Leadership is hard. Few politicians measure up to this crucial skill set. It requires courage and hard choices to stand up against politically connected special interest money or those with woke thinking. Our elected leaders need to focus on our ohana.

To those we have elected: You must step aside from your political or financial advancement. We need you to care about our Hawaii families, which are struggling with rent, food, insurance and much more. Our ohana has scary, life-changing decisions to make, like moving off island. Many have already made that choice. We need your leadership, transparency and vision to bring the best outcomes.

I ask all those Hawaii elected and your political appointees to step up and measure up. Will you be the leaders who make a difference, or should our ohana move to the mainland?

Phil Winter

Kihei, Maui

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