PLATFORM
Matt’s proven, effective leadership gets the job done.
Matt has kept every campaign promise since being elected, ensuring that the state moved swiftly to address our needs, securing over half a billion dollars for our community in just three terms in office.
Matt’s hard work pays off for us all.
LIST OF ISSUES
Education
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$355M for a new high school in ‘Ewa.
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AC in our schools ($100M statewide)
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New facilities for Campbell High School including:
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State of the art Science and Technology building
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New athletics stadium
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Girls’ Title IX Facility and girls’ locker room
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Track and Field Renovation
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New portables
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New Elementary and Middle School for 96706
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Will prioritize the fight for the $25M needed for a new 6th grade building at ‘Ilima Intermediate.
Affordable Housing, Cost of Living, and Supporting Economic Growth
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With the legislature, put $300M towards affordable housing projects and specifically allocated $570M in a previous term to build 25,000 affordable housing units by 2030.
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$600M for the Department of Hawaiian Homelands to help do away with the backlog of homes for Native Hawaiians.
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$50M to help people transition out of homelessness and into permanent housing.
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Passed raising the minimum wage.
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Getting money back to taxpayers ($1,200 for a family of four).
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Matt supports growing better, higher-paying local jobs in Leeward Oahu for Leeward Residents
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Supported saving $500M in the State Rainy Day fund.
Traffic
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New stoplights, crosswalks, and other measures throughout ‘Ewa Beach.
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Advocated for and helped fund better maintenance and expanding H-1 and our ‘Ewa onramp.
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Leeward Bikeway finally completed across ‘Ewa.
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Helped to secure $135M to expand Farrington Highway.
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Fought for better maintenance and expanding H-1, the ‘Ewa on-ramp, and Fort Weaver Rd. on which he supports a contra-flow lane for ‘Ewa commuters.
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Supports expanding the zipper lane to Kapolei and installing a PM zipper lane to ease traffic coming home.
Our Kūpuna, Keiki, and Environment
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Matt led the response to the Red Hill Water Crisis for ‘Ewa Beach and secured water for hundreds of our community’s families.
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Matt’s first signed legislation was the Kupuna Care Act, which helped to support quality healthcare for our kupuna and the ability to age in place.
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Advocated for our keiki through legislation that requires strict reporting of restricted use pesticide and bans its use within 100 feet of schools, making Hawaii the first state to ban chlorpyrifos, a dangerous, brain-damaging pesticide.
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Sea level rise is here, but Hawaii is building high-density housing in areas we know for a fact will be underwater in just a few decades. We need a sensible policy to begin managing shoreline retreat.
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Matt is not beholden to big money / special interests. He chooses to fight for the health, safety, and dignity of our keiki, our kupuna, and our environment.
Fighting Corruption through
Stronger Ethics Laws
Matt strongly advocates for:
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limiting campaign contributions, the times they can be given, and increasing reporting requirements for lobbyists.
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Restoring public confidence in government by altering the culture of “legal” corruption whereby donations are provided in reward or anticipation of favorable legislation for special interests.
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Requiring lobbyists to report any office visits or outside interactions with policymakers in a timely fashion.
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Re-structure legislative committees to re-orient power back into the hands of committee members rather than just the chair of a committee.
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Supports getting “big money” out of politics in favor of stronger public financing options for candidates, which could then be a model for a citizen initiative process. This would help even the playing field between average citizens and paid lobbyists.
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Matt even fought against pay increases for legislators.
Crime and Public Safety
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Advocated for and passed bi-partisan legislation supporting a new Police District for Ewa Beach to provide adequate services and law enforcement response.
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Calls for an increase in funding for HPD to provide more beat cops and to provide the needed staffing and support for HPD to keep our communities safe.
Veterans
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As Chair of the House Committee on Veterans, Military, and International Affairs Matt introduced HB 2697, which became law, convening a biennial statewide veteran’s summit bringing together veterans from across the state to share ideas and address relevant issues.
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Matt is a member of the Navy League and is Vice President of Sons of the American Revolution (Hawaii Chapter). He helped to preserve the Pearl Harbor-Honolulu Branch 46 of the Fleet Reserve Association by pushing for the release of grant-in-aid funds to maintain their offices, served on the WWI Centennial Task Force, and was honored with a Bronze Medal from the SAR for his service towards establishing a commission for the recognition of the sacrifice, service, and memory of our fallen Veterans with the upcoming 250th US Anniversary.
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Matt introduced HCR109 in cooperation with the Filipino Caucus. The legislature passed this resolution urging the U.S. President and Congress to grant full benefits to Filipino WWII veterans.
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As Chair of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, Matt urged the Federal Government to grant the long-delayed and wrongfully denied veteran benefits to Filipino veterans who fought in World War II.
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Matt strongly supported the additional VA facilities coming to our area soon and supports allowing veterans to see doctors of their choice to reduce wait times and improve medical care.
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As a dedicated supporter of the U.S. Armed Forces & their families, Matt served as liaison to the Joint Venture Education Forum which helps military students in Hawaii public schools.
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He is a firm believer in the doctrine of preserving peace through strength.
We need elected officials with bold plans and the ability to get the job done.
We need Matt’s effective leadership because there is still more work to do, and as we have seen, Matt will work for us all.
Working Hard for District 41
Matt's Success in Office
Capital Improvement Projects
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Secured $40 million for James Campbell High School for:
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new classroom building
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planning a new athletics complex at JCHS including Title IX compliance and a new synthetic track and field
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In 2015, his first year in office, he secured $100 million for Ewa and Ewa Beach Elementary Schools for A/C and also supported millions appropriated to Ilima Intermediate that year for cooling classrooms
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$33 million to add lanes and sidewalks to Ft. Weaver Road to address traffic and safety concerns
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In 2018, James Campbell High School received the highest level of funding in the biennial State CIP budget (FY 17-19) for existing individual schools – $27 million for a new classroom building the highest level of funding out of 283 other existing public schools in Hawaii
Fiscal Responsibility
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As Vice-Chair of Transportation, Matt helped kill the proposed “triple tax” on vehicle gas, weight, and registration, and he scrutinized government spending as a member of the Finance Committee
Ethics Reform
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Matt introduced House Bill 813 (2015) to close a loophole that allowed legislators to use their official capacity for personal gain
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He introduced House Bill 2512 (2016) which holds homeowner association board members to ethical disclosure requirements to prevent and expose conflicts of interest
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Over his three terms in office, Matt introduced or co-sponsored 85 ethics & good government bills.
