Neil Abercrombie and I go way back. We first began our journey in the 1960s as University of Hawaii graduate students. When he was a freshman member of the House of Representatives, we worked together to save Operation Manong, a tutorial program for immigrant Filipino students. Throughout his career, he’s been a great advocate for immigrants and other groups who have been traditionally excluded from full and equal participation. In my mind, this will be part of his legacy: a champion for those who needed a voice and a fighter for equality.

It’s been an honor to have known Neil for as long as I have, and serve as co-chair in his campaign to become the seventh governor of the state of Hawaii.

I thank him for signing the historic same-gender marriage law, as well as raising the minimum wage for working families, and the emergency contraceptive bill. His appointments of competent and diverse public servants is consistent with his commitment to inclusion and social justice. His Cabinet included talented Native Hawaiians to lead the departments of Budget and Finance, Land and Natural Resources, Commerce and Consumer Affairs and Hawaiian Home Lands.

Our state will continue to be well-served with his appointment of highly qualified women to state Senate and Hawaii Supreme Court vacancies; and to boards and commissions including the Commission on Judicial Selection, UH Board of Regents and the state Board of Education. The Hawaii Civil Rights Commission appointees are experts who are Filipino, immigrant, lesbian, transgendered and persons with disabilities. The Parole Board has members who are Japanese, white, Native Hawaiian and Samoan. The only African-American member of the Legislature was initially appointed by the governor to fill a vacant seat. These appointees made immediate positive impacts for Hawaii and our future.

Neil Abercrombie understands the need to intentionally share our heritage and history. He actively supported Native Hawaiian language immersion schools. He expanded immigrant services to neighbor islands and Oahu under the leadership of the Office of Community Service. He frequently joined celebrations organized by Chinese, Korean, Okinawan and other ethnic community groups.

Gov. Abercrombie signed into law efforts to preserve the Honouliuli Internment Camp to educate our community about the history of the internment of Americans of Japanese ancestry during World War II. He provided funding for the Filipino Community Center in Waipahu and the Kauai Philippine Cultural Center in recognition of this group’s contribution to the state for over a hundred years, their growing population (now the second-largest ethnic group in the state and the public schools) and the need to increase their representation in the professions and higher education.

Over the past four years, the Abercrombie administration has made significant strides to restore the state’s fiscal health, strengthen the local economy (we have one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation), protect the environment, and pave the way for universal access to early education. Now, as the administration comes to a close, I am proud to have supported a man who has always worked to make Hawaii a better place for all of us.

It’s significant that Neil came to Hawaii in 1959 — the same year Hawaii became a state. He’s been at the forefront of every major issue the state has faced since statehood, and has a deep appreciation of our values and aspirations.

I firmly believe the governor’s legacy on equal rights will have a lasting impact. We’ve often heard him talking about the spirit of aloha, and how our diversity defines us — how we are all brothers and sisters, no matter where we come from. I am positive that many will remember him as someone whose integrity was always intact; who has always wanted equality for all; and who appreciated our multicultural history and our multicultural future.