 Think Tech Hawaii, civil engagement lives here. This is Beyond the Lines. I'm Rusty Komori. We broadcast live on Mondays at 10 a.m. from the Think Tech Hawaii TV studio in the Pioneer Plaza in downtown Honolulu. This TV show is based on my book also titled Beyond the Lines, which is about having a constant striving for excellence, achieving and sustaining success, leadership, and finding greatness. My special guest today is Governor David Ige. He is a very successful leader with great character and we will be going in depth with him on a variety of topics. Today, we are going beyond politics. Governor, great having you here today. Aloha. Thank you so much for the invitation. Is it true that your father fought in World War II and received the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star? Yes. You know, my father was a member of the 100th Battalion for 42nd. He fought in the war, but, you know, like so many of his colleagues, he never really talked about it. I learned what he did really after he passed away, which was really sad. But he did earn a Purple Heart. In fact, he used to say that October 29th was his special lucky day. And I never understood what or why until he passed away. But he earned his Purple Heart in the battle for the Lost Battalion when they were making that final push to rescue those Texas soldiers. And he was injured. And he considered it his lucky day because he felt like there were so many people who died in that battle and who were really hurt even worse than he was. Wow. What a special honor. And it sounds like he was an amazing man. You know, he definitely taught me about leadership in a different way. He was quiet, but it really was about living your values, you know, walking the talk and making sure that what you said is what you did. Yeah. Now, you grew up in Pearl City. Yes. How was it growing up in Pearl City? You know, our family moved to Pearl City in the first increment above Kamehameha Highway. So Pearl City was a very small community. I would literally visit every single home on Halloween. It was like 50 or 60 people. So it really was the beginning of urban life all across the state. And you know, it was a great time to be a kid. You know, there were 45 kids that grew up in the block and we would be playing football on the street, baseball, just a lot of different crazy things. I remember those days. Absolutely. Now, you went to schools in Pearl City as well? Yes. I went to Pearl City Elementary School in Highlands Intermediate and as my freshman year, Pearl City High School opened brand new, you know, I have five brothers and all of my oldest brothers went to Waipahu High School and then Pearl City opened my freshman year. I have to ask you, Governor. Do you play tennis at all? I do play tennis. You do? Yes. You know, and I, you know, Pearl City is known as the baseball capital of the state. And I played baseball, but in my freshman year at Pearl City, I went out for the baseball team for the next year and there were 45, you know, 50 people out for the team. It didn't take a rocket scientist for me to figure out that I wasn't going to make the team. And signups for tennis was on the same day and nobody was signing up for tennis, so I just signed up. Wow. That's amazing. A bunch of friends of mine and, you know, and we became the Pearl City High School tennis team. Wow. What a great situation. I think you and I should play doubles together. We'd be a tough team to beat. I haven't played tennis in a long, long time. I would need at least six months to get back into the shape and the rhythm. I'll help you. Now, you got accepted into MIT, which is one of the top schools in the country, and you also got accepted to University of Hawaii, and you chose UH. Why? Well, you know, my parents really believed in education and they said that education was really the key to a better life. My two older brothers had gone away and my oldest brother went to Purdue University and my second oldest brother went to Illinois Institute of Technology. So I had applied to a number of places, but I'm fifth of six. So, you know, a couple of things, I couldn't see asking my parents to pay. I mean, it's very expensive compared to the University of Hawaii. And the second thing is I have a younger brother, and I knew that my decision would impact his. And if I decided to go away, I know that my parents would have made it happen. But then my brother would have fewer choices. And so my plan was, you know, and I thought the University of Hawaii had a great engineering program. You know, they had just opened a brand new building on the campus, and it was an exciting time to be an engineering student at the University of Hawaii as well. So I chose to stay home. Awesome. So family is extremely important to you. Can you tell me about your wife and kids? You know, sure. I'm proud. You know, I met Don at the University of Hawaii at Manoa when we were students there. And we just celebrated our 36th anniversary last week. Congratulations. Yeah, thank you. You know, and we have three children. I'm really proud of everything that they do. My oldest daughter, Lauren, is an attorney. She works in Washington, D.C. for Wilmer and Hale. Awesome. My middle daughter, Amy, got married last December to a Navy pilot. Anthony is a great son-in-law, and she's a registered nurse, and she works in Mount Vernon in the Seattle area of Washington State. You know, my son, Matthew, is a software