 I'm Marcia Joyner and we are navigating the journey and what a journey it is for this beautiful young lady who is my guest today. She is, well, I'm not going to do that. She's so pretty. Alright, and Andrea Topola is the new member of the Honolulu City Council. And we are going to visit with her today to tell us all about her journey to becoming one of the newest members of the City Council. Aloha, Andrea. Hi, Aloha. It's so great to see you. And you're looking wonderful. Now, the City Council is a huge job, so let's hope it doesn't wear you out. Tell us about Andrea. Andrea, Andrea. Andrea. Andrea. I was born in Kahuku on the North Shore of Oahu. I was raised in Hawaii Kai. I went to Kamehameha Schools. I shortly after went to Brigham Young University in Utah. I served a mission for my church in Venezuela when I was 23 years old. I came back from Venezuela, graduated with my degree in music education. I became a music teacher. I taught music in East LA. I had a school for disabled Hispanic adults. And then I taught in Arizona. And then I taught in Utah. I married my husband, who was then playing football for the University of Utah. We lived on and off in Utah, Texas. He played football in Michigan and then we came home in 2008 when I had my second child. And then I had my second daughter. And we decided in 2010 to move out to the Wai'anae Coast. We bought a house. My children enrolled in Hawaiian immersion. And we just loved it out here. I became a professor at Lever Community College. I was living the dream. I was being the music teacher that I wanted to be. And it just kind of took a curve in 2014. I had started to get the feeling that I should get more involved, more engaged in political and civic issues. I learned a lot when I was in Venezuela in regards to how a government can control and basically direct the lives of neighborhoods, communities, states, entire countries. And I knew that I needed to get active and be a part of helping to empower people. So I ran for office, became a legislator from 2014 to 2018, ran for governor for the state of Hawaii. It was a great experience. And I took a few years off. I still run my nonprofit that I own. And then I ran for city council this year. I was able to be successful, 59% of the votes on August 8th. And I am preparing to start that term soon. That is, wow, what a journey. That is great. Now, in your bio, it says you are Samoan Hawaiian. And on you, the combination is beautiful. But Samoan is the part of the church of Saturday Science, is it? Oh, so my father is full Samoan. He is still a sitting family court judge. He was the first Samoan to be elected as a judge in the United States. And my last name is Tupola. So I'm married to a Tongan, but I'm half Samoan, quarter Hawaiian, quarter Portuguese, German, English, Scottish. And your husband is, what did you say Tongan? Yes, he's full Tongan. Wow, what a combination that is. It's pure Pacific Islander. That is the definition of a Pacific Islander. You can't get better than that. Yeah, we definitely have a lot of mix. But now, who are from the Y and I coast? So tell us about Y and I coast, because we have people that have no idea what we're talking about when we talk about how they think of Honolulu as white sand beaches and palm trees and my ties. And that's the extent of those people. So tell us about the Y and I coast within a decade. It's absolutely gorgeous. And now, well before when we didn't have any, when we had a lockdown and no traffic drive out there was just worth taking. Yes. Tell us, tell us about why the Y and I coast. Sure. So I actually, you know, was raised in Hawaii on the east side of this island, but I've been living in Y and I for 10 years now. And it's wonderful, beautiful. And it's part of, I guess, every year that I I've served the community, I get to know it better and better. So the area that I represented was a small little part of Eva, and it wrapped around a couple they went into Colina and then it kind of ended in Ma'ili. And so now that the district that I represent is from Eva for the west side of Fort Weaver all the way to cut an appointment. So, you know, why am I is known for its beaches in the winter, these the waves that come are huge. I mean, it's definitely one of the spots for surfers. I'm so lucky that every morning I drive out of my house and I get to see the beach. In fact, when I go running in the morning, I'm running alongside. Right there. And so it's a big, it's a big part of life out here. In fact, my kids, you know, they just love being at the beach surfing boogie boarding, whatever it is that we're doing. You know, why am I is also known for one of the largest native Hawaiian populations. We have two very large in fact the largest homesteads in the state of Hawaii and so we are really condensed area where there are so many native Hawaiians that live out here access resources. And I close is also known a lot for the different schools that we have out here. I mean, it's a condensed area with a lot of people but at the same time, you know, a lot of the schools are known for the things that they do in the academic world. We have charter schools. We have private schools. We have Christian schools. So luckily as a, you know, as the representative of the area I was able to learn more and more about all the wonderful things that are out here and I would say, especially when I moved out here, I was happy that there were so many active churches everywhere I went, you know, and not everyone believes the same thing and not everyone goes to the same church. But it's an active community of people that want to be engaged in community issues that want to serve in the areas where the community needs help. And I found ever since I got elected that there are helping hands everywhere, you know, when I first started people said, you know, people aren't going to help you and there's all these problems and no one's going to do anything but actually every project I did every cleanup I pursued. I