Gov. David Ige, who made a campaign promise to do the right things in the right way for Hawaii’s future, hit many of the right notes as he set the tone in his inaugural speech.

He’s taken some criticism for not laying down specific policy proposals, but that can wait until next month when he delivers his first budget to the Legislature and makes his State of the State speech.

For now, the important thing is to change the tone of the public conversation from the shouting, threatening, name-calling and fear-mongering that has degraded our policy disagreements to something more respectful, inclusive and productive.

This seems a chief asset Ige brings to the job.

We saw it in his calm and focused leadership of rancorous budget deliberations as Senate Ways and Means chairman.

We saw it in his refusal to rise to the bait when insulting accusations were thrown at him in the campaign.

And we saw it in his simple call to honor, decency and conscience in his inaugural speech.

Ige paid homage to Hawaii’s kupuna, but not as the powerful voting bloc to which politicians pander with promises of more benefits.

Instead, he invoked his grandparents’ ethic of "kodomo no tame ni" — a willingness to sacrifice for the sake of the children’s future.

If his administration makes meaningful progress in reversing the public debt, job losses, crumbling infrastructure, struggling schools and depleted environment we’re leaving future generations, it’ll be a powerful accomplishment.

Ige described political hot buttons such as same-sex marriage and GMOs as "passing issues" that are important, but don’t define us as a people.

He condemned "outside money that seeks to divide us (with) hurtful and personal attacks that have nothing to do with the issues themselves; emotional appeals that feed on prejudices and stereotypes. They all have nothing to do with who we are."

He lamented Hawaii’s dismal voter turnout in unusually strong terms for a longtime legislator who has benefited from the combination of poor turnout and bountiful special-interest money that helps incumbents keep their jobs.

Ige said low voter participation is "not only alarming; it is terrifying," and leaders are obligated to do more about it.

And he signaled he’ll take on special interests, saying, "There should be no ‘special’ interest. The only interest that matters is the public’s interest."

How serious he is on this one depends on his definitions; elected officials tend to view the other guy’s supporters as special interests and their own supporters as "stakeholders."

But Ige comes to office with relatively few major political debts after running a low-budget underdog campaign, and if he means what he says, has a rare opportunity for true independence in the public interest.

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