engineer. He works at Microsoft in Seattle, and you know, they make me proud every single day. I'm sure. Now, I want to ask you, Governor, what was the first job you ever had? My very first job was working at the Pineapple Canary, Del Monte Pineapple Canary. I was a member of the union, IOWU, and I trimmed pineapples. I tell people. I told Prime Minister Abe, I'm a professional pineapple trimmer. Awesome. I want to know, Governor, how did you get into politics? How did your political career begin? You know, I'm an engineer by profession. I was working at Hawaiian Telephone, and actually my goal and objective at Hawaiian Telephone was to be the first local president. I had been promoted three times in four years, you know, and I thought that I was on the fast track. Literally, in one day, a high school friend called me and said, would you be interested in politics? And from 7.30 in the morning, I met the chairman of the Democratic Party. We talked about it. I met the governor, and next thing I knew, I was appointed to a vacancy in the House of Representatives, literally in one day. Wow. That's quick. I had no idea about that. No. And I, you know, that's a rather long story, but, you know, when I met with the governor, he talked about his desire to get younger people involved in public service. And he felt that he really were looking for people who would choose not to get involved, but might have given a chance. And so, you know, it really was an opportunity to do more than I could as an engineer. Great. What is it about politics that you like? Well, I would say public service rather than politics. You know, the campaigning is always the tough part that people don't like. I like public service because it's the opportunity to make a difference in a community. And I'm excited to be governor because each and every day I have opportunity to make a difference for all of the people in Hawaii. Yeah. When I was head coach for the Punahou School Boys Varsity Tennis Team, my top priority was to develop champion athletes of character first, and then great tennis players second. What character traits do you have as a leader? You know, I'm a collaborator. I believe, and you know, especially in public service, you know, no one can do anything by themselves. It really is about assembling a great team and really empowering them, challenging them to be leaders and then, you know, being focused on doing the right things, having a clear vision and then challenging them to execute. Great. Now, Governor, you ran the great aloha run. You ran in it and you survived it. How was that experience in the great aloha run for you? Well, you know, I took up running because I wanted to, I couldn't play tennis anymore, and I really wanted to keep active. So I started running and, you know, Carol Kai is a great friend and she challenged us to run the great aloha run now. You know, that's a lot longer than most people think, but you know, it keeps me active. I enjoy running because it allows me to have some time by myself. It gets the heart and blood flowing and it really clears my head and gives me the opportunity to really think about challenging issues and, you know, I come up with my best ideas for solutions. Now, the, a lot of Japanese people love to run in the great aloha run and the hanlu marathon and the Japan-Hawaii connection is extremely important. How is your relationship with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe? You know, I am honored that I've had the privilege of meeting with the Prime Minister Abe on a number of occasions, actually three or four times, you know, and I think he recognizes that the U.S.-Japan relationship is fundamentally important for the world in world peace in the Asia-Pacific region. And I know he understands that it's a special relationship between Japan and Hawaii. You know, it's more than business, it's more than friendship. It is about family and, you know, like I have relatives who still live in Okinawa today and many of us trace our ancestry and our roots back to Japan. So we know that it's important for both prosperity of Japan as well as the prosperity of Hawaii that we have a very close and dynamic relationship. Here's a question for you, Governor. What have you learned about yourself through the years that affect your decision-making today? You know, I really believe it's a couple things. One is being open and honest in my communication so people know what I'm thinking. But I think more importantly, it's about getting input and perspectives from as many people and stakeholders on any issue because it allows you to examine what would be most successful. And I think finding the best solution is really about working with people and hearing their views and then making the decision to do the right thing in the right way for the right reasons. You have a great connection with the people of Hawaii. I mean, when you talk with them, I mean, you're very in touch with the needs of the Hawaii people. Can you tell me more about what you like about being governor at the moment? You know, I do like being governor because it gives you the chance to make a difference every day. You know, we've been out and meeting with the community. I challenge my directors to engage the public and make them part of the solution. You know, I've had personally town meetings across the state. It really gives the public the opportunity to ask questions and I can hear about their concerns and the