Andrew Takuya Garrett

Office: House District 22

Party: Democrat

www.andrewtakuyagarrett.com

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?

My wife and I have raised our two daughters in Mānoa since 2008, so I understand that the high cost of living is not an abstract policy issue. It affects everyday choices: housing, groceries, transportation, tuition, childcare, and whether our children can realistically build their futures here. Like many families, we want our children to have the opportunity to stay in Hawaiʻi, but that will only be possible if we address both affordability and economic opportunity.

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?

We need to show families that Hawaiʻi is not just a place to survive, but a place where they can build a future. That means more affordable housing, stronger wages, lower taxes for working families, better career pathways, and access to childcare, education, and healthcare. Optimism will come from real results: when young people can see a path from our public schools to UH, into a living-wage job, and eventually into a home they can afford.

As Chair of the House Higher Education Committee, I am focused on strengthening the connection between education, workforce development, and economic opportunity. I will continue championing investments in UH, community colleges, apprenticeships, career pathways, and credentials that lead directly to good-paying jobs. We also need to support industries that create living-wage employment in Hawaiʻi, including healthcare, construction, clean energy, technology, education, and local small businesses.

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?

The State must better align education, workforce training, and economic development. That means expanding dual-credit and career pathway programs, strengthening community college programs tied to high-demand fields, supporting apprenticeships, and helping students earn industry-recognized credentials before or shortly after graduation. We should also focus state investments on sectors that can actually support living-wage jobs, rather than relying too heavily on low-wage service work.

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 only long-term solution to lowering housing costs is increasing the supply of homes that local families can actually afford. That means building more affordable rentals, workforce housing, and starter homes while streamlining permitting, using public lands strategically, investing in supporting infrastructure, and encouraging transit-oriented development where it makes sense. At the same time, new housing should be planned responsibly. We cannot solve one problem by creating another. New development should respect existing neighborhoods and include the infrastructure, transportation, drainage, schools, and public services necessary to support responsible growth.

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?

When public land, public financing, or public infrastructure is involved, the public should receive a clear public benefit. I support prioritizing local residents and owner-occupants through workforce housing programs, long-term affordability requirements, and resale restrictions where appropriate. We should also continue examining policies that discourage speculative investment and homes sitting vacant while local families struggle to find housing. Hawaiʻi’s limited housing supply should first serve the people who live and work here.

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?

The State needs to move with greater urgency, but also with greater coordination. I support identifying suitable public lands for housing, accelerating infrastructure investments, streamlining duplicative permitting, and holding agencies accountable for unnecessary delays. At the same time, meaningful community engagement should remain part of the process. The goal is not simply to build more housing as quickly as possible, but to build well-planned communities that provide homes for local families while preserving the quality of life that makes Hawaiʻi’s neighborhoods special.

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?

Reducing everyday costs requires both immediate relief and long-term investment. I support tax relief targeted to working families, including reducing or offsetting the impact of the general excise tax on basic necessities. We also need to strengthen local agriculture, improve food distribution, reduce shipping and supply chain vulnerabilities where possible, and support programs that help families access healthy food.

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?

Childcare is workforce infrastructure. If parents cannot afford care, they cannot fully participate in the workforce. The State should expand childcare subsidies, grow the early childhood workforce, support public pre-K, and invest in facilities so more providers can serve families. In higher education, we must keep UH affordable, strengthen Hawaiʻi Promise, and ensure students can afford not only tuition, but also housing, food, transportation, and other real costs of attendance.

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

I would continue shifting tax relief toward working families and away from basic necessities. Hawaiʻi’s general excise tax is broad and regressive, meaning it hits lower- and middle-income families especially hard. We should look at ways to reduce the tax burden on essentials like food and medical services while preserving the revenue needed for schools, healthcare, housing, and public safety.

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?

Hawaiʻi is difficult for businesses because of high operating costs, permitting delays, workforce shortages, land and housing costs, and the added cost of being geographically isolated. Local businesses are not just employers; they are part of our communities. We can improve conditions by streamlining government processes, making it easier to hire and train local workers, investing in infrastructure, supporting small businesses, and ensuring regulations protect the public without creating unnecessary delays or uncertainty.

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?

Trust has to be earned. I support stronger ethics enforcement, greater transparency in decision-making, better access to reliable fiscal information before major votes, and continued modernization of government services. I also believe the Legislature should continue improving public access to information and making the process easier for residents to follow and participate in. Government works best when people can see what decisions are being made, why they are being made, and who is accountable for the results.

Related Candidates

BACK TO THE CANDIDATES