Duke Aiona in 2014 Hawaii Governor's race

On Crime: Better schools help Native Hawaiians stay out of prison

A: I'll always come back to education. I'm a firm believer in education. Education is the key to having a future. So get educated.

Q: Do you think that would help address the overrepresentation of Hawaiians in prisons?

A: I haven't had a chance to read this report. But, I do know that based on my experiences, you can say it's anecdotal, but I was the judge that was sentencing people to prison. I was the family court judge who was also having disposition on our juvenile delinquents. I can give anecdotal stuff and I will tell you, that yes, if we have a quality educational system and as well as strong families--because strong families are always the key to this--I think we can make some headway into these problems that we're facing right now.

On Principles & Values: My Catholic faith is part of my decision making

A: Religion more so is your way of life. Faith is just your core beliefs and values. For me, it is about my Catholic faith. It's just me. That's how I'm living. I choose to live my life like this. So, in my decision making, yeah, it's a part of my life because it's part of my foundation principles and values. But, really my decision-making is based on my time and my experience as a judge.

You hear me say it's easier to build strong children than it is to fix broken adults. Because if you had a strong foundation and you had values and morals--and most of us do have that strong foundation.

On Welfare & Poverty: The chronic homeless choose to not follow the rules

A: I think it's just humanity as a whole. My faith is such that it is part of our ministry to help those in need, and homeless people are those that are in need. The [category of the homeless] that frustrates me are the ones that are doing it because they want to do it, the ones that choose to be homeless, but they're the ones that choose not to follow rules. They choose to have the independence. "Government get out of my way, leave me alone."

Q: That's what they call the chronic homeless?

A: Yeah. I guess that's what they call them in the social realm. But, they are just people that just don't want to follow rules. That's the most frustrating, because what do you do with them? They are basically, I guess, cheating the rest of society. They are living off of land that isn't theirs. They're not working. They're not being productive.