'i Convention Center to increase its use by more aggressively seeking corporate conferences and conventions.

On Environment: Increase funding for watersheds & against invasive species

Environment Action Plan:
• Direct the newly-created Pacific-Asia Institute for Resilience and Sustainability, which I helped enact, to mitigate risks from natural and man-made hazards, as well as to develop solutions for sustainable economic growth and adaptive plans for climate change.
• Move for implementation of Department of Health rules that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Hawai'i can and must be a role model for environmental stewardship and clean energy.
• Increase funding to control the damage by invasive species through prevention, control, and outreach activities. An immediate action will be to step up the inspection of baggage and cargo for invasive species.
• Provide funding to protect Hawai'i's watersheds to ensure a continuous supply of clean drinking water for all.

On Government Reform: Run government with open & public two-way communication

• Hold weekly press conferences to make myself accessible to the media.
• Require my department directors to be accessible and hold at least four community meetings a year.
• Work with the Board of Education to ensure that meetings are held in all counties.
• Increase community involvement in government affairs by directing all agencies and commissions to consider input from the public as essential to their decision-making. To make participation more convenient for the public and cost-effective, I will increase interactive video teleconferencing.
• Ensure that appointments to State boards and commissions are broadly representative of community interests and that appointees are committed to conducting government affairs in an open manner.

On Health Care: Supports employer-mandated health care insurance law

I will seek to correct an error of the current Governor, who failed to request regulatory flexibility for the requirements of the federal Affordable Care Act that weaken Hawai'i's Prepaid Health Care Law. Our Hawai'i Health Connector received a $205 million grant from the federal government, but has been a disaster. The Connector unworkable on the day it was scheduled to start, and, nine months later, the Connector has enrolled less than 1% of the population. There are better alternatives to covering Hawai'i's uninsured residents.

On Social Security: Double the governor's request for Kupuna Care

The 2014 Legislature provided $9 million for Kupuna Care--double the amount requested by the Governor--but this does not meet the huge demand for services, like meal delivery, transportation, and respite services for caregivers. Legislation enacted this year expands eligibility for Kupuna Care to Medicaid recipients, although Medicaid recipients already qualify for similar services, and expanding eligibility makes a small pot of money even smaller. I will propose legislation that ensures Medicaid recipients receive services equivalent to those available through Kupuna Care.

On Tax Reform: State must operate within its means instead of raising taxes

I also rejected the current Governor's proposal to tax retirees' pensions. I refused to balance the budget on the backs of seniors. In addition, I rejected his proposals to tax soda and plastic bags, as well as his attempts to raise the Transient Accommodations Tax by an additional 2%. This would have raised the cost of a Hawai'i vacation for tourists, making Hawai'i less competitive among visitor destinations throughout the world. My philosophy in budgeting is that the State must operate within its means instead of raising taxes. I will not propose new programs when our state budget lacks the resources to pay for them.

On Education: Improving public education is one of my top priorities

A: Improving public education is one of my top priorities. I believe that we must empower schools to enable those closest to the students to make decisions on curriculum, programs, and spending. Our "top-down" bureaucracy should be reorganized so that the system supports our schools, rather than the other way around. To move from a compliance-driven bureaucracy, as governor I will increase funds and opportunities to support school-initiated, innovative approaches to education.

The Board of Education, which is appointed by the governor, has failed to provide leadership that encourages "out-of-the box" creative thinking by school administrators. I will appoint individuals to the Board of Education who have a stake in the system's success, including those with children in public schools.

On Energy & Oil: Tie rooftop solar into the electric grid

A: Hawaii should develop an electric utility platform that allows it to generate electricity from a portfolio of fuels. I believe it is premature to make a decision on long-term use and importation of LNG at this time until we can determine its impact long- and short-range. In the meantime, we should continue to support energy efficiency/conservation, PV/solar, wind and other renewable technologies to achieve clean energy goals.

Q: What thoughts do you have on improving the electric distribution system (the grid) so more renewables can be in the mix?

A: I will push for more investment in renewable energy and take action to increase the amount of rooftop solar that ratepayers can install. Rooftop PV is currently one of the best renewable energy sources in Hawaii. I'll push for grid technology that allows for increasing amounts of distributed generation and power sharing between consumers.

On Environment: Right to know what is in our food, via federal labeling

A: I support the right to know what is in our food, but labeling should be addressed at the federal, not the state level, so that Hawaii's farmers, retailers and consumers are not subject to additional costs. I will urge our congressional members to support federal legislation in this area. There are no valid scientific studies that show any difference between genetically modified and naturally grown food. State enforcement is needed to properly enforce regulations on pesticide use.

On Environment: Protect Hawaii's fragile resources for future generations

A: Our state has not done enough to protect Hawaii's fragile natural and cultural resources for future generations. We can have both responsible economic growth and a healthy environment by comprehensively planning for competing land use needs. I'll continue to protect Hawaii from invasive species and irresponsible development. My goal is to find a balance between creating new housing and job opportunities while preserving our environment.

On Health Care: Support unfunded liabilities for State Union Health Benefits

IGE: Last year Hawaii became the first state in the country to enact a plan for handling unfunded liabilities for the State Employer Union Health Benefits Trust Fund.

ABERCROMBIE: The Employer-Union Trust Fund (EUTF) has never been prefunded until my administration came into office. With our financial turnaround of the state's finances, we've started to put money back into the EUTF to address its unfunded liabilities. Working with the Legislature, we passed Act 268 in 2013 to statutorily establish an annual required contribution. Hawaii was one of the first states to really address the unfunded liability for Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB).

On Technology: Pioneered "paperless Legislature" & government transparency

A: Yes. We need to limit charges to basic copying costs. I pioneered the use of technology in state government to help transparency: the paperless Legislature that increases information access and eases the burden of submitting testimony; and creation of the Capitol Public Access Room that provides assistance to individuals participating in the legislative process.

On Welfare & Poverty: Build affordable homes and Transit Oriented Development

A: We must build homes that Hawaii's working families can afford--not luxury condominiums for out-of-state speculators. With average new home prices approaching $700,000, there needs to be leadership to increase the supply of housing at all price points while protecting Hawaii's natural beauty.

The construction of the Honolulu rail system provides the opportunity for Transit Oriented Development incorporating housing along its 21-mile route.

We should reduce the cost of food by increasing local food production. Currently, we import $3 billion in food. Yet over the past four years we've lost more than 2,100 acres of prime agricultural land without a plan for replacing it.

On Welfare & Poverty: Increasing funds to Rental Housing Trust Fund for homeless

ABERCROMBIE: After years of neglect, our administration has worked hard to put the state back on the right track. While we have substantial obligations that will take many years to fully address, I am confident now that we are finally tackling the issue rather than kicking the can down the road. The Employer-Union Trust Fund (EUTF) has never been prefunded until my administration came into office.

IGE: Multiple causes of homelessness require multiple solutions. We need to increase the supply of low-cost rental housing for families at risk by increasing funds to the Rental Housing Trust Fund--which the Legislature did this session, support the Housing First initiative to provide emergency housing, and maintain support for our State homeless shelters and veterans outreach program.

On Education: Too many decisions made by state instead of locally

"First we say public employees aren't doing their job, now we're saying that the Board of Education isn't doing its job," Abercrombie responded.

On Health Care: We have failed to execute the Hawaii Health Connector

"In other words, the legislature created the Health Connector. All I can do is execute what the legislature tells me to do," Abercrombie responded.