HAWAII - POLITICS:

Mahalo to constituent Kendall M. for taking the time to ask the candidates of District 43 these very important questions. Below, Find Responses from Candidate for State House Representative District 43, Sheila Medeiros. Do you have questions, comments or concerns you would like to discuss? Feel free to reach out at any time with anything you may want to discuss. Mahalo

1) Abortions in Hawaii

I am pro-life and will always advocate for legislation that supports the sanctity of life. I'm afraid I have to disagree with the recent SB1, as it allows 14-year-olds to obtain abortions without parental consent. While this may be intended to help girls in abusive situations, other medical options should be considered. Each case should be handled individually, and pregnancies involving minors should be reported for further investigation and access to resources.

When discussing abortion restrictions, it’s essential to consider the statistics. The majority of abortions are elective, with only a tiny percentage being necessary or a result of rape. Now that states have more authority over abortion laws, liberal states may advocate for fewer restrictions, while conservative states may implement more. People in Hawaii must be well-formed to promote respect for their bodies and to educate their youth about the consequences of their actions.

Abortion is a complex issue, and it’s essential to address the underlying factors that lead to the need for abortion. Education, understanding, and faith can help prevent the need for abortions. Women need to be fully informed about the implications of their choices before they face a pregnancy crisis. Ultimately, we should focus on education and faith to eliminate the need for abortions whileensuring that women have access to the healthcare they need to protect both their health and the life of the unborn child.

Finally, our young men need to understand the significance of fatherhood. In today's world, some women may misuse the system for personal gain, and our boys must be guided to recognize the value of bringing a child into the world with a loving and responsible partner. We must promote a culture of respect and honor surrounding the decision to have children. These young men must understand that they should seek meaningful and loving relationships before starting a family. Encouraging responsible choices and emphasizing the importance of healthy relationships can help our young men make informed decisions about parenthood. #ResponsibleParenthood

2) Do you support restrictions on abortions?

As previously mentioned, the reversal of Roe v. Wade empowers states to define their abortion laws. This results in a diverse landscape, with some states adopting pro-life stances and others pro-choice, leading to a variety of regulations. Ideally, rules would be uniform across the board. However, in reality, women's options will vary from one state to another—for instance, one state may permit abortions up to 8 weeks, while another allows them up to 12 weeks and the worst to full term.

This underscores the importance of educating our youth and providing them with the necessary understanding of sexual health and our bodies to reduce the need for abortions potentially. Nonetheless, as a Republican and conservative, my advocacy will always support laws that promote the sanctity of life.

Additionally, I believe that if the lives of both the mother and baby are at risk and only one can be saved, it is the responsibility of the doctors to present the family with the best possible options and for the family to decide what is in their best interest. Every pregnant couple needs to discuss serious possibilities prayerfully and include their medical instructions in case of an emergency.

3) What is your position on late-term abortions?  

I do not condone late-term abortions because I cannot imagine intentionally terminating a full-term pregnancy. It is equivalent to taking a life.

4) What are your positions on Gender Affirming Care in Hawaii?

I believe that gender-affirming care treatments should not be provided to children without thorough informed consent and a series of psychology evaluations. If someone desires gender- affirming care, it should be done only when they are mentally and physically prepared for a life-changing and potentially damaging procedure, which, in my opinion, is when someone is 21 or older. Counselors are not adequately advising parents and are being told to affirm their child’s gender identity.

I want to share a story below to illustrate this issue. Anna’s daughter Alex came out as transgender at 12. After a 10-minute evaluation, Alex was offered puberty blockers at a transgender care clinic. Anna denied consent but said she and her husband felt pressured to give her the hormones. Alex has since been hospitalized multiple times for mental health reasons and attempted suicide once. Anna believes therapists overlooked her daughter’s autism and didn’t ask enough questions about her gender identity.

