KI

After my father passed away, I got really lucky and was able to get into Kamehameha, a private school for native Hawaiians only, which is continually under threat by white-supremacist forces. I got into this school, which shaped me up — I had to tuck in my shirt — it’s very strict. And I got into college and was a first-generation college graduate.

But during my Kamehameha school days, there was a lawsuit that threatened our school’s existence completely. So, that got me involved in native activism. That carried through college as our Republican governor cut $130 million from our university. So, I ran for student president. We fought to restore some funding. I realized you can actually do a lot in this politics stuff. And I saw a Tea Party guy get elected in my home island, Maui, in 2012. He was selling off the rights of our islands to these mainland corporations that funded his campaign. I decided it’s now or never. This Tea Party dude, he wanted to cut all these programs I relied on.

So, I took a shot, knocked on 15,000 doors. I was working at Four Seasons at that time: 4:00 AM to noon, a full-time shift, and then just maniacally went door to door until sunset. I wore down a few pairs of shoes, and we ended up winning by twenty-six points.

It was a Republican district. But here’s the thing: with our movement, we do have the truth on our side. But we can’t just be preaching it from a pedestal. We have to be meeting people where they are. Frankly, most folks … they’re not always thinking about our issues. They’re busy. They’re barely scraping by. And when you talk to them at their door, they care about trash pickup and potholes. There’s no Republican or Democratic potholes. There’s no far-right or socialist trash pickup. So, you address their concerns, you actually listen to them. Then after they earn your trust, then you can start saying, “Hey, have you ever thought of things this way?”

Not only did we win our district this way, but we shifted it, over six years in office, to become a lot more progressive than it was.