things that they're most focused on. And you know, some of the best ideas come from the general public and you know, if it works and we can do it, we implement. For sure. Sounds good. Governor, we're going to take a quick break and when we return, we're going to keep going beyond politics with you. Thank you. You are watching Beyond the Lines on Think Tech Hawaii with my special guest, Governor David Igay. We will be back in a quick minute. Hey, Stan, the Energyman here on Think Tech Hawaii and they won't let me do political commentary. So I'm stuck doing energy stuff, but I really like energy stuff. So I'm going to keep on doing it. So join me every Friday on Stan the Energyman at lunchtime, at noon, on my lunch hour. We're going to talk about everything energy, especially if it begins with the word hydrogen. We're going to definitely be talking about it. We'll talk about how we can make Hawaii cleaner, how we can make the world a better place, just basically save the planet. Even Miss America can't even talk about stuff like that anymore. We got it nailed down here. So we'll see you on Friday at noon with Stan the Energyman. Aloha. Aloha. I'm Dave Stevens, host of the Cyber Underground. This is where we discuss everything that relates to computers that's just going to scare you out of your mind. So come join us every week here on ThinkTechHawaii.com, 1pm on Friday afternoons and then you can go see all our episodes on YouTube. Just look up the Cyber Underground on YouTube. All our shows will show up and please follow us. We're always giving you current, relevant information to protect you. Keep the news safe. Aloha. Welcome back to Beyond the Lines on ThinkTechHawaii. If you are just joining us, my special guest today is Governor David Igay and we are going beyond politics. Governor, I want to ask you what sets you apart from your opponent in your re-election campaign for Governor? I'm not a lawyer. I'm an engineer. Scholars are about engaging the public, working with stakeholders, and finding the best solution to serve the public, and then most importantly getting it done. I have a proud record of accomplishments in the environment, improving public education, and about fighting to reduce the cost of higher education, increasing the challenge of homelessness. For the first time, we've had a reduction in the homeless count for two consecutive years. That's great. It's really about identifying things that work and getting it done. You have great empathy for the military. In fact, you often go to those deployment ceremonies that they have. Why do you hold the military in such high esteem? As you know, my father is a veteran and I've interacted with many veterans and veteran organizations all across the state. The price of freedom is not free, and it really is those who volunteer and serve in our military that really allows all of us in America to enjoy the rights and privileges of being an American. I'm the commander-in-chief of the Hawaiian National Guard, and I take my responsibility seriously, and I really do appreciate the fact that those in the military are willing to put their life on the line to protect and ensure that each and every one of us here in Hawaii and across the country have their rights and privileges protected. Now, you've signed a number of important bills, and can you... I mean, there's a lot of important bills that you've signed. Can you share briefly with me some of those? Sure. One of the bills this past session is about banning sunscreens that have bad chemicals for our coral reefs. We've been committed to protecting our environment, and we know that our environment is the foundation of our economy, and if we lose it, then we lose it forever. I'm proud to sign laws that come and sense gun laws, banning bump stocks and trigger modifications. I'm proud that Hawaii is the best example of common sense gun laws keeping our community safe. We have amongst the lowest gun violence per capita in the country. We also took action to protect health insurance and ensuring that we have access to quality health care for all of our people. It has been a very productive session. The best ideas always come to the forefront, and I'm glad that we're involved and engaged in shaping the legislation, most importantly, again, showing that Hawaii can lead the country in so many important areas. That's great to hear. Those are all so important things. Now, let's talk about the missile false alarm. When I'm talking with a lot of different people in a variety of circles, they all tell me that the false missile alarm is the fault of two people. One was the guy that actually pressed the button, and the second was the head of the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency who is in charge of that person. That's what they're saying, is that that's actually the fault of those two people. You're in charge of thousands and thousands of people, but you don't want to micromanage all of your leaders in their department. You want to trust them to really look into every situation, the cause, the effects, the effects off of the effects, so that a situation that could happen doesn't, and if it does, it's responded in a good way. The false alert was really a time where everyone in Hawaii was terrorized for a moment. But we have been open and transparent in our looking at that. We have new leadership at Hawaii Emergency Management, and we are committed to ensure that the health and safety