Aloha kākou!

Happy Monday! Thank you for being a part of our campaign journey and for all of your time & support! We are so excited to have launched this campaign just a few months ago, and couldn't have done it without you. 

We are a short 68 days away from the primaries and have so many exciting things to share with you today.
On May 20, we very excitingly and humbly filed our nomination papers with the Office of Elections for State House of Representatives District 26. We are excited to embark on this journey with all of you and thank you so much for your support.
Welcome to the New House District 26
Welcome to the New House District 26
Every 10 years each state goes through a redistricting process based on updated census numbers. This year, effective for the 2022 elections, the commission combined parts of District 24 & District 25 to create our new district, District 26. 

District 26 now represents Makiki, Makiki Heights, Papakōlea, Punchbowl, and Tantalus. Click here to view a detailed map.
District 26 Pulse
Over the past month or so, we've been collecting responses and feedback from you about your stance on key issues such as government corruption, minimum wage, public education, and economic recovery. Of the responses collected, the one question we were most aligned on was our worries around corruption in government. It's clear that we need change. We need new voices in the capitol representing the communities, and not personal interest.
Hot Topic & Issues
To date, we have knocked on close to 1,700 doors and chatted with hundreds of our neighbors. In all of our conversations, there seem to be a couple key issues that keep coming up.

When I've asked "what keeps you up at night," the top answer was Affordable Housing. Many folks are concerned with Hawaii's rising cost of living and what we can do to keep our housing & rental prices affordable. Click here to read more.

A lot of folks are also concerned with the homeless communities / drug usage right by Ka'ahumanu Elementary School. I've reached out to HHHRC, IHS, and the City & County Department of Housing & Homelessness to help this community, and unfortunately there's not too much that can be done quickly. Last Saturday, a small group of us met with this community to learn more about their stories, struggles, and challenges.

Many of them recently lost housing (within the last 6 months) due to unforeseen circumstances, and unfortunately our state is set-up where one must be "chronically homeless" (12-months or more) before they qualify for a housing program. We definitely need to revisit this "chronically homeless" policy, as we should be helping those who just lost housing back into housing as quickly as possible. In the meantime, we will continue working with this community to keep the sidewalk clean & drug free. 
Many of you also mentioned concern with crime -- specifically with break-ins and car theft. Agreed 100% -- we need to increase both patrol and accountability. 

And last but not least, I have definitely heard everyone's concerns around the infamous house on Pensacola that has been abandoned since the 90's! The property owner currently has four open notices totaling over $425K in civil fines. District or Circuit Court judges can issue the city a warrant to enter a property and "abate a public nuisance." But the City needs the State's help in passing a bill that will allow the City to do anything (see HB1434). If elected, this will be one of our top priorities in session.
If there's an issue that's important to you that isn't listed above, please let me know. Email me at valerie@valeriecwang.com.
Are you registered to vote?
Click here to register to vote and/or check your voter registration.

Are you signed up for ballottrax? 
With mail-in votes, the Office of Elections now offers a new service that allows you to track the status of your mail ballot from mailed to accepted. This way you can guarantee that your mail-in ballot was counted by the Office of Elections! Register here.
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