If there’s a great Hawaii leader out there, now would be the time to step forward.

There might never be another Kamehameha the Great, though grandfathers may have wished that for their grandsons for generations.

There might never be another Dan Inouye — for even Inouye himself wasn’t very concerned with bringing up an apprentice.

There might never be a Hawaii leader as bold as Frank Fasi, as sturdy as George Ariyoshi, as thoughtful as Jack Burns.

It has been said that we are in the era of shared leadership, that we must each have the vision, courage and commitment to carry our community forward — which sounds like a great idea in one of those well-lit Ted Talks, but in the harsh glare and deep shadows of reality leads to chaos, anarchy and mob rule.

Hawaii needs a strong leader.

We currently do not have one. No star on the stage, no one waiting in the wings.

A great leader communicates effectively, inspires the group to work together toward shared goals, builds confidence, trust and a sense of clear-eyed hope that doesn’t feel like foolish wishing.

Who do we have who can do that? I mean really do that, not just say it in a slow-mo beach scene in a campaign commercial.

A crucial quality of a great leader is service over self. That means doing things like compromising because it’ll get the job done. It means letting your opponents take credit sometimes because the project is more important than who gets to say it was their idea. It means doing beach cleanups and school visits because you should, not because it’ll make a good Instagram pic.

One of the most important qualities of a good leader is the ability to withstand criticism. Those with thin skins and a vindictive nature don’t stay in power for long, and their tenure is marked by upheaval and defections. Among our current officeholders, few can take a punch, not one can take a joke and so much of their political grandstanding is about lobbing payback shots to those who “disrespected” them.

Case in point: The rail project is being run off the rails for lack of leadership. Don Horner, pretty much the only guy at the table who wasn’t getting paid, didn’t need the gig and wasn’t in it for the status, wisely walked away from the wreckage.

Kirk Caldwell quickly tried to make it sound like Horner was the problem. (Note to politicians: See how easy it is the next time you need an accomplished local executive to head up a high-profile government board.) Ernie Martin took credit for demanding Horner step down. Dan Grabauskas says the city auditor just doesn’t understand.

Not one of them put service over self. It’s all about scoring points for themselves and against their opponents.

Even rail foes are resigned to the idea that the project cannot be stopped at this point. But it cannot go on without a strong leader.

———

Reach Lee Cataluna at 529-4315 or lcataluna@staradvertiser.com.