Bobby Silva

Office: Senate District 25

Party: Democrat

Hawaiʻi’s affordability challenges affect nearly every aspect of daily life, from housing and education to healthcare, transportation, and childcare.
What are your personal experiences with the high cost of living in Hawaiʻi?

Growing up in Kailua, I can remember getting icee cups for 25 cents after school. Now, how much would a little cup of frozen juice cost? The extreme prices we are paying for not only our food, but also our healthy food, are ridiculous. Assessing the taxes and lowering the cost of shipping will directly affect the high cost of living in our state.

Many local residents leave or are considering leaving Hawaiʻi because they can no longer afford to stay, or because they seek greater economic opportunity, and according to the 2020 Census, approximately 55% of Native Hawaiians now live outside of Hawaiʻi.
With negative net migration continuing to drain Hawaiʻi of its local population, how can we restore optimism and convince local working families and young professionals that they have a viable economic future in the islands?

The first step to restoring our local population and making sure that not only our current generation can stay here, but my children will be able to afford to live here, is making sure that our wages match those that people are getting paid on the mainland. Recently, our Nurses went on strike because they were getting paid a fraction of what their mainland counterparts were. We need to have a competitive market across the board for what the people of Hawaii can earn in their careers.

Education. First and foremost. The graduates from Punahou and Mid-Pacific Institute (my alma mater) will go on to have college careers and land jobs that will allow them to afford to live in Hawaii. Most families cant afford to send their children to private schools, but we can work on creating a better education system to mirror the level of effort going into teaching our children.

Many employers report difficulty finding qualified workers, while many residents struggle to access career pathways that provide long-term financial stability. It is estimated that in the next decade, 170,000 keiki will enter the workforce, but only 100,000 living wage jobs will be available for them.
What are ways the State can improve workforce development efforts and ensure that enough living wage jobs will be available for youth entering the workforce?

We need to stress the importance of strengthing Blue collar jobs. There is an entire generation of men with practical knowledge of how things are built and work. The gap between those workers and the younger generation if frightnening, and teaching the next generation those skills is a necessary thing.

Housing experts recommend that a household spend no more than one-third of its income on housing costs. In its 2025 Employee Affordability Survey, Holomua Collective found that most local working families identify housing as the main driver of Hawaiʻi’s high cost of living. Most local families also said they are spending more than half of household income on housing costs.
What practical and actionable solutions do you have to lower housing costs?

The housing issue comes down to the limited inventory of livable housing. Raising taxes on vacant houses or homes owned by people living outside of Hawaii will generate revenue for the state that can then be used to help people afford to live at a more affordable cost.

Hawai’i’s housing market is impacted and constrained by out-of-state and speculative buyers. A variety of solutions have been proposed to dedicate housing for local working families.
How do you propose we dedicate housing for local working families over out-of-state or speculative buyers?

Hawai‘i needs tens of thousands of new homes, and every year we fall further behind, more local families are forced to leave.
What will you do to ensure the State quickly builds more housing for local working families before they are priced out of Hawai‘i?

We need a better system to accelerate the process of building new homes. The newly digitized system of the DPP is a good step, but we need to push the whole system further into the modern age to really make a change.

Nearly one in three Hawaiʻi households experience food insecurity. More than one in five households report skipping meals or going entire days without eating because they cannot afford enough food. With grocery prices 30–40% higher than the continent, many families are struggling to meet their basic needs.
How do you propose we reduce everyday living expenses like groceries?

Our food production on these islands needs to be significantly higher. We have the perfect environment to create sustainable crops, which will also bring revenue to our agricultural jobs. Bringing the community together to work on local food sources is a first step that will eventually lower prices.

Hawaiʻi families face some of the highest early childcare and education costs in the country, with center-based infant care averaging more than $24,000 annually. These costs often prevent parents from returning to work and pose a significant barrier to economic opportunity for working families.
How can the State make childcare and education costs more affordable?

Yes! Increasing the public school systems budget and having free day care would help.

If you could change one aspect of Hawaiʻi's tax system to improve affordability for local working families, what would it be and why?

Our housing tax. It needs to be capped or lowered espically for Kupuna who are o nfixed incomes.

Hawaiʻi ranks 49th overall nationally in America’s Top States for Business 2025. Local sentiment underscores this ranking, with Holomua Collective’s 2025 Employee Affordability Survey finding that only 19% of respondents believe Hawai‘i is a good place to do business.
Why do you believe Hawai‘i is seen as such a difficult place to do business, and how would you improve conditions for local businesses?

N/A

In a 2025 survey by Holomua Collective, only 20% of local working residents said that they had confidence in state and local government to do right by the people of Hawaiʻi.
What reforms would you support to improve transparency, accountability, trust, efficiency, and public confidence in state and local government?

By becoming a new senator for District 25 I really want to bring a fresh perspective to what not only the East side of Oahu needs, but what Hawaii needs. Making people and the State more accountable for their actions is a big part of my platform.

Related Candidates

Chris Lee
No Response Received,Senate District 25

Democrat

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Bobby Silva

Hawaiʻi’s affordability challenges affect nearly every aspect of daily life, from housing and education to healthcare, transportation, and childcare.
What are your personal experiences with the high cost of living in Hawaiʻi?

Hawai’i’s housing market is impacted and constrained by out-of-state and speculative buyers. A variety of solutions have been proposed to dedicate housing for local working families.
How do you propose we dedicate housing for local working families over out-of-state or speculative buyers?

Hawai‘i needs tens of thousands of new homes, and every year we fall further behind, more local families are forced to leave.
What will you do to ensure the State quickly builds more housing for local working families before they are priced out of Hawai‘i?

If you could change one aspect of Hawaiʻi's tax system to improve affordability for local working families, what would it be and why?

Related Candidates

Chris Lee

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