(New York Post)

NHS England has stopped providing routine prescriptions for puberty blockers to children in gender identity clinics due to insufficient evidence of their safety and effectiveness. They will only be available for research purposes. European countries have also taken a cautious approach to gender-affirming care for minors due to insufficient research. A review found that after just two years of using puberty blockers, children’s bone density levels were dangerously low. There are no reliable studies on the long-term safety of cross-sex hormones for minors. I provided written testimony opposing HB2049.

I have included it below.

I am a resident of District 43, which includes Makakilo and Kapolei. I strongly oppose relaxing prescribing requirements for certain controlled substances in gender-affirming healthcare services and expanding the protections established under Act 2, SLH, to include these services. I believe that individuals under 18 years of age should not be influenced to take puberty blockers or undergo any form of mutilation during their adolescent years. The health risks associated with transitioning can be significant, and once a child is mutilated, the damage can be lifelong. Therefore, transitioning should only be allowed for mature adults who fully understand the consequences of their decision. Here's an example to illustrate my point.

In a 2015 Boston study of 180 transsexual youth who had undergone SRS (106 female-to-male; 74 male-to-female), these youth had a twofold to threefold increased risk of psychiatric disorders, including depression, anxiety disorder, suicidal ideation, suicide attempt, self-harm without lethal intent, and both inpatient ...

More risk during transitioning...

 Blood clots in a deep vein or the lungs.

 Heart problems.

 High levels of triglycerides, a type of fat, in the blood.

 High levels of potassium in the blood.

 High levels of the hormone prolactin in the blood.

 Nipple discharge.

 Weight gain.

 Infertility.

I urge you to deny this bill from going forward and choose common sense and mental health therapy rather than medication and surgeries, as they have irreversible damage.

Mahalo,

Sheila Medeiros

Kapolei/Makakilo (43)

Sources:

HB2049

New York Post

5) What are your positions on the legalization of recreational marijuana?

I hold a stance against the legalization of recreational marijuana but express my support for medicinal marijuana. This is because several retired veterans rely on the use of medicinal marijuana to alleviate various health issues.

6) What are your positions on CRT (Critical Race Theory) in our Hawaii Schools? I strongly oppose any curricula such as Critical Race Theory (CRT), Social Emotional Learning

(SEL), and woke ideologies in our Hawaii schools. CRT has its intellectual origin in critical theory,

a Marxist approach that evaluates every area of life through the prism of the oppressed and

oppressors—counter to America’s promise of freedom and equality under the law. CRT’s

adherents see the same power dynamics that proponents of critical theory see while

considering these dynamics through the prism of race. Critical race theorists claim that America

is systemically racist and that this racism produced an alliance between working-class whites

and the oppressor capitalist class that prevents working-class solidarity.

CRT teaches a toxic message to students of all backgrounds. Whether disguised as “diversity,

equity, and inclusion” (DEI) programs, as “affinity groups,” or characterized in other

euphemistic terms, CRT lessons and efforts are spreading in public and private schools. By its

very nature, CRT is both a pseudo-academic discipline and a call to action that is designed to

compel students to act on the idea that the world is divided between people who are

victimizers and people who are victims based on their race or ethnicity.

Policymakers have a duty to prevent educators from applying CRT to K–12 public school

activities since, by doing so, they possibly violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth

Amendment and federal laws known as Title VI and Title IX, which protect Americans from

discrimination based on race, sex, or national origin in educational institutions that receive

federal funds.

Source: Heritage Foundation https://www.heritage.org/solutions/

7) What are your positions on using DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) in Hawaii?

The whole concept of DEI is misleading because it uses hyper-sensitive, socially charged words

to garner support from the public as champions for the minority population when it disenfranchises others. Under this construct, it is allowed to disenfranchise other ethnicities and create exclusion instead of inclusion. Corporations like Blackrock have employed DEI to force companies to comply with their DEI mandates or be financially and socially penalized for their non-compliance. Companies that traditionally had long-standing family values were forced to adhere to these DEI policies, which went against their core beliefs and lost their significant

customer base. Part of the current focus on diversity and inclusion involves the concern that prioritizing identity

over experience and qualifications can be detrimental. I believe that it’s more important for a pilot to have excellent flying skills than for me to be concerned about their race or ethnicity.

