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December 5, 2022
Hawai‘i governor Ige looks back on coronavirus, tourism shutdown
POLITICAL LEGACY. Hawai‘i governor David
Ige is seen speaking at his first news conference after
his inauguration in the state capitol of Honolulu in this
December 1, 2014 file photo. While governor, Ige
faced a volcanic eruption that destroyed 700 homes,
protests blocking construction of a cutting-edge
multibillion-dollar telescope, a false alert about an
incoming ballistic missile, and the COVID-19 pan-
demic. (AP Photo/Cathy Bussewitz, File)
By Audrey McAvoy
The Associated Press
ONOLULU — As Hawai‘i’s
governor, David Ige faced a
volcanic eruption that destroyed
700 homes, protests blocking construction
of a cutting-edge multibillion-dollar tele-
scope, and a false alert about an incoming
ballistic missile. During the COVID-19
pandemic, tourism shut down and
Hawai‘i’s unemployment rate soared to
22.4%.
Crisis response is one way to sum up the
Democrat’s eight years leading Hawai‘i,
which are due to wrap up when his
successor, Lt. Gov. Josh Green, is
inaugurated December 5.
“It’s stressful, especially during public
health emergencies,” Ige said during a
recent interview reflecting on his two
terms in office. “There are people who don’t
like what you do and they don’t like
decisions made. And today, they can let
you know that.”
Yet the 65-year-old former electrical
engineer said that he agrees with other
governors who told him shortly after his
2014 election that he was about to get the
best job he could ever have.
“You have direct impact on the quality of
people’s lives. What we do matters to
people every single day,” Ige said.
Ige cited progress he made on affordable
housing and homelessness. But he’s most
proud of how he responded to the
pandemic, and it’s what he’d like to be
remembered for after he leaves.
A report by the Commonwealth Fund, a
New York-based nonprofit foundation,
found Hawai‘i had the lowest “excess
mortality” rate among the 50 states, a
statistic measuring deaths that exceed
historical norms for a given time and place.
Ige said that Hawai‘i’s healthcare system
was always able to care for both COVID-19
patients and others throughout the
pandemic.
Ige said that he wanted to protect
Hawai‘i’s older people and the health and
safety of residents. He didn’t want
Hawai‘i’s hospitals to be overwhelmed,
since people would have difficulty getting
medical care from a neighboring state.
“We knew that it’s not about driving
H
somebody to the next county or flying
somebody to get services. We’re 2,500
miles away from anywhere,” Ige said.
Ige signed executive orders that
required wearing masks in public and
limiting the size of gatherings. Unique
among the 50 states, Hawai‘i imposed a
14-day quarantine on incoming travellers
and actively enforced it. This order
effectively shuttered the state’s tourism
industry, which is a key economic driver,
but officials believe that it also slowed the
spread of COVID-19.
Kirk Caldwell, who was Honolulu’s
mayor when the pandemic began, said that
Ige was under “huge pressure” from people
urging him to impose public health
protections faster. Later, people pushed
him to ease up as conditions improved.
Ige also juggled some counties wanting
more restrictions while others wanted
looser rules.
Honolulu city councilmember Andria
Tupola, who ran against Ige as the
Republican nominee for governor in 2018,
praised Ige’s even temperament and
acceptance of criticism. But she said that
he should have shared power with state
legislators or held public hearings instead
of issuing COVID-19 executive orders for
two years.
“You got to pull back and you got to wean
yourself off of making all the decisions, and
PROPER HANDWASHING
then start to trust that other leaders
collectively can join in the decision
making,” she said.
Hawai‘i House Speaker Scott Saiki, a
Democrat, said that Ige’s cautious
approach contributed to both successes
and failures. It was important for Ige to
avoid making hasty decisions and to not
overreact during the pandemic, but too
often the governor suffered from “analysis
paralysis,” he said.
“There were so many times when we
wanted him to just take control of the
situation, and provide some leadership
and direction,” Saiki said. “And it just
didn’t happen.”
Lawmakers stepped in on multiple
occasions to take on roles that one would
expect of the executive branch.
Saiki pointed to how the legislature
mobilized volunteers to help the state
process unemployment insurance claims
pouring in during the pandemic. He also
said that lawmakers worked with
Honolulu hospitals to set up two
COVID-19 mass vaccination clinics.
There’s also the Thirty Meter Telescope
project. The prolonged standoff over its
construction on the summit of Mauna Kea,
a place many Native Hawaiians consider
sacred, deepened community divide.
The house later created a working group
that developed recommendations for a new
approach to managing Mauna Kea,
leading to legislation that Ige signed.
The governor said that he regularly
evaluated his response to emergencies and
tried to adjust.
“It’s always about being focused on
priorities to help you make decisions, and
then doing what’s best for the community,”
he said. “I’ve tried to make sure that we
maintain that focus.”
Kauai mayor Derek Kawakami said that
he admired Ige’s ability to handle difficult
situations and criticism with grace. He
said he aspired to be that kind of leader.
“I’ve just seen a person that was willing
to stand in the middle of a storm, wake up
every single day, and give it his all,”
Kawakami said.
Several people who worked closely with
Ige said that they never saw him lose his
temper or lash out at colleagues, even in
stressful situations. Observers from near
and far said that they never heard him
speak ill of anyone.
Ige didn’t deflect responsibility in 2018
when the Hawai‘i Emergency Manage-
ment Agency, or HIEMA, terrified
residents by accidentally sending an alert
across airwaves and cellphones saying
that a ballistic missile was heading to the
islands.
Caldwell said that a more typical
politician would have found someone to
blame, fired them, and swiftly stepped
away from the issue.
“Instead he stood up immediately and
apologized for the mistakes made by
HIEMA, and continued to apologize
throughout the rest of the day and
throughout the rest of the week,” Caldwell
said.
After an internal investigation, the
employee who sent the alert was fired. Ige
wouldn’t be pressured by the public or the
media into rushing a decision, Caldwell
said.
“He’s the most non-politician politician
that I’ve come across in my time as mayor,”
Caldwell said.
Once out of office, Ige hopes to exercise
more, boosting his once-weekly runs to
three to four times a week.
He plans to take some software develop-
ment classes and looks forward to visiting
his children living in California and
Washington state.
He’s not interested in serving in
congress and doesn’t plan to run for
another elected office. He said that he
enjoyed his time as governor.
“I worked very hard to do the right thing
in the right way on behalf of the commu-
nity,” he said.
The staff at The Asian Reporter
wish you and your family a
safe and happy holiday season!