Kahele will represent all people
On Jan. 11, Kai Kahele met with Kauai voters at HA Coffee Bar to talk about his race for Congress.
Senator Kahele was born and raised on the Big Island and still resides there. In the Hawaii Legislature, he serves as the Majority Floor Leader and has chaired Higher Education and Water & Land Committees. A pilot for Hawaiian Airlines, a member of the pilot’s union, he is also a Lt. Colonel in the Hawaii Air National Guard. Married, he has three daughters.
Kai decided to accept an appointment to his father’s Hawaii Legislature Senate seat when his father, Gil Kahele, asked him to do so as he lay dying in the Big Island hospital from heart disease. Because there was no cardiac care (angioplasty, etc.) on Hawaii Island, there was no hope he could recover without an expensive Medivac trip. This experience was a dramatic example of the isolation of the outer islands from many quality of life issues.
Since the appointment by Governor Ige, Kai has since been elected to the seat. He described his reasons for seeking the Congressional seat: it clearly is time for the outer island people to be fully represented by someone who lives on the outer islands because our issues are not the same as issues on Oahu. Promoting solutions for the outer islands is important for the well-being of everyone in Hawaii, from promoting better local healthcare, good education beginning with preschool, to supporting and encouraging businesses and agriculture. He recognizes that too many native Hawaiian programs are poorly administered which impacts everyone.
I recently heard there are rumors that he “favors only Hawaiians” as a criticism. Fake news, folks. Unfortunately, when less qualified people want to harm an outstanding candidate like this, whispers surface to harm the candidate. Rumors, gossip, fake.
Kai Kahele will be an outstanding Representative for all of Hawaii, for all of its people, to make life better for all of us. He is endorsed by many leaders in our community and the state who recognize his dedication to improving life in the outer islands and state.
Bill and Judith Fernandez, Kapaa
