 Good afternoon, or is it still good morning? This is Ray Tsuchiyama, your host for All About Leadership in Hawaii. And one of the areas for leadership is in government and politics, leading the state and at a national level. What to do in this climate, 2018, going forward with a state in a turbulent world economy and politics? And we have our guest today, Ed Case, who's no stranger to politics, but unexpectedly he's back in politics after a time in a private sector, and we're going to talk about various topics about what he's found out about Hawaii priorities, people, and their thinking about themselves, about their children, parents, and going forward. Welcome to the show. Aloha. Good to be back and good to be with you. And congratulations on your recent primary Democratic Party win. I really appreciate that. It was a very good, solid win, but it is a primary win, so, you know, although some people have already elected, that's not the way I'm thinking at all. We have a general election coming up, and we're working hard to earn the trust of voters all over again in that election. Now, looking at November, how many elections have you done coming to this? I think a couple of, I think I probably counted something like 16 or 17 election nights at the end of the day. I won more of them than I lost, but of course I won some really good ones, and I lost some really big ones, but those are all in the past, so I can't do anything about those. What I can do something about is the general election in actually eight weeks from today. And one of the things you did, which I felt was overlooked by the Hawaii media, was your walk. A walk across CD1, which is Congressional District 1, to all you viewers out there, that encompasses much of the island of Oahu, except for the northern strip there, which is connected to CD2. And where did you start, and where did you end? Well just by way of background, one of the things that I've always believed in my political career is complete and total immersion in your district, to know your district cold, to know the people in your district cold, to understand the geography, the society, the economics, the rhythms of your district. We've got 435 representative districts throughout the country. Each one of them has over 700,000 people in them, and so you need to understand. And so from that perspective, I've always done talk stories and town meetings. I've always personally canvassed, which I did this campaign as well. And I just came up with the idea that on this campaign I just wanted to walk right through the first. And I wanted to, you know, number one, absorb the first. When you're in Washington, D.C., you're 5,000 miles away from Hawaii. And you have to know your district. You're sitting there on the floor of the U.S. House trying to make a call on a particular bill and you're asking yourself, how does this bill impact not just my district, but parts of my district? So you've got to know your district. You don't have time to call up and figure it out. So you've got to absorb that, and it gives people a chance to check you out along the way. And not all of CD1 is the same. Well, and there of course is one of the, if not the largest observation I have, which is no surprise if you think about it from an intellectual academic perspective. But go out and walk it and really feel it. Because one thing that happens when you walk is everything just slows down. You're not driving through it. You're not like whipping by where you see one thing for one second. You see that for two, three minutes while you're passing. You also posted your photos on Facebook also. I did. I posted the entire thing. And you know, that's one thing that I would encourage you viewers to do is just go on our Facebook. And I did Instagram right along the way, took the pictures, went to Instagram, straight to Facebook, case for Congress, or my Facebook page, Ed Case. You'll see all of the pictures. I think I posted about 10 or 12 a day just to kind of show people a diary of the story. Anyway, CD1 is basically urban Honlulu. It starts at Makapu Point. And then it comes down the leeward side of the Koalao all the way through east Honlulu, all the way through central Honlulu, all the way through downtown, leeward down into Waipahu. And then it kind of covers up all of Mililani down from, and then from Waipahu down all the way through the entire Eva Plain out to Koalina. So Kahi Point really is the end of that district. So you really have an urban and suburban Honlulu. Kailua Kaneo, who are not in the district, the North Shore, is not Wahiawa on up in the Waianae Coast during the Second Congressional, which I represented in 2000. That's right. You flipped. I would actually be the first person to represent both districts. But when you're a member of Congress from Hawaii, you effectively represent the entire state anyway. I mean, I don't say to people, oh, you're from Hilo. I'm not going to help you. Well, of course I'm going to. Oh, yeah. Of course. Yeah. It's a small place. So anyway, I started in Makapu, and I was expecting