SUPPLEMENT HAWAII FILIPINO CHRONICLE S3
COVER STORY
2022 PRIMARY ELECTIONS
2022 Primary Elections: Filipino Americans Running For Office By Jim Bea Sampaga
L
eaders in the Filipino community from the Baby Boomer generation and Generation X – contemporaries of former Gov. Ben Cayetano and those old enough to witness his historical victory – have been waiting for an election year to be as captivating as it were in the 1990s when the idea of Filipino empowerment was joined at the hip to local politics. Since then and through the 2000s, there hasn’t been an election sufficiently invigorating for Hawaii’s Filipino community to rally behind with such intensity and unity for a Filipino-American candidate. Why? In some ways, Filipino-Americans today, particularly millennials, have not experienced the level of discrimination in the past. Back then, older Filipinos had something to really fight for and to say with our votes that “we are here, and it’s our time!” Another reason, is there hasn’t been a Filipino-American running for a major political office in the 2000s who managed to appeal to the Filipino constituency as Cayetano did -- in part not necessarily due to a lack of ability or charisma, but that the Filipino constituency of most recent is far more diverse. Based on who’s running among Filipino candidates, election 2022 signals a new dawn, a new era. The old political guard of FilAm politicians of the 1990s, what’s left of them, you can count with one hand. There are new faces. All the Filipino-Americans running for the highest seats (Congress and Lt. Gov) in this election represent a new generation. Two Filipino Americans are running for U.S. Congressional seats. Non-profit public interest attorney Sergio Alcubilla is running for U.S. Congressional District 1. While District 50 Representative Patrick Pihana Branco is running for U.S. Congressional District 2. If either one of them is elected, it will be the first time a Filipino is elected to a Congressional seat from Hawaii. There is a current member of Congress of Filipino ancestry and another in the past from other states. Another potential first should she win in her race for Hawaii Lieutenant Governor is Chamber of Commerce Hawaii CEO and President Sherry-McNamara, who is of Filipino ancestry. The State Senate is also an area to watch for. Currently, six out of 25 State senators are of Filipino ancestry while there are eight Filipinos out of the 51 State House representatives. For this election, there are 10 State Senate and 15
CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS Sergio Alcubilla
Democrat U.S. Congressional District 1 Background: I am a public-interest attorney, non-profit community leader, and proud Filipino-American immigrant. Born in the Philippines, I immigrated to the U.S. at seven years old after my military officer father was assassinated by a communist hit squad in 1986. My mother was pregnant with my youngest brother at the time and was working as a nurse in the U.S. As a single mother, she worked hard to raise six children. These lived and personal experiences have guided my career in public service. I previously served as an attorney and the Director of External Relations at the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii, a non-profit, public interest law firm where I focused on improving access to justice for the most vulnera-
ble in our community. I am currently on the executive board of the Hawaii Workers Center, a non-profit organization that advocates for the rights of low-wage workers. I’ve served on various committees of the Hawaii Access to Justice Commission and as a board director for the Hawaii Filipino Lawyers Association and the Filipino Young Leaders Program. I graduated from the University of Florida with degrees in political science and economics, obtained a master’s degree in religious education from the Unification Theological Seminary, and completed my law degree at the William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawaii. My wife Hiromi and I have two young children, Aina and Sergio IV who both attend public school. I enjoy playing league basketball in the community. Platform: It’s time we put the needs of working families and everyday people first. Our democracy and government do not just belong to the rich and powerful but to hard-working people like you and me. Representation matters. It’s time we have a seat at
State House candidates with Filipino ancestry. This election, Filipino American incumbents are running for their current seats while some candidates are running up to the State Senate positions. Several Filipino American candidates are also going head to head in the same public office position. Long-time politician Romy Cachola is running for his old seat in House District 30 which represents Kalihi and its neighboring towns. Cachola held the position since 2012 but lost his seat to newcomer Sonny Ganaden, who’s an attorney and lecturer, in the 2020 Primary Elections. This year, Ganaden is once again running for the District 30 seat against Cachola. Waipahu-native Henry J.C. Aquino has served the State House for the last 14 years representing Districts 35 and 38 which cover different portions of Waipahu. This election, he’s running as a senator to represent Senate District 19 which covers the majority of Waipahu and Pearl City. Aquino’s move to the State Senate is most likely because of redistricting this 2022 Primary Elections. Aquino and fellow Filipino Roger Clemente are the only candidates running for Senate District 19. If one of them wins, it will add another Filipino to the Senate. For the Senate District 16 seat, Councilmember Brandon Elefante is challenging incumbent Bennette Misalucha. Elefante has held the seat in Honolulu City Council District 8 since 2014 and is an active community member. Meanwhile, Misalucha, who is a community leader and former executive, was appointed by Governor David Ige to fill the Senate District 16 seat after Sen. Breen Harimoto’s passing. An interesting newcomer in this election’s candidacy is Sen. Donna Mercado Kim’s son, Micah Pookela Kim Aiu. Currently a practicing attorney and an in-house counsel for a firm, Aiu is running for State House District 32 which represents Moanalua Valley, Salt Lake and Aliamanu. Kim is also on the ballots this election as she runs for her current seat at the Senate District 14. In the Honolulu City Council race, former District 9 councilmember Ron Menor is running for District 8. Fellow Filipino American and current District 26 representative Val Aquino Okimoto is also running for the City Council District 8 seat. Although the City Council race is non-partisan, Menor is a member of the Democratic party while Okimoto is Republican. To help the Filipino community learn more about the upcoming elections, Hawaii Filipino Chronicle reached out to Filipino American candidates running for public office to share their background and platforms. EDITOR’S NOTE: Other Fil-Am candidates who were not included in this cover story did not respond as of our press time. the table. I am grateful for the endorsement and support of Unite Here Local 5, the Hawaii State Teachers Association (HSTA), Hawaii State AFL-CIO, ILWU Local 142, ILWU International, Pono Hawaii Initiative, and the Hawaii Ports Maritime Council who join me in standing up for the people and standing up for what’s right.
Patrick Pihana Branco
Democrat U.S. Congressional District 2 Background: I am the current State Representative for Hawai’i House District 50 (Kailua and Kāne‘ohe Bay). I was born and raised in Kailua and spent my summers growing up working on my great-grandfather’s farm on Hawaiʻi island. I graduated from the Kamehameha Schools and received a full scholarship to Hawaiʻi Pacific University, where I served as Student Body President. After graduating, I earned a Congressman Charles B.
Rangel Fellowship to fully fund my Master’s degree from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington, D.C. Drawn to public service, I joined the U.S. Foreign Service as a Diplomat in 2012. Around the world, I dedicated myself to promoting the values I grew up with in Hawaiʻi: equality, freedom of speech, and religious freedom. I served tours in some of the world’s most unstable areas, such as Colombia, Pakistan, Venezuela, the Office of the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, and the Secretary of State’s Operations Center. In the State Legislature, I am proud to have been the author of the bill which banned the possession of ghost guns in Hawaiʻi and to have secured the funding for the Green Job Youth Corps, which brought job opportunities for our youth and strengthened Hawaiʻi’s climate resiliency. Platform: If elected, I’m proud to say that I will be the only member of Hawaiʻi’s federal delegation to have Filipino ancestry. I’m running for Con(continue on S4)