Six candidates for three at-large seats on Hawaii's Office of Hawaiian Affairs board sparred over how to spend the agency's near-$1 billion trust fund and fix long-running land and housing problems, a debate that matters for Native Hawaiian families priced out of the islands.

• All six agreed housing is the top crisis, with candidates pushing partnerships with the state housing agency, down-payment help, and using OHA's large land holdings for mixed-use development to generate steady income for programs.
• Incumbents defended their record, pointing to a new $55 million payment from the state and a growing trust fund, while challengers argued OHA has been too passive, sitting on land like its Kakaako waterfront property for 14 years without building anything.
• The agency is still fighting the state over its fair share of land-trust revenue, arguing it's owed far more than the $21.5 million a year it currently gets, with one candidate arguing OHA should instead pursue the far bigger sum owed by the federal government for military use of Hawaiian land.
• Military leases on former Hawaiian crown lands are set to expire soon, and candidates split between seeking compensation and benefits packages versus permanently ending military use of some sites that have polluted the land.
• Candidates also emphasized self-determination and self-sufficiency, calling for Hawaii to grow more of its own food and build independence from outside money and imports.

Outlook: Voters decide the three at-large seats on November 3, with the state's next independent audit of OHA's finances due in early 2027 likely to shape whichever trustees take office.