felt like everyone was there to help. Everywhere I gave a call to action, the community members showed up, churches donated water, you know, and this even happened when we had some fires in our community a year ago. I mean, the firefighters were just overwhelmed. They were like, we've never seen such an outpouring of love from people. The fires had gone on for more than a week and the firefighters were sleeping on the ground in the station and I was going out delivering food and they were just so grateful. And I would say the Y and I Coast is known for their very, very loving, big hearts. Well, I'll have to chime in on that one. I have grandchildren that were born when he had a little farm on while. Now, let me think of it. Why and I Valley Road, which was a long, yes. Do you remember? No, you weren't from then. There was a dairy right across the road from where they were. They had this little farm. And my experience of Y and I Coast has been exactly what you said everybody helps each other. They're always so willing. And Hi, Andy, you know, Hi, Andy. Yes. Yeah. So it's a little special issues along the Y and I Coast. First of all, anybody that doesn't know, tell us of all of the little areas along the Y and I Coast. Yeah, so if you go all the way out to the end of the island, you know, a lot of people know that place as Yokohama. So that area that's the end of the island, there is like a hike and there's a sanctuary, a bird sanctuary out there. You come around a little bit and then you hit Makua. So Makua is one of the valleys that actually the US Army took over and it's unfortunate because the valley is so beautiful. It's just breathtaking and the beach right there is amazing. You come around past Makua and you hit Ka'au. So Ka'au, there's a beach park out there. Kind of like a stretch of land where there really is nothing and there's just beach and mountain. You pass Ka'au and then you hit Makaha. You're in White An'ai. After White An'ai, you're in Ma'ili. After Ma'ili, you're in Nana Kuli and then Nana Kuli probably just right there at the, they call it Black Rocks. So there's a little part of the road that goes up and then they have the electrics, which is the Hawaiian Electric Power Plant on the Maoka side, then across the street there's some beaches in that area. So right after that area called Black Rocks, then it starts to transition into more of like we're almost getting into Kapolei, right? Because then you have Koholina, then after Koholina you have Honokai Hale and Honokai Hale is already considered Kapolei. So the White An'ai coast pretty much starts from Nana Kuli and then goes all the way out west. My daughter lives in Ma'ili and I always kid her about the fact that it used to be Ma'ili and then when they got half million dollar houses it was Ma'ili. Now, there are issues that you as a new city council person will attack because before when you were in a legislature that was a state issue. Now the city and county, so there's special issues that the city deals with along the White An'ai coast. Yeah, so you know as a legislator I really didn't shy away from helping on issues that were city related. At the end of the day people just know that you're the representative and they want you to help. So wherever the help is needed I will definitely be there. I do think that as a city council elected official that I will be able to have a little more access into departments such as parks and rec. Such as the fact that the city is over homelessness sort of, they have more of a hand over homelessness than the state per se. They're also over waste and runoff water. So DFM, Department of Facilities Management which I hope to work closely with them as well because we have some canals that need to be cleaned. A lot of the stuff the city does is the grimy everyday stuff. You know the city is also over waste. So they're over h power which is the place that actually burns our trash. And we have huge illegal dumping issues in our community that I try to tackle on a quarterly basis when I do my cleanups. The city is also over DPP which is Department of Planning and permitting. So in trying to expand your home or if you're building something DPP is definitely one of the departments that you probably want to see fixed in the city. And then you have DTS which is Department of Transportation Services. They handle streets, roads, traffic lights and that's some of the you know the day to day stuff that people call me on all the time. I'm hoping to kind of sink these stop lights. Can you please make sure that there's a crosswalk here. We have a school that has a speeding zone we need stop signs so all of those things that affects people really it really does affect your quality of life when the small things are not addressed. So I'm hoping to kind of go in and be able to do a lot of these concerns that I did have to put give some over to the city council woman prior to me, but there were some that I was able to handle and to be able to do a lot more now. Well, I have two issues. And they're probably the same all over the world. When you have street lights, not the lights but the electric poles are old and highway leaning. It's dangerous. And because they have the live wires in them, you know, so if they would fall if they if somebody has an accident and hits one of them. And you've got these live wires across the street so that concerns me just as a driver just having out there. And there are areas and all over not just your area but all over. There are no internet connections so they have cell phone, you know, phone problem and internet connections. And that's especially troubling now when children out of school and they need to be connected online. Again, with medicine, you need to be online. So those are my two issues, and they probably aren't any different in why and I, they are on the big island, especially the big island or Molokai. And last time I was at Molokai we didn't have telephone at all. We had a telephone but it was