Heed Ige’s call for engagement

Gov. David Ige struck just the right tone with the observation, about halfway through his inaugural address, that, contrary to conventional wisdom, Hawaii is not at a turning point just because we have a new governor and a new state administration.

Rather, Ige pointed out, "We stand at this point in history, with an opportunity to transform it into a turning point. We have an opportunity to chart a new tomorrow. We have an opportunity to fulfill longstanding hopes and dreams. We have an opportunity to make Hawaii a place we are proud to call home because it is our home. But for now that’s all it is: an opportunity. Before us are the challenges that those opportunities present. We still have to do the hard work to reach our goals and realize our dreams."

Monday’s speech was vintage Ige, an engineer and longtime legislator, delivered in his understated, humble way. His emphasis on precision and process over big ideas and soaring rhetoric was no surprise, reflecting his personal demeanor and his world view: Talk is cheap. Ige wants results.

So do the people who elected him to disrupt fellow Democrat Neil Abercrombie’s tenure, turning out the progressive firebrand after a single term; Ige defeated Abercrombie in the primary, then Republican James "Duke" Aiona in the general election.

By emphasizing that we remain merely on the cusp of change, and that it will take sustained hard work to actually achieve the goals of improving public education and boosting the economy so that homelessness and hunger recede, to name just two of his campaign objectives, Ige succeeded in underscoring the public’s essential role in good governance.

He fairly begged people to get involved, an earnest appeal most welcome in these apathetic times. "I ask each of you, each and every one of you, to join me in the process of governing," Ige said. "I ask you to find your voice and use it to not only choose your elected officials but to shape the issues that will shape our lives."

To that end, Ige promises an open, honest, transparent and inclusive government. The governor and all the state directors he hires simply must fulfill that pledge if Ige is to see the desired surge in voter involvement. Few things galvanize "the people" more than the perception that they have a voice, unless it’s the later realization that their voices are being ignored. Ige must listen to the folks he’s exhorting to speak up — or risk learning the same lesson Abercrombie did.

The new governor was chairman of the state Senate Ways and Means Committee and as governor vows to "do the people’s business in a businesslike way," which, for him, means careful spending and a high level of fiscal accountability. This ethos naturally constrains grand visions, but need not preclude progress on perennial issues such as Hawaii’s need for more affordable housing, environmental protection and sustainable agriculture. It’s here that Ige’s instincts and experience as a methodical, collaborative leader with strong legislative relationships are most promising. After all, no governor takes office lacking ideas — the struggle is always in the execution.

In his inaugural address, Ige harkened to the immigrant roots that he and so many Hawaii residents share, and to the abiding sense of aloha that the indigenous culture laudably compels all to follow. It’s a true test of leadership to honor the past while acknowledging the dreams of the future, and Ige’s administration will hinge on balancing the two. While the new governor perhaps underestimates the depth of divisions roiling Hawaii — same-sex marriage and GMO farming were two issues he mentioned — such optimism is understandable his first day on the job, amid the pomp and ceremony of the inaugural festivities.

The "heavy lifting that I cannot do alone," as Ige described it, the collective effort that gets Hawaii to that pivotal place, really begin on Day Two. The public would do well to answer the call.