it to take me about, it's about 60, 65 miles to walk that entire district, so all the way through and then up to the very top of Mililani, Maoka. That was a story in and of itself. And then back down across Eva Plain through Kapolei to the end, where I jumped in the water at the very end. It felt really, really good. So I was figuring it would take me about 10 days, maybe about six miles a day. But as I set out, I was really covering ground pretty well. So I just kept going, and it ended up taking about six days, 62 miles. Wow. That's quite short. Yeah. I had my watch on and my, what do you call it, distance watch, running watch. And so I was tracking distance and time, and I was really into distance time, pace, all that kind of stuff. So what's the memorable story that you can relate to us? I think what is so incredible when you get out and walk across the first congressional is the diversity of the first congressional. You have geographic diversity. Of course, you have parts of the district that are, you know, mountains and valleys. That's right. Honolulu is a series of valleys and mountains and valleys and very different from each other. Like, I'm from Kalihi originally. I still consider myself a person from Kalihi Palma. So then you go up in, you know, the central, central Oahu, which has its own personality. Mililani is a beautiful community. Then down through Waipahu and Ewa, which is flat, hot. And so you have the kind of geographic diversity. You obviously have cultural diversity all the way through. Incredible diversity. You know, one of the things that was one of my favorite parts about the walk-up. I mean, I had so many stories to tell about this walk. But you take six miles of King Street, King Street starting at the top of Kapuhulu on the east side, all the way to the end when you're running into Mapuna Puna. That's six miles. Walk King Street one day or a couple of days and look at all the diversity. Oh, it's unbelievable. All the history. You know, you go from Mo'ili-ili into Pava'a into, you know. And the west of Liliha King Street is Kalihi. And then you get into Kapalama and Kalihi. Of course, there are ethnic predominances in each one of those particular areas and that translates somewhat into, you know, cultural and religious. So are you saying that there's different priorities out there that they're thinking about? Or are there any overarching priorities that you saw and heard from people that kind of had a narrative or threads throughout your walk? Well, I would say that the biggest overarching priority of everybody, it doesn't matter where in CD1 or for that matter the state of what you are, or I believe for that matter the country, people just think that the government is broken. They just think Washington is not working. They just don't get why everybody is yelling and screaming at each other. And these are people that have very partisan strong or partisan philosophies. They could be very liberal. They could be very conservative. They could be very moderate. They could come from any number of different places, but they all think that their government ought to work better. So that's a clear prevailing priority. So there's a disconnect between their lives, our lives, and what's happening in DC. Complete disconnect, yes. And this is obviously something that's wrong. And how do you think you're going to remedy that and bring back a story that I'm trying to cure this problem to you in King Street or Kahala or on a couple of days? Well, first of all, I think people have to agree with you that that's a problem. And I think the results of the election indicate that people do agree with me on that and with other candidates. Number one, number two, they have to think that you actually have the experience and the ability and the know-how and the commitment to going up there and trying to break through some of that logjam. You know, it's really hard to break that logjam because people just get locked into a certain way of thinking, acting, and doing where, you know, if you're a Democrat, you're expected to function only on the Democratic side and the Republican only on the Republican side. And that's the basic problem in our country today is that there's no real attempt to find solutions that work for all. It's really an ongoing battle to impose the solutions of one side on the other side, and that's not going to work. So would you say that the things you were trying to do back when you spent your time in Kahala, 2002, 2007, that era are things that you can apply today? Oh, absolutely. What are they? Well, I mean, you know, some of it's so simple. Do you create relationships? Who do you create relationships with? You have 435 members. I'm one of 435 members. So it's not like I can walk up in there and say, hey, I'm Ed Case. I'm from Hawaii. I'm announcing my arrival, and I'm going to fix the entire country. There's a lot out there. A lot of people do feel that way. But I'm not one of them. I've been around too long to know. So you have to create a consensus. You have to create relationships. You