http://www.kaleo.org/polopoly_fs/1.2330074!/Duke_Aiona_Full_Interview

James “Duke” Aiona Age: 55 Education: B.S. in Political Science, Juris Doctorate

PLATFORM AND VOTING RECORD: Civil Unions: Against Gay Marriage for religious reasons, proposes Constitutional Amendment to define marriage as being between a man and a woman.

Traffic: Pro‐rail Homelessness: The Lingle‐Aiona administration has taken steps to reduce the numbers of homeless, including the Housing Placement Program Hawaiian Sovereignty: Supports the passage of the Akaka Bill as a step towards ending the disputes like those facing the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and Kamehameha Schools.

Public Education: Calls for an independent audit of the Department of Education to determine where each dollar is going.

Economy: Wants to make Hawai‘i small business friendly by lowering taxes and fees needed to start and maintain a small business.

Interview:

Ethan Porter: In your opinion, what is the role of the state government?

James Aiona.: In regards to?

E.P.: What does the state government do?

J.A.: We have three branches of government, obviously and they all have their own defined rules. I’ve been fortunate to be part of two, so I guess I can speak with some authority in regards to what the judiciary does and we basically are, the way I say it very simply, is we enforce the laws, we interpret the laws and we make sure that the Constitution and the statutes that we have enacted are applied correctly to the general public and this is where you see justice. The Legislative Branch is the branch that, basically, sets policy as well as statutes and laws for the people of the State of Hawai‘i. Of course you have county councils that do that likewise for the residents of the various counties and cities. And then of course the Executive Branch, which I’m a part of right now, we not only shape policy but we pretty much; we’re responsible for fiscal responsibility and integrity in the State Government, as well as providing services to the general public, and probably the biggest services the executive branch provides, I guess you could say our core services that the public expects, education is one, public safety, public health, human services, and transportation, as well as some other things that we have. We have eighteen departments in the State

of Hawai’i; they provide the various services that they provide. Department of Land and Natural Resources, for instance, is in environment. The Attorney General’s office is basically interpreting and, in some instances, enforcing our laws. The Attorney General actually is your chief law enforcement officer in the State of Hawai‘i. those are various aspects of various services that we provide.

E.P.: What is the job of the governor?

J.A.: The job of the governor is, what some people have described as being the “Chief Executive Officer” of the State of Hawai‘i. I wouldn’t quite put it in those terms. The role of the governor is someone who’s going to lead the State and who has a vision for what the State should be and where it needs to go and, of course, provide the leadership that the people of the State of Hawai‘i look up to. We have a tremendous impact in that regard, a tremendous role and responsibility in that regard and I think that can make or break a state, especially during times like this where you have all these various challenges, and people are looking for leadership. Leadership is not just someone who’s going to manage something, that’s why you have a management team so that they will manage the various departments where management needs to be it’s the big difference between the manager and the leader, and that’s what a governor is.

E.P.: We at UH are currently feeling the financial crisis, class sizes are increasing, teachers are being cut, and our tuition goes up every year. What, as governor, do you plan on doing to help the University?

J.A.: First, and foremost, everybody’s feeling that pinch, not just the University of Hawai‘i, the Department of Education is, the Department of Agriculture is, so all of our various departments are facing that. So it’s a part of what we call the “Shared Sacrifice” thing and all the people of Hawai‘i are facing it, even in the private sector, a lot of people are losing their jobs, businesses are closing, etc. So we have to be fiscally responsible in that regard. My vision for the University of Hawai‘i is, has always been, for them to be autonomous, as best as they can. To be able to have them have a budget, or have an appropriation of money, and let them do what they need to do and make them as world‐class a university as they can be. There are some things that we have here in Hawai‘i that the University of Hawai‘i has to be, and should be, the best in the world at. And one of them is what surrounds us, the ocean. The other is astronomy, and I think we should be the best at that also. Of course the environment too, so the biosciences, the life sciences, and things of that nature we should be world‐class at. So that’s my vision for the University of Hawai‘i.

