Don’t Know Who to Vote for in Honolulu Prosecutor’s Race?

As part of its Campaign for Smart Justice Hawaii, the ACLU of Hawaii is sharing the results of its first-ever 2020 Prosecutorial Candidate Survey for the contested City and County of Honolulu prosecutor’s race. Candidates who participated in the Honolulu survey were Steve Alm, RJ Brown, Jacquie Esser, Megan Kau, and Tae Kim. The goal of the survey is for the public to get to know the candidates, learn more about the impact they will have on the criminal legal system, and encourage the community to engage with them both as candidates then as elected officials.

The survey consisted of 17 questions in total — 16 Yes/No questions and one free form question on COVID-19. Where neither “Yes” nor “No” is selected, the response was recorded as “Did Not Respond.” Responses were recorded on May 15th, 2020.

There have been only three people in the Honolulu prosecutor’s job since it became an elected position in 1981. The ACLU of Hawaii recognizes that prosecutors are the single most powerful decision-makers in our criminal legal system. They have the ability to shepherd in a new era of criminal justice that will make our communities safer without adding to mass incarceration. Our jails and prisons are filled with people who don’t need to be there and it comes at a tremendous cost to families, our communities and taxpayers. Elected prosecutors can implement change that will safely and effectively reduce the prison population and make our criminal justice system more fair and effective.

ACLU of Hawaii Smart Justice Campaign Director Monica Espitia said: “As people are currently marching in the streets against racial injustices, the conversation around police brutality and the lack of transparency and accountability within our law enforcement is timelier than ever. It’s clear that there is a need for a reform-minded prosecutor committed to transparency, accountability, justice, equity and reform — even here in Hawaii. It is critical that the people of Hawaii are well-informed on what makes a fair prosecutor who is committed to people, not prisons. We hope that by sharing the results our communities will be energized to learn more about this critical job and to get out there and cast an informed vote this August. ”

The ACLU of Hawaii does not endorse or oppose candidates for elected office, but offered this opportunity to candidates to explain their positions on key smart justice issues to the communities they hope to serve. The ACLU Smart Justice campaign is an initiative focused on reducing mass incarceration by fifty percent while tackling the racial disparities in the criminal legal system.

Attached are the candidate survey responses and a scorecard for you to share. To learn more about prosecutorial reform and the survey for the Honolulu prosecutor’s race, please visit https://acluhi.org/2020-prosecutorial-race

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