The consumer and the company suffer when hiring decisions are based on factors like color and ethnicity rather than merit and experience. Therefore, I do not support the DEI policies being

forced on corporate America and our education system. I support merit and performance-based hiring and acceptance into educational institutions.

8) What are your positions on illegal immigrants possibly being brought to Hawaii?

I firmly oppose the transport of illegal immigrants to Hawaii. We cannot afford to provide housing for our own people in need and solve our massive homeless population, which includes

individuals from all walks of life. I support strong borders where immigration law is enforced. All immigrants must undergo a

thorough background check, and we must prevent the entry of individuals who threaten our personal and national security. Individuals who enter our country through illegal means must

be deported. Immigrant numbers should be controlled, and the ability of the new residents to become self-sufficient, assimilate into, and make positive contributions to their chosen

communities should be based on this. I support mandatory deportation for non-citizens, gang members, drug dealers, human

traffickers, and other criminals. Asylum should be sought once a person is in the first safe country they arrive in, and asylum seekers should remain in that country until their entry into

the US is approved.

9) What are your positions on loan forgiveness for borrowers in Hawaii?

I do not support canceling student loans. The cancellation of federal student loans will cost the federal government hundreds of billions of dollars, and eventually, the general public will end

up paying for it. According to the Congressional Budget Office, President Biden’s plan to cancel 6 student loans will cost around $400 billion. Still, this estimate is uncertain due to unknown

factors, such as how many people would have repaid their debt if the executive action hadn’t been taken. President Biden mentioned that there is enough deficit reduction to pay for the programs, but what does “cost the government” mean? Canceling federal student loans would immediately add to the federal deficit, which measures the U.S. spending minus its income. Analysts agree that canceling these loans would increase the deficit, but they are divided on how significant this addition would be and how the government could recoup the costs eventually. The concept of loan forgiveness needs to be more accurate. A loan borrowed by an individual or company is the sole responsibility of the borrower. Forgiveness shifts the burden from the borrower, who receives all the benefits of the borrowed money, to the taxpayers, who receiveno benefit. I want to share an article written by Nathan Scott, a student at Brigham Young University, with whom I agree on this specific issue.

The Problem With Government Bailouts: by Nathan Scott

Matthew Wilson was only 13 years old when his dad lost his job. It was 2008, and the world was reeling from the Great Recession. To cope with losing their father’s job, Matthew’s family used many tactics to be frugal and survive throughout the crisis. His father pawned his shotgun, his mother pawned her jewelry, and even Matthew pawned his PlayStation. They had weekly yard sales, went to food banks, and cut unnecessary expenses.

They also took out loans with high interest rates—the only option available. The story of the Wilson family is told by different families all over the United States; millions of people around the country lost their jobs in 2008. Even so, national banks, the companies hit hardest by the recession, were living in a completely different reality then. These banks had taken out extremely risky derivatives and should have been suffering the consequences of their actions during the crisis. Instead, on October 3, 2008, these banks received $700 billion from the U.S. government as preferred stock investments. Even though the banks were considered the leading cause of the crisis, they were given substantial cash injections for small amounts of equity (ownership stake in the company).

The same thing has been seen throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. American families havereceived only around 14 percent of the federal economic assistance passed through Congress; the rest of the money has gone to businesses. Additionally, provided that the companies use these government loans for certain payroll expenses most do not need to be paid back. Our country has over $25 trillion in debt; we should not provide trillions of tax-funded money to businesses that didn’t save money for hard times. When bailouts are necessary for essential companies to survive, the American people should directly receive equity after being bailed out.

10 and 11) What are your positions on renewable energy and climate change in Hawaii?