of the public is monitored. And we alert the public whenever there is a concern, 24 hours a day, 365 days out of the year. Great. I want to ask you about homelessness. A lot of people seem to forget that Hawaii is not the only state that has a homeless issue. The homeless issue is nationwide in every single state. What are you doing to improve this issue? A couple of things. It really is about working together, county government, state government, federal government, and the private sector, really working together to take on the challenge of homelessness. No one can do it by themselves, and I'm proud of our record. For two consecutive years, the total count of homelessness statewide has decreased, and that has been a long time coming. It's never happened in many, many years. And it really is about leveraging each other. We have terrific partnerships working with the county of Honolulu on Hali Maoli Ola, where we provided state land and we have a transition center that has been successful in moving homeless individuals into permanent supportive housing in less than 90 days. It's those kinds of real tangible projects that lead us to reducing homelessness. We have been focused on making the system work. It's about continuous process improvement, but we are able today to place more than 400 individuals, take them from homelessness, and put them into permanent housing each and every month. And those efforts are reducing the total numbers of homelessness statewide. Well, it seems to me that you're on the right track to improving a very difficult, complex issue. I want to also get an update from you about the natural disasters that we've had, the Kauai flooding, which affected the residents of Kauai, and some residents on east Honolulu, and the volcano situation on the Big Island. What can you update our viewers with? You know, certainly we do have new management and leadership at Hawaii Emergency Management, and we have been very proactive in responding to the challenges in the north shore of Kauai, you know, in Hiena and Wainiha, as well as other parts of Kauai and east Honolulu. It has been a focused, combined effort of federal, state, and county emergency responders. You know, we have a huge contingent from FEMA that is on the ground. We have gotten individual assistance for all of those communities, and we are working with professionals from FEMA to make sure that our residents get access to support and transition services that they would not be able to benefit from otherwise. You know, and on Hawaii Island, you know, as you know, the eruption continues today. Yes. Fisher 8 continues to pump out lava, and the Big Island is getting even bigger. I have been working with Mayor Kim and FEMA, really looking and talking with the community about the future. You know, we are taking care of their immediate needs. You know, we've worked with the private sector. We've constructed more than 20 tiny houses so that they have some privacy, and we can help them with their immediate needs. We are talking about the long term, thinking about where we can create a new community for those who have lost their homes and been impacted. We are working with the farmers and agriculture industry identifying both county, state, and private lands that might be suitable for farmers, you know, papaya farmers, orchid farmers. Many farmers in the area have been impacted and seeing how we can make private, state, or county lands available so they can relocate their farms and be back in production. You know, we are creating a vision for a new community that can help recover from the losses, but I think more importantly, can focus people's energy on a better and brighter future. That's great. And that it's such a devastating situation for all of those families that's affected by it. And I want to ask you, Governor, about the economy. Our Hawaii economy is doing incredible right now. And like you touched on earlier, we have the lowest unemployment rate at 2.1%. What are your thoughts? You know, it's a couple of things. We were really focused right after the economic downturn and recession, really focused on helping the visitor industry. As you know, it's the fundamental, the most important industry in our economy. And part of that was diversifying, trying to get visitors to the neighbor islands. You know, we reopened LSN Onizuka Kona International Airport for international flights. You know, Hawaiian Airlines made direct flights from Japan to Kona. And that has really improved the economy on Hawaii Island. Arrivals are up 15%. And more importantly, spending on the island is up more than $300 million, which creates jobs for everyone. That's very significant. Yes. Extremely significant. Absolutely. Well, Governor, you have been doing some incredible things over these years as Governor. And you've been involved in the legislature for a long time and have been very successful. I really appreciate you taking time in your schedule to be here to really share these insights, you know, with our viewers. Really want to thank you about your great leadership. Thank you so much for having me on the program. I enjoyed the time and really look forward to maybe the next episode so we can talk more. Definitely. And thank you for watching Beyond the Lines on ThinkTek Hawaii. I'm Rusty Komori, encouraging you to constantly strive for excellence every day, outdo what you have done and find your greatness and help others find theirs. Aloha.