Hawaii’s Democratic Party chairman focuses on environmental, social justice

The Democratic Party of Hawaii represents almost the entire political spectrum in the state. That’s the way DPH Chairman Tim Vandeveer sees it.

Now more than halfway into his two-year term, Vandeveer, who was a strong supporter of Bernie Sanders’ bid for the presidency, says, “Our big accomplishment coming out of 2016 was enabling an open and functioning grassroots organization with greater diversity than ever before.”

Born in Corpus Christi, Texas, and raised in a nearby farming community, Vandeveer grew up hearing stories about Hawaii from maternal grandparents — his grandfather had been stationed at Pearl Harbor. He moved to the islands about 16 years ago, after wrapping up undergraduate studies in English and history at the University of Texas.

These days, he lives in Palolo with his wife, Janna, and their three adopted cats. Slated to graduate from the University of Hawaii’s William S. Richardson School of Law next month, Vandeveer’s environmental law focus is fueled by his view that “environmental justice is the most important issue of this century, and the one that we must get right” for the sake of the planet’s survival.

Active in the Defend Oahu Coalition (known for “Keep the Country Country” efforts), Vandeveer describes himself as committed to helping to preserve agricultural lands, open space and rural communities. His previous employment here has included unexploded-ordnance technician and a post as a union shop steward at Turtle Bay Resort.

He compares the rise of Sanders, the independent senator from Vermont, to Hawaii’s “Democratic Revolution of 1954” that “mobilized a new generation to take political power and demand more from our government” on matters such as social safety net issues.

In March 2016, Sanders won 17 of the 25 Hawaii delegates that were apportioned according to the results of presidential preference polling, while Hillary Clinton won eight.

“As a Democratic Socialist, I personally believe the way to address the issues that we currently face is to recognize the fundamental role that government must play in improving the lives of our citizens,” Vandeveer said. “Now is the time for bold action — the time to refresh the revolution and renew our historical role as the party of ideas and principles.”

Question: What are the Hawaii party’s top platform issues at this time?

Answer: Some of the issues we are currently focusing on include securing a living wage, ensuring health care for all, and providing dignity for our kupuna at the end of life.

Generally speaking, we continually fight to get our platform positions enacted into law and policy, while focusing our work on building a strong economy with a progressive tax structure that works for everyone. Until we can truly solve income and wealth inequality, we will only be addressing the symptoms of this greater illness in our society.

Q: In May 2016, upon winning the election for your post, you called the party practice of raising money from corporate donors and special interests as “fundamentally wrong.” How’s the effort going to change that?

A: Raising money from corporate donors and special interests is wrong because of the problem (whether perceived or real) of influence-peddling and buying access to government, some of which comes through political parties. Since the ruling in Citizens United, the presence of “dark” money and the influence of corporate interests has only increased.

… We have shifted our focus to member-direct finance, which allows us to work on what our members care about most, while strengthening all levels of Democrat organizations around the state. The change in focus is going well, as demonstrated by the larger share that individual, grassroots contributions make up in our overall fundraising.

Q: Your election is part of a recent move away from longstanding leadership, such as that tied to the the late U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye. Are you able to garner support from the various portions of party membership?

A: I’ve been successful in garnering support from those … in the party who want to see it succeed. … We take no support for granted. While we are proud of our history, we cannot rest on past accomplishments. Instead, those accomplishments must serve as a guide for how we build coalition and confront the challenges we currently face.

Q: What’s your reaction to former national party chairwoman Donna Brazile’s just-released book, in which she basically says the Democratic National Committee was rigging the process in favor of Clinton over Sanders?

A: There have been concerns about the integrity of DNC operations since the 2016 primaries, and work continues to address and resolve those concerns. In Hawaii, this has been accomplished through the influx of new membership, and my administration is focused on making the Democratic Party of Hawaii a place where everyone is welcome and work is conducted in an open and democratic manner.

Q: U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz prominently said: Donald Trump “is not my president.” What’s been your reaction to Trump’s presidency so far?

A: I think that when Senator Schatz said that, he was referring to the kuleana of every president to unite our citizens and respect the institution of government through responsible leadership. On both counts, our president has failed us. So in that sense, I agree that Donald Trump is not my president, or the president of any American who expects the person who holds that office to not incite racism, sexism, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, division, fear, or promote anti-immigrant policies, anti-labor policies, or an outright assault on a free press.

Q: Earlier this year, the Democratic Party of Hawaii took part in the nationwide “Summer of Resistance and Renewal,” which aimed to unify and activate party members prepping for the 2018 elections. Any local results?

A: It yielded terrific results locally and began the process of transforming the culture in our party to one of year-round organizing. For the first time in decades, the DPH put field organizers in every county across the state.

The precinct and district clubs are the heart of our party — the place where leaders are grown, and where most of the hard work is done to promote our platform. Through the hard work of our organizers and the volunteers that assisted them, we identified districts with no leaders or absent leaders and then worked to get new leadership into place.

A significant number of precinct vacancies were also filled. As a result, nearly all our district clubs statewide have held reorganization meetings, 31 percent of our districts have new leadership, and we have begun the process of engaging all our members through door-knocks, phone banks and other events.

Training modules that we launched during the summer program have continued in various forms … and we have continued to recruit new members, register voters and increase voter turnout for the next election. I am also excited by the prospect of utilizing the “resistance” model for training members to go to the mainland to help Democrats in swing states take back Congress in 2018.

Q: What do you expect the Democratic Party of Hawaii’s priorities will be for Hawaii’s 2018 legislative session?

A: The priorities that the DPH pursues each year during the legislative session are decided by our members through our governing body, the State Central Committee.

While we have yet to finalize the priorities for 2018, some of the issues we worked on last session include: raising the minimum wage, “Death with Dignity,” increasing availability of affordable rental housing and housing for homeless and increasing funding for public education. Also, bans on oxybenzone, foam containers and toxic herbicides; increasing the bankruptcy homestead and personal property exemption amount (especially for the elderly); and raising income tax rates on the highest tax brackets.

Q: What do you find most challenging/frustrating in your leadership role in the party? Most satisfying/rewarding?

A: The reasons my work is challenging are the same reasons it is satisfying. The Democratic Party of Hawaii is comprised of many passionate people, who are zealous advocates that care deeply for our island community. While this passion can create drama and frustration at times, it also makes the work I do extremely rewarding.

I have been a Democrat all my life, and there is no place I would rather be.