Answer the question. Make one point. Name the City Council action. Stop.
Use this page as the presentation. Scroll, click the arrows, or use ← →.
Make Honolulu affordable for the working class.
Jason can speak from six years inside Budget and Fiscal Services—not as a distant commentator on city government.
Housing, public transit, food costs, progressive property taxation and accountable government all fit under affordability.
Practice opening: V“Honolulu should be a place where working people can afford to stay. PToo many residents are being squeezed by housing, transportation and food costs. SThe city can lower those costs and build strong public options. AI’m a city worker and union member prepared to use the Council’s budget, land-use, tax and oversight powers to make that happen.”
Name the shared value: affordability, dignity, safety, reliable services or accountable government.
Use one concrete local fact or consequence. Do not turn this into a policy lecture.
Say what should change in plain language before explaining the machinery of government.
Budget, ordinance, tax rate, city land, oversight or building the five votes needed.
VPSA is a guide, not a script. The answer should still sound conversational.
Keep the Action credible: Replace “I will immediately make this happen” with “I will introduce the measure, identify the funding and build the five votes needed to enact it.”
The adult monthly pass rose from $80 to $90. City officials projected about $4 million in additional annual revenue for an approximately $440 million transit system; passenger fares cover about one-tenth of system costs.
Tighter answer: V“Reliable public transit should be affordable for the people who depend on it. PThe Council just raised the monthly pass from $80 to $90 even though passenger fares cover about one-tenth of the system. SWe need better service and a responsible path toward fare-free transit. AI would use the budget and fare-setting process to fund faster, more frequent service and require clear performance targets.”
Where does the replacement money come from?
Does free transit matter if buses are slow?
Would you fund TheBus before parks or housing?
Sources and authority: Honolulu DTS: fare changes effective July 1, 2026; Bill 54 (2025), CD2: official fare schedule and effective date; Revised Charter §§6-1703–6-1706 and 17-106–17-109: transit administration, Rate Commission and Council fare authority; Civil Beat: revenue, system-cost and fare-share figures reported from the Council proceeding.
Civil Beat’s July 14 District 4 overview highlighted homelessness on local beaches and the condition of public parks among the issues put to all four candidates. Jason’s response emphasizes housing, patient CORE outreach and an end to repeated displacement that does not solve homelessness.
Tighter answer: V“Everyone deserves safe, usable parks and a real path indoors. PRepeated displacement moves people without reducing homelessness. SHonolulu needs low-barrier shelter, patient outreach and permanent housing. AI would fund those options, require an audit of sweep costs and outcomes, and change the ordinances and budgets that keep repeating the same failed cycle.”
What happens when someone refuses shelter?
Can you actually stop a sweep?
Where would new facilities go?
Sources and authority: Civil Beat: current District 4 questions; Jason Liang candidate Q&A; Honolulu Emergency Services: CORE program and mission; Revised Charter §§3-113–3-114, 3-120, 4-101, 5-103 and 6-1803: budget, investigations, executive administration and city land; Resolution 25-4: official example of the Council requesting a City Auditor performance audit; Honolulu City Council: FY2026 homeless-facility and affordable-housing appropriations.
VWorking families should not carry more of the tax burden than luxury property owners. PHonolulu’s current system leaves room for greater progressivity at the top. SI support a higher tier for homes valued above $10 million while protecting genuine owner-occupants. AI would publish exactly who pays, what the revenue funds and how renters and ordinary homeowners are protected.
VPeople who work here should be able to remain in their homes. PRents are rising faster than many households can absorb, while the exact scope of county authority needs careful legal review. SThe city should use every lawful tool to stabilize housing costs and require lasting affordability when public resources are involved. AI would ask OCS and Corporation Counsel to define that authority and draft a program that can survive review.
VEvery neighborhood should have reliable access to affordable food. PA city grocery enterprise would carry real inventory, staffing and procurement risks. SStart with a legally reviewed, time-limited pilot using an experienced operator and a transparent business model. APublish the subsidy and results, then expand only if the pilot lowers prices or improves access.
VResidents deserve honest government and fair investigations. PVague accusations weaken accountability, and allegations are not findings. SFocus on specific conflicts, procurement failures and hidden decisions. AUse disclosure rules, independent audits and public reporting to establish the facts.
Sources and authority: Jason’s specific proposals: campaign platform and candidate Q&A.
Property tax: Revised Charter §§3-112–3-113 and Article IX and RPAD FY2026 tax-rate report showing existing Residential A tiers.
Rent regulation: HRS §46-1.5(20), county power to regulate rental conditions and SB1133 SD2 (2025), proposed explicit county rental-price-ceiling authority.
Food and ethics: Honolulu People’s Open Markets; Revised Charter §§2-101–2-102, 3-121, 6-109, 6-1802–6-1803, 9-301–9-305 and Article XI; and Bill 23 (2024), official gifts-and-ethics record.
Question basis: Jason Liang campaign platform; Civil Beat candidate Q&A; and the official authority linked under each policy drill above.
Finish: Choose the two weakest answers. Repeat each in 15 seconds, 30 seconds and 60 seconds. Record the final 30-second versions.
Fact-checked July 20, 2026 against primary City and State records. The Brewpage packet was used only to identify source leads and is not cited as legal authority. This remains media-training guidance, not a formal legal opinion; bill-specific conclusions should be confirmed by the Office of Council Services and Corporation Counsel.