I support an energy-independent America. We need to rely on something other than foreign energy from adversarial countries. American energy production also adheres to higher environmental standards than foreign nations. I believe in repealing the mandate to transition to 100% renewable energy by 2045. I opposed Governor Ige’s decision to dismantle the coal plants in September 2023. This decision has left us with no alternative energy source, resulting in widespread rolling blackouts.

One of the major concerns in the islands is the overwhelming landfills and the need to identify a new location for the city and county to close the Waimanalo Gulch landfill on the west side of Oahu. One potential solution is implementing a waste-to-energy resource to help alleviate the overfilled landfill by converting waste into energy. Waste-to-energy plants generate steam and electricity. Municipal solid waste is typically burned at specialized waste-to-energy plants, where the heatfrom the fire is used to generate steam to produce electricity or heat buildings. In 2022, 63 U.S. power plants generated approximately 12.8 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity by burning around 26.6 million tons of combustible MSW.

Biomass materials comprised about 61% of the weight of the combustible MSW and accounted for roughly 45% of the electricity generated. The remaining combustible MSW consisted mainly of non-biomass materials, particularly plastics. Additionally, many large landfills produce electricity by utilizing the methane gas produced from decomposing biomass in landfills. Burning MSW serves multiple purposes, including producing electricity and reducing waste that would otherwise be buried in landfills. Waste-to-energy plants can reduce 2,000 pounds of garbage to ash weighing around 300 to 600 pounds, decreasing the volume of waste by approximately 87%. Additionally, investing in alternate electricity sources will help reduce costs for Hawaii residents. Government agencies must also get approval from area residents who will be impacted when large structures, such as wind turbines or solar farms, are placed in a neighborhood or on agricultural land.

Electricity is a fundamental and life-sustaining resource. Any energy innovations must consider their ability to sustain energy production through all weather conditions and natural disasters, especially hurricanes and fires. Although there is agreement on temperature changes, there is no consensus on the causes, their relative importance, or whether they pose an existential threat.

12) What are your positions on the current inflation issues, including what’s causing them, and how specifically would both of you address them here in Hawaii, where so many are negatively impacted by them?

The Federal Reserves increasing money supply can lead to inflation. Typically, when the Fed tries to boost the economy by expanding the money supply, prices tend to go up, resulting in unpredictable costs of goods and a higher likelihood of inflation. Other factors contributing to the current inflation include supply chain disruptions, which can be addressed through proper logistical management; increased consumer demand due to shipping issues; and pandemic-related economic stimulus generated by excessive money printing, which has contributed to the recent increase in inflation.

Additionally, let’s not overlook the well-known and controversial Jones Act, which directly impacts Hawaii’s residents’ cost of goods.

Check out Grassroots Hawaii’s YouTube video on the Jones Act: https://youtu.be/8h5ZbEBTD-E.

What is the Jones Act?

The Jones Act, a 1920 federal maritime law, requires goods transported between U.S. ports to be carried only by U.S. flagged, built, and predominantly American-owned and crewed ships.

Thanks to new research by Grassroots Hawaii and a nationally recognized research firm, the attached report (see link below) represents the first comprehensive effort to catalog the costs of the Jones Act to Hawaii businesses and residents. It lists the costs by industry, tallies the downstream costs of the act, and calculates what they mean for the average Hawaii family. We now know that local families pay almost $1,800 yearly because of the act, including $389 for housing costs, $248 for groceries and restaurants, and $62 for gasoline. Overall, the act costs Hawaii’s economy an extra $1.2 billion a year, with side effects including thousands of lost jobs and lower tax revenues for our state and local governments. It is hard to overstate the significance of this information in the more considerable national discussion about Jones Act reform. I encourage everyone to read this report and go to Grassroot Hawaii for more detailed information on the Jones Act.

As a legislator, I plan to take specific actions to help ease the growing financial strain on our residents. This includes reviewing current laws that impose excessive tax burdens and proposing amendments to change or remove problematic sections. Before introducing any new legislation or amendments, I will engage with constituents through town halls, coffee meetings, zoom sessions, and open office hours to gather their input and collaborate with state legislators to explore alternative solutions.