have to create relationships. And you have to create them across the Congress. It's unlikely that you will have a deep working relationship with 434 of your colleagues. So can you create enough relationships of trust, of mutual assistance, of commitment, of people that feel the same way as you do with the country and are similarly trying to break this logjam? And can you create a critical mass then of those folks that can start to influence the broader picture? That's really the challenge. And that's what I've done my entire life anyway So you're saying the skills that you developed during those years in Congress can well benefit Hawaii today? Well, not only in Congress, but in my earlier eight years in the state legislature and four years in the neighborhood boards and 30-plus years in the private sector. I've used the same approach throughout 40 years now of working, and it doesn't change some how you implement it changes. But the basic approach does not change. Can you get in there, understand the issue, find the people that believe as you do, or find the people that are willing to be persuaded that that's a problem? And can you then create a critical mass with which to start to influence the broader process? It's not gonna happen. We're so deep in the hole in Washington, it's not gonna happen in one month, two months. It's gonna take years. So you have the perseverance. Do you have the resilience to carry that through over a number of years? And as you learn that we come back to the word resilience, it seems a good word for today to be resilient in a time when so many things are happening out there that you have to keep a focus on and to sustain yourself to really attack the problems and find solutions for the people of Hawaii and for the greater country, the greater good of the nation. Any other priorities that came to you aside from the broken government issue? Well, I mean, people are always gonna be focused on economic, of vitality and health. We've had a pretty good economy lately, so they're not as focused as perhaps five or 10 years ago, obviously, when it was number one. I think people have a disquiet to great concern about inequality in our country. I think that- Inequality in economics? Inequality of the distribution of wealth and opportunity in our country. I think that, and I think this is my observation from walking the first and campaigning throughout the first is that is not something that depends on whether you're from East Honolulu or Waipahu or from Evo or from Mililani. Everybody feels that way. That somehow there are that the fruits of our democracy, that the influence of the grassroots in our democracy, that the ability to actually influence where our country is going is not spread in an equal way. And I think that that is a predominant issue and a concern of mine for sure throughout the country. And especially for parents with children. Well, absolutely. What kind of life are they going to be going to? But we're gonna hold this thought after this break. This is all about leadership. Aloha, I'm Marsha Joiner, inviting you to come visit with us on cannabis chronicles, a 10,000 year Odyssey, where we explore and examine the plant that the muse has given us. And stay with us as we explore all the facets of this planet on Wednesdays at noon. Please join us, Aloha. Aloha, my name is Mark Shklav, I am the host of Think Tech Hawaii's Law Across the Sea. Law Across the Sea is on Think Tech Hawaii every other Monday at 11 a.m. Please join me, where my guests talk about law topics and ideas and music and Hawaii Anna all across the sea from Hawaii and back again, Aloha. Welcome back. This is Ray Tsuchiyama on All About Leadership, delving into the issues of what do people are thinking about in our communities, which are priorities for their selves, for their families, especially for their children. And we have in case to discuss how we can focus on Hawaii priorities and issues. Go ahead. Well, you know, we've been talking about kind of what I learned walking across the first congressional. By the way, I have to stop here and say that one of the things I learned, we already knew was there's a lot of good food out there. Okay, well, that's because you were sweating and walking and getting an appetite. I think that if you sit down all day. Unfortunately, while I was walking, I couldn't actually eat, because if you eat a big Filipino lunch and then go out and walk another six miles, that don't mix too well. But that doesn't mean you can't go back after the walk and go to the San Nicolas market and Kalihi and get all of that good food. So I've been talking about national issues. So our government is not working, growing inequality. I would add to that our relationship with the world, which is very important to us here. That's a complete concern of a lot of people. Immigration is a big issue that's on the minds of many. Those are national issues. Here in Hawaii, it's really basically just the cost of living across the board. I think that's a concern. And people are leaving. There's communities