just local. So those are the kinds of things that if I were in your district, it would be on the phone, because as big a spectrum is, there's no reason what they shouldn't have internet connection. Yeah, so I think that, you know, as far as the polls itself so the polls are, you know, either owned by Hiko actually Hawaiian Electric actually owns most of the polls out here. And then if you have, say for example, Hawaiian tell, so say you're running telephone lines or say you're running internet lines, they basically have to do an agreement with Hiko since Hiko owns the poll to also be able to have their wires come across. So if you're running polls, that would be a conversation to have with Hawaiian Electric which their main, their main power plan is in my district actually. So I work with them a lot because obviously, especially knowing that we have the Hiko power plan out here we have one of the largest solar farms out here I mean people really just want to see Hiko be able to help the community. So I think that's something that could easily be addressed by asking Hiko with, you know, to fix some of the polls I remember there was one in right across right on fronting Miley Beach Park. Horrible, because I think it was leaning and then someone hit it and then it fell completely into the road so definitely hear you on that something we couldn't address and then as far as the internet connection that is something that you know spectrum has to determine whether or not they have to bring you know their lines farther out or get another hub so it would be a question to ask them, you know that's a private company but there's no, there's no problem in me calling or asking them, or bringing up community issues to them. The purpose of federal dollars. The bill was connect. Why are Hawaii, the rural areas are. Oh, God, why can't I think of the name of it. It is for money to do exactly that. All of the rural areas across America. And Senator shots worked hard on that. So I don't see why. I just want to make sure that all of that area is connected. Yeah, I'll look into that because I've actually never heard the federal money part but Senator shots has actually been in the news recently questioning the state on the amount of federal dollars they get they get and and where it's being spent at so it doesn't surprise me that there was probably some federal monies that may or may not have been spent in the right direction, and it's people like you bringing it up that we can actually find out where it's stuck. Because, and, you know, most people don't give Hawaii is being ruled, but the majority of Hawaii is rule. So, those are the kinds of things that I think about, because I was champion, as you may remember. Okay, medicine. My husband is disabled veteran. He's an orange. Thank you, Uncle Sam. And so he has telemedicine. I was happy and have the legislature pass it, because everybody should have everybody should be connected, especially those in areas like yours, where there's only one hospital. And that's when, you know, we, we learned about this money. Why are you make sure that everybody in old areas has connected. So they can have medicine. Yeah, I hear you. That was what your plan is, not just what I want, but what you want, what are your constituents saying. Yeah, I think step one is create a clear vision, you know clear vision for myself for my staff for my office on what we see is is our role in the community. When I became a legislator my vision was to serve the people of district 43 by rolling our sleeves going the extra mile and staying committed to love our community. So that was the vision statement we had on the board and I know that's not goals specific or mission it's just a broad vision of how we serve the public. And I definitely want to, you know, start off this new term as a city council woman with that same thought in mind is that I'm here to serve the people. I'm here to listen to their voices. I'm here to make sure that their concerns are resolved in a way that helps to improve their quality of life. So that's step one right is get us in the right mindset of service because I love serving. With that, you know, we have to come down and figure out how much do we really know about the district granted I do know more about why and I then maybe coupled in ever. So I think getting more verse in the areas and the problems that have been plaguing the people in those areas, you know, make a priority of what what what problems I think I can solve right away. And this is what it did as a legislator as well. We had our problems that we could solve immediately. There were problems that would take me maybe a few people to help me or maybe a departmental approval, or maybe a permit that I need and then you have your long term solutions which are here I see this issue going on. I really want to tackle it but there's a lot of steps to get there. So the long term solutions need to be set up so that they can eventually get tackled. There were a lot of issues in my district that had been lasting, you know longer than eight years. So when I stepped into the seat. There are so many issues that gosh they had been going on for so long and people I just lost hope that it would be changed with it. So I had to kind of tackle those ones right away and the reason why is because I needed to give the people that I'm serving hope that I can make immediate impacts in their life immediate. So this is not to say that you don't pursue a bill, or you don't pursue a policy change you do that. But those are long term things they take a while, they take consensus they take a lot of people getting on board for you to get that passed in the legislature. There are immediate impacts that as soon as you start to do it as soon as you start to change things that people start to get hopeful. They get hopeful that their voices made a difference they get hopeful that you might be the person to resolve something as simple as moving a bus stop. You know there's one anti