Anthony Makana Paris

Anthony Makana Paris was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. He earned a high school diploma from the Kamehameha Schools Kapālama. He earned a bachelor's degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He earned a graduate degree from Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University. He earned a law degree from the University of Hawaii William Richardson School of Law. His career experience includes working as a small business owner.[1]

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Aloha. My name is Anthony Makana Paris and I seek to serve as the House District 42 Representative, ʻEwa and Kapolei. I grew up fishing and farming in Lualualei valley and along the shores of West O‘ahu, graduated from Nānākuli Elementary, and was raised in the faith community of St. Rita’s on Hawaiian Home Lands. I was also houseless for a time, and I know the struggles of living paycheck-to-paycheck. My mother is a retired janitor and my father is a retired ironworker. Through hard work and community support, I received an engineering degree from MIT, a philosophy/theology degree from Santa Clara University, and a J.D. from UH William S. Richardson School of Law. Our communities raised me and prepared me, and now I wish to serve them in return.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

We should leave Hawai‘i better than we found it. Hawai‘i is at a crisis point in our history with high cost of living, lack of affordable housing, record high HOA insurance fees, grueling traffic and long commutes, rising crime, a shortage of good jobs, food insecurity, aging and insufficient infrastructure, increased frequency and intensity of natural disasters, rising sea levels, and a public educational system desperately in need of improvement. The foundation for solutions to all of these problems is adequate, affordable housing for Hawaii’s families.If we invest in our ʻāina and our people first, everything else will follow.

Economically, we need to improve Hawai‘i through investing in history’s greatest economic drivers – home construction, agriculture, education, and firm and renewable energy. I support creativity and innovation. Our communities have ancestral wisdom and are skilled with formal education and street smarts, ingenuity, and know-how.I believe Hawaii’s tax and fee codes should be more progressive and worker friendly to make sure our local families can continue to live, work, and play here in the islands. I would support a Tax Reform Task Force to explore: raising income taxes on the rich; raising corporate taxes; make foreign investors and REITS pay their fair share; have visitors pay their fair share; charging an “empty-homes” surcharge on vacant properties; collect taxes on responsible adult use marijuana; and suspending GET exemptions that have served their purpose.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Public Health & Safety

Jobs & Business Growth

Public Infrastructure Improvement

Affordable & Workforce Housing

Climate Adaptation and Resilience

Healthy Environment

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My first "job" was helping out on our homestead farm and going fishing with my 'ohana. My first paycheck came from the MIT Media Laboratory when I was a student at MIT and worked as a network administrator during the early years of the Internet.

What do you perceive to be your state's greatest challenges over the next decade?

One of the greatest challenges our state faces in the next decade is losing our people and our younger generations in particular. Hawaii has a housing crisis with thousands of residents leaving our shores every year because of the high cost of housing.

Our goal should be truly affordable housing so that our residents can remain here and that we can bring our families that left back home. Fully funding the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands is critical to addressing this crisis. I also support stabilizing the condominium insurance market, smart planning and transit-oriented development, mixed-use zoning for housing, increasing state investment into public housing, especially for long-term rentals, and programs that prioritize residents including ALOHA Homes.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

Hawaii State, AFL-CIO

Sierra Club

Hawaii Tourism and Lodging Association

Hawaii Ironworkers, Local 625

International Council of Painters and Allied Trades, District Council 50

HGEA, AFSCME Local 152

Hawaii Nurses Association, OPEIU Local 50

International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Local 142

Unite HERE, Local 5

The International Union of Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers, Local 1

United Public Workers, AFSCME Local 646

Operating Engineers, Local 3

United Food and Commercial Workers Union, Local 480

Cement Finishers and Plasterers, Local 630

Plumbers and Pipefitters UA, Local 675

Anthony Makana Paris did not complete [the profile publisher]'s 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

Anthony Makana Paris did not complete [the profile publisher]'s 2020 Candidate Connection survey.