By now, you’ve probably heard of J. Ikaika Anderson’s landslide victory in the special election to fill the late Councilmember Barbara Marshall’s Windward Oahu City Council seat. What you may not know is that I served with Ikaika in ASUH, the undergraduate student government at UH Manoa.
I join with other former ASUH colleagues and friends in congratulating Councilmember Ikaika Anderson. To think, I knew him when we were only student leaders. I know he is officially Councilmember-elect until he takes office on May 14, but we’ll skip the formalities for now. Ian Lind had a great discussion on why and how Ikaika won: he simply followed long-time Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill’s advice that “All politics is local.” And now, Dave Shapiro has his thoughts on the matter, saying it was new leadership desired by Windward voters.
Regardless of how you feel about Ikaika, he is passionate about serving his constituents, something I witnessed firsthand when we served together. And, he is never afraid to stand up for his beliefs, whatever the result may be. I think his independent spirit will be the perfect continuation of the legacy of Councilmember Barbara Marshall. His victory serves as inspiration to other young people to get involved in their community, following the non-profit example set by someone else I know, Kamani Kuala`au.
Now, this got me thinking, I’d better go check on my Rolodex (OK, OK, my iPhone contacts) to see what other up-and-coming community or government leaders I might already know.
Mahalo!
Please note: The views expressed here are mine and mine alone. While I am employed by and affiliated with organizations and individuals, permission has neither been asked nor granted to write on the topics discussed here.
Ikaika's a great guy.
I knew him back in the dorms at UH as well. Has always had a clean head on his shoulder.
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