Affable Ige must now show he can firmly take the lead

After David Ige’s surprise announcement that he would challenge Gov. Neil Abercrombie in the Democratic primary, a backyard pundit whose patience with the bombastic Abercrombie had worn thin emailed me, "It’s about time we had another George Ariyoshi, a local boy with brains and respect."

It turned out to be just the prescription voters wanted — at least the few who turned out.

Ige, a little-known state senator, swamped Abercrombie by a 2-to-1 margin and beat Republican James "Duke" Aiona in the general election by double digits.

Comparisons between Ige and Ariyoshi, the former governor who appointed the young engineer Ige to the Legislature in 1985 and played a key role in Ige’s decision to run against Abercrombie, go beyond the obvious ethnic similarity.

Ariyoshi, who was lieutenant governor to John A. Burns and inherited the top job when Burns became ill, is generally well-remembered for keeping the ship of state afloat during his 13-year tenure with relatively little of the political and economic drama that marked the subsequent regimes of John Waihee, Ben Cayetano, Linda Lingle and Abercrombie.

Ariyoshi billed himself as "quiet but effective," and that was exactly the pitch Ige tried to channel as he promised little more than "we can do better."

Both came to office with intimate knowledge of state operations as former chairmen of the Senate’s budget-writing Ways and Means Committee, where each had a reputation for frugality.

A difference is that Ariyoshi was seen as aloof and somewhat of a cold fish by many fellow lawmakers, while the affable Ige, who is friendly by nature and has an easy sense of humor, is well-liked to the point that few who worked with him have anything bad to say.

Most friends and foes alike describe him as honest, fair and good to his word.

As Ways and Means chairman, he teamed with his House counterpart, Rep. Sylvia Luke, to preside over budget deliberations that were seen as diligent, thoughtful, restrained in new taxing and spending and relatively drama-free.

Ige has proved that he’s smart, hard-working and able to collaborate with others on complex issues.

The big unknown is whether he can grow beyond his inner wonk and lead in the sense of communicating compelling priorities and persuading lawmakers and the electorate of their value.

An important early sign will be the Cabinet and staff Ige appoints.

He’ll be under pressure to fill his administration with refugees from losing Democratic campaigns looking for state paychecks while they plot their next moves.

If Ige hopes to be a transformational governor in a time of high public cynicism, he needs to hire top people who are focused on his agenda rather than their own.

Reach David Shapiro at volcanicash@gmail.com or blog.volcanicash.net.