Stanley Chang
Stanley Pai Chang is a Democratic member of the Hawaii State Senate, representing the 9th district. Before entering the legislature, he served as a Honolulu city councilman. He defeated Sam Slom, the last remaining Republican in the Hawaii State Senate, in 2016. Chang faced Slom a second time in 2020, and won reelection.
Chang was described by Honolulu Civil Beat in 2023 as a "longtime housing advocate." In 2022, he pushed for the construction of 100,000 housing units around the new Aloha Stadium. Chang argued that the parcel of land was prime for high-density affordable housing.
Early life and education
Chang was born on September 13, 1982, in Honolulu, Hawaii. He was raised in East Honolulu by immigrants from China. He attended Kahala Elementary School and ‘Iolani School, where he was a member of student government and graduated magna cum laude in 2004. He attended , where he studied under Elizabeth Warren. He graduated from Harvard Law School cum laude in 2008.Early career
Chang began his career as a Summer Associate at the New York-based law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. He then worked as an at the Honolulu-based law firm Cades Schutte, specializing in real estate-related matters. During Chang's time as an attorney, he volunteered on a variety of nonprofit and education-related boards including the Organization of Chinese Americans-Hawaii, the Kahala Community Association, the Chinatown Business and Community Association, the Harvard Club of Hawaiʻi, and Family Promise.In April 2010, Chang announced that he would be running for Honolulu City Council to represent , East Honolulu, from Hawaiʻi Kai through Waikiki. Chang knocked on over 19,000 doors throughout District 4 during the election. Chang defeated challenger and fellow attorney Richard Turbin in November 2010.
During Chang's tenure on the Honolulu City Council, he served as the Chair of the Public Works and Sustainability Committee, overseeing the city's basic infrastructure services, including roads, sewers, water, and waste disposal. He additionally served as the of the Budget Committee, stewarding a $2 billion annual operating budget and numerous major capital improvement projects. Chang focused on making Honolulu a more environmentally sustainable city, advancing net-zero waste and clean energy initiatives.
As a result of Chang's advocacy, the City greatly expanded its road maintenance program. Chang also advocated for increasing homelessness funding, banning smoking in beaches and parks, and prohibiting the use of Styrofoam food containers.
Career
Political campaigns
Chang declared his candidacy for a US House seat representing the 1st Congressional District of Hawaii in April 2013. He was defeated by Mark Takai in the August 2014 primary.In 2016, Chang ran in the Hawaii State Senate District 9 Democratic primary, defeating Richard Kim and Michael Bennet. Chang defeated 20-year incumbent Samuel Slom in the general election of 2016. Chang ran for reelection in 2020 and defeated Samuel Slom in the general election again. He ran for reelection in 2022.
Committee Assignments as State Senator
During Chang's time in the Senate, he has served in numerous positions and covered a range of issues, with a close focus on housing. In 2017, he was the vice-chair of the Human Services Committee and was a member of the Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health Committee, as well as the International Affairs and Arts Committee. From 2019 to 2020, he served as the Senate Housing Committee Chair; Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health Committee Vice-chair; and a member of the Labor, Culture, and Arts Committee. From 2021 to 2022, Senator Chang continued serving as the Senate Housing Committee Chair; Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health Committee Vice-chair; and a member of the Labor, Culture, and Arts Committee. He also became a member of the Government Operations Committee.The 2016 campaign for Hawai’i State Senate District 9
In his 2016 campaign, Senator Chang focused on ending Hawaii's housing shortage. This housing shortage has led to high housing prices, low homeownership rates, harm to people from lower income-level communities and/or communities of color, and a major homelessness crisis. Homelessness is a major issue in Hawaii, as Hawaii has one of the highest homelessness rates in the nation, and affects many of Senator Chang's constituents and their communities.Another major focus in Senator Chang's campaign in the 2016 election was on making the government more responsive to the community. He supported the widespread use of technology to better connect the government and community. He specifically supported the use of the Honolulu 311 app, which allows community members to report issues and have a more efficient and timely response from the local government.
Senator Chang's campaign in the 2016 election also focused on investing additional resources in public education. In particular, he advocated for more resources to support early childhood education. An outstanding barrier seen in Hawaii is the under-resourced, underfunded, and inequitable secondary and elementary education systems, which catalyze further educational disparities. Because of the low school expenditure rates, teachers are underpaid in Hawaii. Secondly, Hawaii ranks among the lowest in the United States for expenditures per capita for elementary and secondary education. Education expenditure covers the cost of services such as meals, health, and transportation. Without adequate expenditures, students can be left without adequate food, transportation to school, and a comfortable school environment.
ALOHA Homes
Senator Chang's ALOHA Homes proposal is based on Singapore's successful and comprehensive housing model. The goal of this bill is to provide cost-effective, affordable housing at little to no expense to taxpayers. Under the proposal, the State would build high density, highly walkable housing on state-owned lands near the stations of the Honolulu rail project, selling the units to Hawaii residents who would be owner-occupants and own no other real property. The homes would be sold at cost, and buyers would receive a 99-year leasehold that would revert to the State after the end of the term.During the 2022 State Legislative Session, Senator Chang introduced Senate Bill 2251 to allow Hawaii Public Housing Authority to construct non-subsidized housing and Senate Bill 2583 to exempt non-ceded lands set aside by the governor to the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation from classification as public land. These bills would allow the State to launch a new model housing construction to build 99-year leasehold homes for all income levels, replicating Singapore's successful model. Both bills were passed and signed into law in June and July 2022.
Senator Chang organized three housing conferences on the ALOHA Homes model, How to Achieve 65,000 Homes by 2025, Kick the Tires, and 1,000 Homes per Acre. He also led a housing delegation to Singapore and Hong Kong and a virtual delegation to Singapore, Hong Kong, Vienna, and Houston. He will lead an in person delegation to Vienna in September 2022.