Make them as autonomous as they can so they can make decisions that they need to make. I think this all falls on the University of Hawai‘i leadership. From the Board of Regents all the way down, and them prioritizing what they need to do. I firmly

believe, for instance, and I’ve said this before, I’ve said it directly to the President, I’ve said I think you guys are missing out on the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo. That is a true gem, it has not been polished yet and it needs to be polished. For instance, I think, besides astronomy, the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo should be world class in agriculture. I mean, look what they got around them, and there’s no reason why they shouldn’t be the best. Likewise here at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, the marine scientists should be leading the world in research and development in regards to all that stuff that we have here. And likewise in the environment. We have over 20,000 native species, and 90% of them are only found here in Hawai‘i. We have 300 endangered species here. We should be leading the world in research and development, etc.

E.P.: In place of another question that I had for the Democrats, what do you think of the party labels, of being the Republican, you were the Republican choice on the (Honolulu) Star­Advertiser’s “Who Should You Vote For?” Mr. Hanneman was the Democrat. How does it feel to be labeled a Republican, considering that it carries some negative connotation?

J.A.: Let me put it this way, in campaigning; I campaign to all the people, not just Republicans, not just the Democrats, but everybody. I look at Hawai‘i as being a state that is much more independent than people will admit. People like to say this is a state that is heavily Democrat, in other words, that everyone is aligned with the Democratic Party. Well, I guess if you’re going to compare and say are there more Democrats than Republicans, and actually, I haven’t seen any real data on that. But I’ll just say that because of the history of our state outlook that we tend to be. But I know that there’s much more people out there who consider themselves Independent, and they vote accordingly. So I align myself that way. I’m not distancing myself from the Republican Party, I am part of the Republican Party, I’m part of it because I agree to the core principles that we as Republicans believe in, but there’s some things that I don’t agree with the Republican Party, the policies that they have, mainly on the national level. When I campaign, I don’t look at party labels.

I look at what’s right and what’s best for the people of Hawai‘i. And that’s all I can do.

E.P.: What is the single, biggest problem facing Hawai‘i right now?

J.A.: The economy; making sure that our people keep their jobs, and that we create more jobs. And of course education; which has been an issue for the last 30‐ 40 years. But right now, it’s the economy; strengthening our economy, and with that, jobs, not only the creation of jobs but keeping jobs, maintaining jobs.

E.P.:

Then the follow­up is: how do you plan to strengthen the economy?

J.A.: I had the opportunity to visit 120 small businesses in 100 days and the reason I did that is because 99% of all of our businesses here in Hawai‘i are small businesses.

68% of all jobs that we get here in Hawai‘i come from small businesses. 63% of all the wages we get here in Hawai‘i come from small businesses. Small business is the backbone of our economy, so if we want to grow our economy, strengthen our economy, we gotta pay attention to small businesses. Small businesses have told me, create a business friendly environment. That means reduce the financial burden we have, make it easier for us to get licenses and permits, improve the quality of education, and make sure that we can have some confidence in government. Start with the last one, confidence in government. We gonna have to make sure that they have a government, they have a leader, they have a governor that they can trust. And a governor that they know is not going to be wishy‐washy and look for votes or look which way the wind is blowing or look for compromise, but knows exactly where his principles and values are. My principles and values that I have said from day one in regards to fiscal responsibility is to make sure that we have an efficient government without increasing taxes or fees. So I have said that from day one, and that kind of takes care of that first issue in regards to financial burden. With education, I’ve said that one) we need a comprehensive, independent audit of the Department of Education so we know exactly where the money is going, how it’s being spent, and I’ve also said that I’ve supported “Race to the Top,” the “Race to the Top” application, and what it stands for right now, and we’re really excited about that, and I think we’re moving in the right direction. One of the things about “Race to the Top,” one of their objectives is to have our children, our students, college or work ready. They’ve targeted the year 2018 for that. 2018 they want all of their graduating students to have a diploma that is basically called a “College and Work Ready” diploma, and by 2018 all of their graduates will have that diploma. That’s huge; finally we’re looking at what’s happening in the future. That’s going to help us in handing in qualified workers. And then, of course, I want to implement some measures in there, I mean, it’s about time that we start worrying about, working on setting time limits for the approval of our permits and licensing and make sure that it’s approved on time and if that means we give them a block of time that says: you gotta do this in 90 days, then so be it, we’ll do it that way. But these are some of the measures that we’re going to do to create a business‐friendly environment.