in Vegas and Oregon and Washington. There's, of course, there's a report in the paper today in which they surveyed folks throughout the country and determined that we're the happiest of anywhere in the country right now. And I think we are pretty happy here. But that's a... That's the people who have remained here. And others vote with their feet. I found most people throughout the district happy. But that doesn't mean they weren't stretched out. That doesn't mean they weren't concerned. That doesn't mean it wasn't hard to live. And so all of the issues that have to do with the cost of living, housing, clearly the top one. But more than that, cost of food, cost of energy, cost of basic, cost of education. Yeah, cost of private school education, $20,000, $22,000 a year. So those are key areas, of course, that our federal government has a major say and along with the state and the county. And I would want to work there. Traffic, a huge issue. And infrastructure, one of your key places, roads, airports, sewage, water, key areas. All of that, but to emphasize traffic. Because we do have the worst traffic in the country. And that's just inexcusable historically that we let ourselves get in that situation. But I challenge anybody who doesn't think that we have a traffic problem to go walk through the stretch from, say, Kalihi on West, through Leeward, and especially walk down Fort Weaver Road. Sineweave on Fort Weaver Road at 5.30 in the morning and watch how many park. They get up at four o'clock at 4.30 just to get on the road. So that's an obvious answer. And people think, oh well, Central Honolulu and East Honolulu is saved from that. Well, go Sineweave at Aina Koa at 5.30 or 6 in the morning and watch how many cars are going by you. So that's a key concern. But you talked about immigration and I think you've also discussed one of the key areas for any office in the house, constituent services. And I went through this with my own life. I had a senator that helped me out in a fiancee visa for my wife. And later when my father passed away, we received some help with the punch bowl and both my parents are in punch bowl. And I think there's a lot of attention, stress for a lot of immigrant families here in Hawaii trying to reunite their families together in Hawaii or bring a fiancee or benefits and so forth. Is that an area where your office can play a role? Absolutely, and I learned from a master of this, Spark Motsunaga, who I worked for from the age of 22 to 25. If I hadn't gone to work for Spark Motsunaga, I wouldn't be sitting here interviewing with you. That was a changing point or an incredible fork in the road for me, an unexpected fork in the road. But here I am and Spark always emphasized constituent. You know, sometimes people ask me, can you describe in 15 seconds the job description for a member of Congress, a U.S. congressman? And I say, oh, sure, I'll do that for you. Number one, contribute to national leadership for our country. A congressman, a member of Congress, is a national leader. Number two, assist your state and your county and your district with the federal government. What can the federal government do? So there's a national focus and a local focus. Well, there's a national focus, there's a local focus, and there's an individual constituent focus. So number three is constituent services. Now, a lot of people focus on number two. Frankly, a fair number of members of Congress, sometimes you would think that they would not be reluctant to contribute to national leadership, but they focus more on two. A fair number of members of Congress don't give enough attention to number three constituent services. And when I was in Congress, oh, two to oh, seven, that was a key priority for my office. How can we help you with your individual concerns? Immigration is a huge individual concern, especially for families who are split between the old country and our country. Right, the Philippines or China or... Some of these people have been waiting in line legally for 10 or 20 years now. Now, that's just not right. That's not right. Other areas that were key areas for constituent services were veteran services. And social security. And I'll give you a very quick example of constituent services that, to me, it's kind of heartwarming thinking back on it. If you're asking for veterans' benefits, disability benefits, you have to demonstrate a connection between the injury that you have suffered and your services a veteran. That's easy where you have a very tangible injury, but let's take PTSD. Post-traumatic stress syndrome. Sometimes PTSD doesn't kick in for... Number of years, right? Decades. And you have to demonstrate that there was some event in your service that contributed to the PTSD that manifested itself 10, 20, 30 years later. And we had one case on Maui where we had a veteran of, I recall it being the Korean War. So we're talking about a long time ago. And he said that he had suffered a very traumatic injury in a fox hole, I think it was, in Korea during the war. And here he was 40 years later