Housing & cost of living

Stanley's parents came to Hawaiʻi from China. His father had one job as a UH professor, and it was enough to buy a home, put two sons through school, and retire comfortably. Stanley says it would now take more than 30 years of his entire salary to buy the house his father bought in 1983.

As chair of the Senate Housing Committee, he has championed ALOHA Homes: revenue-neutral, income-blind, 99-year leasehold homes modeled on Singapore's public housing system. The program became state law as Act 97 in 2023.

In the 2026 session, the Legislature expanded the pool of buyers eligible for ALOHA Homes, prioritized funding for perpetually affordable housing, and created a Hawaiʻi Builds pilot program to speed up housing projects. Stanley also points to the preservation of income tax cuts for 95% of Hawaiʻi households as one of the session's most important results.

Infrastructure

Stanley has championed improvements to the district's physical infrastructure, from road maintenance to neighborhood schools. He also backs improving critical infrastructure in communities exposed to rising seas and more intense storms, and preventing coastal hardening that speeds up erosion.

Public schools

Stanley has championed greater funding for improvements to public schools in the district.

His big idea for statewide education: create a selective, tested cohort of students inside an existing public high school such as Kaiser, which already offers the rigorous International Baccalaureate diploma. Modeled on top public schools like Stuyvesant in New York and Lowell in San Francisco, he argues it would quickly draw the state's top-performing students and become the best school in Hawaiʻi, public or private.

Resilience & preparedness

Stanley says the district has been proactive on fire and flooding but needs much more attention. He has championed mobile phone-based disaster alert systems.

• Follow the lead of states that offer low-cost loans for home improvements that boost disaster preparedness.
• Expand the state's role in disaster insurance.
• Encourage growth near transit stations, which cuts car emissions and keeps new homes close to services.

Reliable electricity

Neighbors from Hawaiʻi Kai to Niu Valley have dealt with repeated blackouts, and it is one of the top issues that has come up as Stanley knocks on doors.

On September 23, Stanley co-hosted an East Honolulu power outage town hall at Niu Valley Middle School with Rep. Mark Hashem and Council Chair Tommy Waters, so residents could put their questions directly to Hawaiian Electric's leadership. Local reporting describes the recurring outages as mostly caused by trees falling on transmission lines that cross the Koʻolau Range, with long-term options discussed including hardening those lines or adding a new connection to power generation from town.

In the Senate, Stanley serves as Vice Chair of the Energy and Intergovernmental Affairs Committee, and he supports accelerating Hawaiʻi's transition to renewable energy.

Reducing homelessness

Reducing homelessness starts with building more homes that local families can afford. That is the idea behind ALOHA Homes and the rest of Stanley's housing agenda.

As chair of the Senate Housing Committee, Stanley presides over hearings on the state's homelessness and supportive housing programs, including the ʻOhana Zones pilot program, which pairs shelter with services.

Sovereign wealth fund

Stanley proposes investing state revenues, such as the Green Fee or the rainy day fund, in a sovereign wealth fund. Over time, returns could help local people pay for childcare, higher education and down payments. New Mexico now covers childcare for residents this way.

Year-round legislature

Stanley supports a continuous legislative session, like the county councils have, without the high-stakes deadlines of the current January-to-May calendar. He says it would give the public more notice and time to testify, and reduce the power of a handful of committee chairs.