Daniel de Garcia
RepublicanQ1 As energy prices continue to increase in Hawaiʻi, what role, if any, should alternative energy sources, such as solar, wind, geothermal, and liquefied natural gas, play in Hawaiʻi’s future energy mix? What policies would you support related to alternative energy development, regulation, and/or research, and why?
“I believe that clean, alternative forms of energy that are safe, affordable and sustainable are essential to energy independence. I would support expanding the portfolio of energy diversification in Hawaii to lower energy prices, reduce brownouts/rolling blackouts, and enable the state to be more resilient during storms. Energy security is also important because of the large number of individuals in Hawaii who have chronic diseases, especially chronic kidney disease, who require dialysis. I will work in office to ensure making our energy independence a top priority.”
KEYWORDS: Research, development, state-of-the-art, technology, national security, health equity
Q2 Every county has faced a major disaster in the last decade, with more and more happening each year. What is your concrete plan to adapt to a world with more volatile, climate-driven risks and protect our communities?
“I believe that we need to approach this from a civil engineering standpoint at the local level since Hawaii is harmed by, and cannot stop alone, climate change impacts by ourselves and must prepare for it. I would like to make use of subject matter experts and qualitative interviews to develop Bayesian statistics about areas most likely in Hawaii to be affected and address those areas first and work with residents to begin whatever infrastructure or built environment changes need to be done. I also think that we need to have policies at the international level that coordinate our environmental policies so that the response to climate change is global and uniform.”
KEYWORDS: One Health, resilence, sustainability, stewardship, technology
Q3 While data centers can be important facilities for processing, transferring, and storing data, there are growing concerns about data centers’ environmental impacts and health repercussions. What policies, if any, would you support to balance technological and economic growth with infrastructure reliability, environmental sustainability, and the preservation of land and water? For example, Bill 170 from Hawaiʻi County proposes to ban AI data centers and distinguish them from standard data processing facilities; should other counties follow suit?
“I think that large data centers pose significant detriments to communities and lower the quality of life for the residents that live near them in terms of noise, pollution, heat emissions, and water consumption. This is a matter that I think needs to be discussed further with the informed consent of every community where they are proposed to be built.”
KEYWORDS: Informed consent, environmental impact
Q4 Across the Hawaiʻi’s Public School System, a little more than 40% of students achieved math and science proficiency in the 2024-2025 school year. However, access to these opportunities varies across the state due to factors such as geography, school resources, and program availability. What policies do you support to expand equitable access to high-quality STEM and general education for students across Hawaiʻi, such as the use of AI in the classroom, increasing public funding, and more support for extracurricular activities?
“I think that we need to address this through a combination of pursuing more federal funding through our congressional delegation and seeking out cooperative agreements and grants with the federal government. I believe that there are opportunities for robotics, astronomy, nanotechnology, genetics, and many other cutting-edge fields that can be brought to Hawaii public schools through national grants and partnerships.”
KEYWORDS: Science, technology, grants, cooperative agreements, NSF, DARPA
Q5 Hawaiʻi faces unique obstacles in its transportation infrastructure, with inter-island travel, ports, and many rural communities. How can we balance environmentally sustainable technologies (such as sustainable aviation fuel, electric or hybrid vehicles, public transit options like the bus or rail) with equity for different communities?
“As someone who is currently a CDC grant communications director for the Hawaii Department of Health’s Racial, Ethnic, and Community Approaches to Health (REACH) Grant, I fully support equity and closing gaps for underserved communities. Because transportation is a complex matter, I would like to explore this further and study this matter in greater detail, particularly with regards to aviation fuel and electric or hybrid vehicles before answering this question.”
KEYWORDS: Transit oriented development, energy independence, sustainability, health equity, built environment, active transport