Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 39, Number 8, 1 August 2022 — Primary Election Survey of Candidates for Governor and OHA's Board of Trustees [ARTICLE]

Primary Election Survey of Candidates for Governor and OHA's Board of Trustees

[?]

By Puanani Fernandez-Akamine

Although 2022 is considered a "midterm" election year (i.e., elections held halfway through the term of oflice of the U.S. president), the elections this year will decide a number of important races - including the governors of 36 states. Hawai'i residents will also choose a new governor and lieutenant governor. Additionally, Hawai'i will be electing one U.S. senator and two congressional representatives. And as a result of redistricting following the 2020 Census, all 76 Senate and House seats in the Hawai'i State Legislature are also being decided this year. In addition to the serious kuleana of selecting the people who will lead Hawai'i, and who will advocate for Hawai'i in Washington, D.C., for the next four years, this year's election is critically important for the Oflice of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA). This year, a majority of OHA's Board of Trustee (BOT) seats are open. Initially, six of the nine BOT seats were going to be on the ballot, but because current BOT Chair Carmen "Hulu" Lindsey - who represents the island of Maui - is running unopposed she has been declared legally and duly elected. The five remaining BOT seats on the ballot this month are: one seat eaeh for Hawai'i Island and O'ahu, and three At-Large seats. All of these races will decide who will create

laws and policies and who will make social, political and eeonomie decisions on behalf of Hawai'i - and on behalf of Native Hawaiians. No matter where any of us stand politically as 'Ōiwi - and whether or not we see ourselves as Americans - voting in the upcoming election is still a valuable tool for Native Hawaiians that should not be discarded or ignored. Voting gives Kānaka Maoli an opportunity to affect change in a system that is not inherently supportive of Native Hawaiians. It is an easy form of civic engagement that allows us to choose leaders who best reflect our values and who are most likely to advocate for the issues that are important to our lāhui. Working together, Kānaka Maoli voters ean heeome a force to be reckoned with. If elected leaders know that Native Hawaiians consistently exercise our right to vote, they will be forced to be more responsive to our concerns in order to remain in office. Moreover, Kānaka Maoli voters ean help elect Kānaka Maoli candidates who will elevate the issues important to our lāhui. In Hawai'i, mail-in ballots make voting simple. Gone are the days when people had to take time off from work or stand in long lines at polling places. Other than complete apathy for our lāhui and the future of our keiki, there really is no good reason not to vote. However, uninformed voting is worse than not voting at all. As members of this community it is our eollective kuleana to educate ourselves on the issues affecting our people and to learn about the candidates running for office this year - their backgrounds, experience, and visions for our homeland - and then to cast our votes with wisdom and discernment. To help Ka Wai Ola readers make informed decisions about who to vote for in the Primary Election this month, OHA surveyed all 19 gubernatorial candidates and all 17 OHA BOT candidates to get their mana'o on some of the issues of eoneem to Native Hawaiian voters. A majority of the candidates responded to OHA's survey and their answers are shared in this speeial section. ■