Sources: Grassroot Hawaii Institute (see links), Investopedia, Bureau of Labor and Statistics,

EIA.gov

https://www.grassrootinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/GRIH-Quantifying-the-cost-

of-the-Jones-Act-to-Hawaii.pdf

What caused inflation to spike after 2020? Bureau of Labor Statistics (.gov)https://www.bls.gov

› opub › mlr › beyond-bls › what-...

https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/111314/what-causes-inflation-and-does-anyone-

gain-

it.asp#:~:text=Inflation%20can%20occur%20when%20prices,pay%20more%20for%20the%20pr

oduct.

https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/biomass/waste-to-energy.php

13) What is your position on the Maui fires, and who should be held accountable?

I was very vocal on my social media platforms about the Lahaina fire and the failed response of the Maui Mayor, Police Chief, ERC Herman Andaya, Gov. Green and his BBBWG, and HIEMA.

You can go to @votemedeiros43 to view all the videos I posted on the failed government response and after actions. My stance on the Lahaina fire resulted in my followership growing exponentially in a few days. I believe the Mayor, Police Chief, ERC Herman Andaya, and State of Hawaii-HIEMA Director should be removed or fined/jailed for dereliction of duty. Maui County ERC Herman Andaya was solely responsible for failing to employ the robust and sophisticated Maui County’s existing alert system. Mayor Bissen was absent from the scene, and a slow-moving response is unacceptable. The County Police Chief, who is a transplant from Vegas and was in a management role in the mass Vegas shooting, who got hired and received a generous increase in salary within months of being hired, over qualified local police veterans, was also absent the day of the fires. Many tragic missteps led to unnecessary lives being lost. Who gave the order to block the one-way exit out of Lahaina, where the police officer was ordered not to let people through?

14) What are your positions concerning the affordable housing crisis?

I support the Hawaii Republican’s platform on housing, as noted below. In 2024, Hawaii was reported by Forbes magazine as having the most expensive cost of living and most minor disposable income of all 50 states. Hawaii ranked as the most expensive state for home prices with a staggering median price of $837,324 and an average monthly mortgage payment of $5004, as well as the highest monthly rental expenses of $2423, resulting in Hawaii being recognized as having the highest housing and rental unit monthly costs in the nation.

I support:

Addressing the bureaucratic obstacles that have delayed Prince Kuhio’s vision of homeownership for Native Hawaiians.

Granting Lahaina and Maui homeowners access to their property and expediting the processing of their building permits to rebuild their homes on their private property.

Capping property tax increases at a maximum of 2% per year unless the property is sold.

Enforcing statutes prohibiting Temporary Vacation Units (TVUs) and Bed and Breakfasts

as illegal. TVU and B&B operations reduce the housing supply for the people of Hawaii

and drive up housing costs.

Immediately amending the Jones Act (aka Merchant Marine Act 1920) and instituting

permanent exemptions for Hawaii to lower the cost of all building materials used to

construct homes.

Introducing legislation that allows homeowners the flexibility of building another smaller complete home on their property to help alleviate the housing crisis in Hawaii.

Introducing legislation that allows homeowners the flexibility of subdividing their homes to create rentals would help ease the housing crisis and assist our residents in coping with the high cost of living increases in our state.

Freezing property taxes for seniors on fixed incomes.

15) What are your positions on the high numbers of small businesses failing in Hawaii right now?

The impact on small businesses and historic mom-and-pop stores during the pandemic was devastating due to the state, city, and county mismanagement of lockdowns. Big box stores like Costco, Walmart, Target, and Home Depot were deemed "essential"; and allowed to operate, while many small businesses were ordered to shut down. This prioritization led to the closure of many beloved bakeries and restaurants across the state despite efforts to sustain them with PPP loans.

