Training begins for Hawaii’s next community and political leaders

The first group of 30 emerging leaders who want to play bigger roles in their island communities — including political candidates and the newest member of the state House — began their first day of a 15-week training program Thursday night.

They were welcomed virtually by Christine Pelosi — a San Francisco-based attorney and daughter of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi — who has conducted similar boot camps in 41 states and four countries involving thousands of new leaders.

“Some people are advocates, some people are executives,” Pelosi told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. “People tend to end up on campaigns and leadership roles and running for something themselves, such as delegates for a political party. Many go on to do staffing work in campaigns and government service.”

The training, which is scheduled to run through March 22, is particularly timely with every elected state office open this year, including all 25 Senate and 51 House seats and the governor’s and lieutenant governor’s offices.

“With an election year, there’s lot of opportunities, many, many opportunities to take on a leadership role in a campaign, be on a steering committee, and pretty soon you’re ready to run yourself,” Pelosi said.

The program called “Partners for Democracy” is backed by Pacific Resource Partnership, a nonprofit organization that represents the Hawaii Regional Council of Carpenters and more than 240 Hawaii contractors.

The first group includes participants from Kauai, Maui, Molokai, Hawaii island and Oahu who work in government service and the private sector, including the U.S. Department of Justice’s Federal Detention Center, a chiropractic center, Hawaii Public Utilities Commission and Kamehameha Schools.

Five are aides to Honolulu City Council Chairman Tommy Waters, Councilwoman Radiant Cordero, state Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz, state Rep. Jackson Sayama and U.S. Rep. Kai Kahele.

Eight are self-described candidates, including former Hawaii County Councilman Greggor Ilagan and state Rep. Linda Clark (D, Lanai-Molokai-Paia-Hana), who was sworn into office on the opening day of the 2022 legislative session to fill the term of former Rep. and current state Sen. Lynn DeCoite (D, Molokai-Lanai-East Maui), who replaced Kalani English.

In a statement, Kyle Chock — PRP’s interim executive director — said, “We’re excited to launch this program and encourage new voices with different ideas and perspectives to participate in the democratic process. Not only is this an election year, but with redistricting we will be electing legislators for every seat in the Hawaii State Legislature. We’ve received overwhelming interest in the program and our first cohort is a diverse group coming from both the public and private sector, across all counties.”

John Pele, a member of the inaugural committee from Molokai who lists himself as a candidate, said in a statement, “The rising cost of living is driving our young local talent from the islands, including my daughter, and as a parent it’s heartbreaking to see how our communities are changing, especially here on the neighbor islands. By enrolling in this program, I hope to learn how to run a successful campaign and make meaningful change for my community.”

For more information on Pacific Resource Partnership’s “Civic Engagement Tools,” visit PRP at prp-hawaii.com.