February 2026 Message

I’m happy to report that we convened the very first City Council meeting of the New Year at the end of January, where we considered some very important issues for the long-term welfare of our residents. The decisions that we make now and into 2026 will influence whether families feel safe in their own neighborhoods, get to raise their children in the communities that they grew up in, and have the opportunity to build a future here in Hawaiʻi.

There’s no doubt in my mind that rising costs across the board are pressing local families to work harder, make their dollars stretch further, and oftentimes make some very tough choices just to keep the lights on and a roof over their heads. We at the Council are charged with addressing these pressures by creating thoughtful housing policies that focus on expanding affordable, attainable inventory for local families, holding the line on unavoidable costs and fees by creatively and responsibly mitigating them with funding that goes unspent in our budget, and buoying the efforts of our first responders – on land and at sea – with the resources they need to save lives.

I’ve introduced several strong measures that focus on easing these pressures through smarter use of our resources and gaining a better grasp on the City’s budget, targeting all housing investments to create the most optimal returns for our community and residents, and expanding opportunities for our people to stay in Hawaiʻi, raise their families here, and comfortably retire in the place that we all call home. In the same breath, we must ensure that our City’s public safety agencies have the staffing, equipment, resources and leadership to keep us all safe - that is a fundamental right, not a privilege.

As we head into the budget season, these priorities will drive the direction I take and the decisions I make on your behalf. Now is the time to contact my office if you have ideas that align with our priorities, or if you want to raise issues that fall outside of these that you want to address. Over the next few weeks and months, my team and I will be walking your neighborhoods to meet you, talk story, and get a better feel for the issues that impact you most immediately. I want to hear what you think, and I want to work with you to get things done.

So let’s get to work.

With aloha,

Tommy

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