that she, it was just tough for her they had lung issues in the bus stop right by her house. There are a lot of people that were congregating around it smoking, you know playing music while they waited for the bus and I know that it's a transportation issue and actually it was a city issue not a state issue, but we had to work on it because it literally was plaguing their community to that point where something as simple as moving the bus stop down just change their entire quality of life so I know it sounds small, but it's really the small things that make a difference. So speaking of stops, the city, the Honolulu city and county is in violation of the ADA rules. And somebody told me to leave it alone, but it's clear in the ADA rules, all bus stops must be lit and must have a cover. Now, the bus stop right in the highway in Miley, Miley, right in front of that little door there, has no cover, no lighting, anything, it just must pull off the side of the road and they're off. So, I put into the rules, I drove from one end of King Street to the other, counting the bus stops that are covered, and the majority were not. And then when you get in the rural areas, it's terrible. And here in Hawaii, there are bus stops that are not covered. So it's not just why not, but it's just one of the things the city hasn't done. So, that's my truth, my truth, of course, what else would I do, but that's one of the things that I think needs to be done. And that is an issue of money, well, we don't have the money to do all this, then have somebody sponsor the bus stop, the Rotary Club or something, you know, they put up little ads and sponsor the bus stop. Yep, I'm with you. There's some simple solutions that are probably cost efficient. They're probably for community empowerment that I have not seen the city pursue. So I do, I do agree with you, there are a lot of things that as a legislator. I'm frustrated because people in our community wanted to help with everything from crosswalks to lights by the crosswalks, the bus stops and the Boy Scouts wanted to get a bombing. There is no lack of desire for the community to want to be a part of making this, you know, this place that we call home special and take care of it, but yeah, there's small things that I think the city could start to do that would alleviate some of those concerns. I think that you are probably the person to lead the charge. You've had more votes in that district than anyone has ever gotten. So I'm sure that you will follow you and do what work with you just these little nitpicking things that I see. I'm sure when you live there you see other things. I'm sure you would whatever you want will do, or whatever they do, you will kind of work with them. Oh, definitely. Yeah, there's definitely people that are just waiting in the in the rafters for me to call and say hey, we have something to do let's all get down the road and clean and everyone shows up so I'm lucky to have a community. And people really wonderful people. That is just a great community. Everybody I've ever met is I don't live there. So I am proud of you. Whatever you did to get more votes out of that community. And that's one of the communities where people say oh they don't vote. Yeah. Yeah, apparently they did. You got more than anyone with new candidates. Well, I mean the people I was I was running against had not helped public office before, obviously with me running for governor. It really was able to kind of bring who I am and what I'm about to more of a platform where people could see it. So I was very fortunate to have a lot of preparatory steps that came before this. And I'm glad you know the saying goes, sometimes God prepares you for things you don't even know you're going to do. I didn't think I was going to do this in fact I didn't start 2020 thinking that I was going to be a city council person. I really did just want to continue to serve my community and I feel very fortunate to be elected to serve them. Now, I remember election night. When you said quite clearly that you would be back. You know, you made it real clear that night. So, I think you did. Yes, yes, I'm back. Yeah, that is wonderful. That is really great. Well, one last thing. How can we serve you. What, what is it that we can do from here. Well, I mean I think staying up on the issues and as well being willing to be that community advocate. I really am trying to encourage people to find that within themselves they have more power than what they think. So I'm a big believer that we shouldn't be fully dependent on our government to take care of us that there's much that we can do for ourselves there's much that we can do for our community. I think that we should empower ourselves to become more active. And so I guess my encouragement is to continue to serve where you are, and continue to be active and be helpful in the communities that you live in because as a whole, it helps all of us. Now, since we said that, would you give us a contact telephone number or mail web page that our listeners, viewers can contact you. Sure. So my website is to pull it for console.com. And you can email me at Andrea, and DRI a at vote to pull it up calm. And I don't have an office number yet at the city council but sooner than later you know you'll have some more official contact info for me. But as far as my campaign those are ways that you can follow me and those are ways that you can get a hold of me. Okay. And the day of the term is January what Well I think that's when you get sworn in but I know but you don't you know what that is. I do not know just know it's January. Yes, it's usually the first Wednesday in January but with this COVID who knows. Yeah, yes. Yeah. Well darling. Thank you so much it's been a pleasure meeting with you as always. And good luck in your newly formed future. And I'm sure the community is loving this. Your community is loving having you. Thank you Marsha and thank you for having me on your show. And we'll see you next time.