E.P.: Where do you see Hawai‘i in the four years?

J.A.: The next four years?

E.P.: By the time of the next election.

J.A.: That’s a good point, you know, because I do look at my tenure as governor in exact terms of the term that I’ve been elected. In other words, I’m not looking at eight years, not looking at twelve; I’m looking at four. And in four years I hope that one) the economy is stronger, two) we’ve stabilized jobs, in fact, increased jobs, which means that unemployment goes down, all the expenditure factors go up, if that means we got more tourists, we got more tourists, we got more spending room, revenues are coming up, and I want to see that improvement in education, I want to see our educational system improve to the point where people are really feeling good about education. Because actually, in education, which I didn’t mention in the last response, is that, you know, if you want businesses to come to Hawai‘i, a part of it is having a good, quality educational system. A lot of CEOs have said, so this is no secret, “I’m not going to come to Hawai‘i because the educational system you have there is terrible. I don’t want my son going to public schools there. So I’m not gonna move my company there, I’m not gonna move my headquarters there, I’m not gonna move there, because it’s just not a good system.” Once we get that change coming in, now the reputation gets out, because that’s what it’s all about. It’s about a reputation. Once we get that going, we’ll see a whole bunch of things opening up.

And that’s where I see us in four years, at least that’s where I wanna be in four years.

E.P.: What is the most important thing that you learned in college?

D.A.: (laughs) He (referring to my contact at the Duke Headquarters) kind of tipped me off to that question. And actually what I said, he thought I was joking, but I’m not, is how naive I was when I got into college; how idealistic I was. First time I’d ever been of “da rock” (Hawai‘i) was when I went to school in Stockton. I don’t know where you’re from but Stockton, if you’re from California, you should know about Stockton.

It’s the armpit capital of the world. (Office explodes with laughter. “Please don’t print that!” cries my contact) No, I’m serious, and even the locals would tell you that.

I love Stockton though, you can put that down too, I learned a lot from Stockton, I love UP (University of the Pacific) and I love the whole area. But just think about it, a guy from Hawai‘i, going away for the very first time, and going to a place like Stockton is like “Oh my God! Welcome!” But college was a great experience, but I was very naïve in a lot of my ways and a lot of my thoughts, very idealistic, but I learned this: I learned independence, I learned what it meant to apply yourself, I learned what it meant to open your ears and listen, and I learned what it meant to, in regards to the world itself. You know, when I say it’s a big world, I don’t mean in the sense that there’s so many things out there, what I meant was, I kind of lived in a little society here, and society is much bigger than just me and the beach and my friends and that kind of stuff. So it opened me up to a bigger world and I’m very appreciative of that.

E.P.: What is your biggest value?

D.A.: My biggest value? You mean as far as my character?

E.P.: Something that you look for in people, something that you appreciate, something that you think society should appreciate more.

D.A.: I think honesty. Just being an honest person. And I mean that not in a flippant way or in a nonchalant way. When I say honesty I mean true being honest in everything that you do. And that includes with yourself because a lot of people cheat themselves.

They really do. When I say that I kind of talk about, you know, health is a priority of mine, and when I talk to people and they tell me “Oh, I have a problem with my weight” and whatnot like that, we go over the basics. Do you exercise? Yea. Do you eat right? Oh yea. But you can’t lose weight? You gaining weight? Well I think that means you not being honest with yourself. I really believe that you’re not eating right and you’re not exercising like you say you should. Well that doesn’t sound like being dishonest, it is! You’re being dishonest with yourself. I’m exercising, and your exercising is maybe walking from here to the door, yea that’s exercise. Or “oh yea, I walk the dogs, we walk down that block then we come back, that’s exercise” So then of course “I eat right” Yea, in‐between ten cookies and three custard pies. Be honest!

You not eating right! So that’s what I mean by honesty. That’s not my one value, there’s many others, but that’s one that I treasure, is honesty. Honesty and trust I think are two different values.

This is the last in a three­part series profiling Neil Abercrombie, Mufi Hannemann and James Aiona who are leading candidates for governor.