at the time claiming benefits. And there was every evidence from his doctors that that was the case. The problem was that he could not find anybody to attest to the fact... As a witness kind of thing. So we went out there and helped him to find the people in his company. And we found some, and we got them to give buddy statements. They call them buddy statements. And those buddy statements entitled him to get benefits. I feel good about that. I feel just as good about that as when I get a significant federal grant to the state of Hawaii. Or for that matter, when there is a good result on a national leadership issue. You know, that was something where my office made a difference to somebody. In a local level, in our family's response, we could never pay back what we got out of that. It was an unbelievable experience. But Spark was not gone. His grave site is very near my parents, in fact, right at the edge there, by the Calabaria where my parents are. What did you learn from him? What kind of person was he? People forget about him. It's been so long. But to me, he's one of the most important leaders in the post-war era. But what was it that really resonated with you? So many lessons, rather, that I got from Spark Matsunaga. Of course, I joined him when he was still a United States congressman in the district that I now am aspiring to represent. So it is deeply meaningful and even emotional to me that I would be eligible to represent the same district as my mentor represented. I think, you know, Spark, he was a very accomplished person. He was very ambitious, but he was very humble about it. He was very open and personable. He tried to tell you what he thought. He tried to describe what the problems were. He believed very much in education of his constituents and he believed very much that one thing he said, and I've never forgotten this, he goes, you know, Ed, because he worked late, he worked very, very late, like one, two in the morning. And I learned early on that if I wanted time with him, what I needed to do was work late also. And so then I could like invent some excuse to go in at 10 o'clock at night and say, you know. Align your schedule. Yeah, align it well, we were both working late. And so I was talking about something and he goes, you know, Ed, I gotta just tell you my thinking on that. He goes, you know, I've got a lot of good people that I represent back in Hawaii. And most of them, they never have a contact with their federal government. They pay taxes to their federal government for decades. They support their federal government. They trust their federal government to do, but they have no interaction with their federal government. And for them, I am the federal government. That's right, yeah. And so when I interact with them, when they come to visit in our office, we are going to be the best federal government we can be. When they ask for my help, we are gonna be the best federal government because that may be the only contact they ever have. And so that's the only time that they ever needed something. And all those things come up, problem, their sufficiency, you know. Every single one. All kinds of helping out and trying to close the issue. And you're absolutely right. If, and they would believe that the entire federal government is like that. The other thing that Matsunaga and, you know, all of his era, Inoue and Hiram Fong, who was there when I first started, and Patsy Mink, of course, most of us know as a very strong partisan leader. They all believed in maintaining relationships, as I've already described, with people across the spectrum, across the aisle, and to not make it personal because it's the perfect example of Senator McCain and Inoue. They disagreed on a very good number of issues, but they kept it professional and they kept collegial. And that's something Matsunaga taught me. You know, Patsy Mink, she developed those consensus-building skills at Maui High School. In order to be elected, I think a class president, something. She had to get the football team on her side. And my father is, of course, at Maui High School, so I know the story. And her grandparents are from Kumamoto, very disciplined, focused. And her father was the first Japanese-American graduate at the University of Hawaii. Amazing, great focus there. But going by the spark of Matsunaga, I think his nickname came from his ability to run very fast at the football field. Am I correct? Yeah, well, it was more about, he was a spark plug. He was like, he had the energy. Maybe it had to do with his acceleration from a standing stop on the football. That's what I've heard. From spark plugs to now the state of the nation, I wish to thank you for your time today. And best wishes on another election coming up for you. But you've been through so many, and good luck on your general election in November. Well, thank you so much. EdCase.com has a lot more information on me. I appreciate the opportunity to speak to folks. Thank you very much. This is Ray Tuchiyama with another show on all about leadership. Thank you very much.