2018 General Election Candidates

Click to select a candidate

Name on ballot:

HASHEM, Mark Jun

Running for:

State House

District (if applicable):

Political party:

Democrat

Campaign website:

https://www.facebook.com/markjhashem

Current occupation:

Commercial Real Estate

Age:

Previous job history:

Small Business Owner

Previous elected office, if any:

State Housse

What qualifies you to represent the people of Hawaii?

I have represented East Honolulu in the State House since 2011. Prior to serving in the legislature, I was a small business owner and I understand the need for prudent fiscal management and the effects of over regulation and taxes on businesses. We need more elected officials with common sense and local values to find practical solutions to our problems.

What are the top three challenges facing the voters you seek to represent?

Listening to constituents, the three issues I hear most often are
1) the shortage of affordable housing in our state. Our children and grandchildren entering the workforce and starting families are struggling to make ends meet because of Hawaii’s high cost of living. Housing in Hawaii takes up a very large portion of their income and this is where we can help. We can ease their burden by building more affordable and workforce housing to keep our young people in Hawaii. As the past Chairman of the Housing Committee, I helped streamline the process and directed hundreds of millions dollars to fund affordable housing across the state.
(2) Traffic. I have been working hard on this issues and I am proud to report that Phase 1 of Kalanianaole Highway repaving is complete and we are currently on Phase 2 (from Ainakoa to Aina Haina).
(3) Improving Infrastructure. Our streams, canals and bridges need improvements to prevent flooding that residents experienced in April. We (Federal, State and County) have started the long process of improving our flooding infrastructure.

If elected, what will be your highest legislative priority?

On April 13 of this year, East Honolulu was devastated by flooding. The legislature allocated $25 million to repair the damage and to upgrade our infrastructure to prevent future flooding. I am working closely with the Army Corps of Engineers, the State Department of Defense and the City and County of Honolulu to address infrastructure needs and priorities. This is the most complex infrastructure improvement project for the district and includes increasing stream capacity, enlarging retention basins and raising bridges, etc. It also requires coordination between multiple departments and federal, state and local government. I estimate it will take 10 years to complete and I am committed to seeing it through.

If elected, what can you do to improve the lives of your constituents?

If re-elected, I will continue to work with City, State and Federal agencies to improve our infrastructure to prevent future flooding. Also I will continue to fight to make Hawaii a more business friendly state to improve opportunities for local people to work and live in Hawaii.

Is there anything else you would like voters to know about you?

I am a product of our public schools, I attended Kaahumanu Elementary School, Washington Middle School and McKinley High School. After attending graduate school, I lived and worked in Japan for over 10+ years. I experienced firsthand why many kids move away to pursue better opportunities. I returned home to be closer to family and faced many challenges in moving back to Hawaii. As a result, I am a strong advocate of affordable housing and promoting local businesses to give the next generation of kids a better opportunity to work and live in Hawaii.