Small businesses continue to face challenges stemming from past lockdowns. To support these enterprises, our state, city, and county could help by reducing unnecessary regulations and providing business tax incentives. This strategy is designed to boost businesses and inspire more individuals to start their own small businesses.

I propose rejuvenating our Second City business district based on the 3Cs of British Columbia’s Downtown New Westminster River Market: the market area represents commerce, while the public area embodies community and culture. This revitalization initiative aims to enhance the local food economy and reestablish the public market as a central hub of community life. The revitalized area would be named Holoholo Market. The first floor would be designated as the Kanak Attack (Hungry floor), hosting grocery and food retailers. In contrast, the second floor would be called the Niele (Curious floor), housing artisan markets and work/sell studios occupied by locally made products and services (such as tattoo artists, halaus, and more). A banquet hall and the Network Hub will also provide shared workplaces for entrepreneurs.

Holoholo Market will host diverse events to unite people, such as lunchtime hula and Zumba, children’s Pasifika cultural lessons, baking, gardening, and a variety of STEM classes, a farmers market partnered with our community garden and home gardeners, and a Philosopher’s and Poetry Cafe. The framework will be the activity economy, where we cook and grow food together and promote physical connection. We will simultaneously experience globalization and localization. We have a vibrant community of young families in Districts 43 and 42. We will kick things off with some fun strollers meet-ups!

I hope that the community will embrace this revitalization concept. I am excited to work with the residents of our district to develop this idea further.

Sources: Revitalizing Public Markets and Building Community

https://www.smartcitiesdive.com/ex/sustainablecitiescollective/public-market-helps-building-

community/127671/

16) What are your positions on how the local leaders handled the COVID-19 pandemic in Hawaii?

I support informed consent and freedom of bodily autonomy. Therefore, the forced mandates to take a vaccine that did not go through extensive trial studies before it was introduced was

against everyone’s God-given rights to their bodily autonomy. Now we have accurate data that demonstrates many who took the vaccine are suffering from a litany of health issues:

myocarditis, pericarditis, various cancers, strokes, Bell's palsy, autoimmune deficiencies, sudden death, blood clots, brain deficiencies, miscarriages, babies with SIDs, and the list goes

on. “No lives were saved” by the COVID-19 injections, researcher and scientist Denis Rancourt told The Epoch Times in an email. Rancourt and his fellow scientists conducted an in-depth post-

vaccine analysis of over a dozen countries. They found that all-cause mortality increased every time the COVID-19 shots were deployed.

In their 180-page paper, Rancourt and his colleagues concluded that one vaccine-related death occurred for every 800 injections administered. This 1-in-800 number becomes even more

alarming, considering how many doses were given. At the time of Rancourt and colleagues’ report, 13.5 billion COVID-19 injections were administered. Divide that number by 800, and you

end up with approximately 17 million COVID-19 vaccine-related deaths.

Sources:

The Epoch Times: https://www.theepochtimes.com/health/covid-vaccines-causally-linked-to-

increased-mortality-resulting-in-17-million-deaths-scientific-report-5499001

HI Children’s Health Defense - @hi.childrenshealthdefense

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C4Ng1iCr1q_/?igsh=YzZxc3JqaGdqNTFk

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C4NctntLmnq/?igsh=MWFucGwzdm5rcXNpZQ==

17) What are your positions on the Oahu rail debacle, and who should be accountable?

The construction of the rail began with the aim of easing traffic congestion. Initially, extending the rail from West Oahu to the University of Hawaii Manoa was seen as a viable solution to the

island's traffic problems. However, issues such as the mismanagement of federal funds and questionable choices regarding the general contractor have raised concerns. The lack of

taxpayer funds and the mismanagement of federal rail funds led to the abandonment of the plan to extend the rail to the University of Hawaii. The rail currently suffers from low ridership

and a lack of connection to key destinations, diminishing its appeal as a primary mode of transportation for people. The original HART team and City and County officials in office during this time should be held accountable for mishandling federal funds designated for the rail

construction.

End...

Thank You again Sheila!!

Kendall