Josh Green’s election as Hawaii’s next governor was an impressive show of strength by any measure.
His record margin of victory over the respected James “Duke” Aiona reflected genuine popularity among those who voted for his aggressive and outspoken style.
Green’s time as lieutenant governor was defined by a pandemic that decimated approval ratings of most elected officials. He faced sharp attacks in a rough-and-tumble primary against businesswoman Vicky Cayetano and U.S. Rep. Kai Kahele.
Yet through it all, Green’s popularity polled consistently above 60%. Unlike other recent governors, he wasn’t seen by most voters as a lesser of evils; a good majority actually liked him.
It gives him a reservoir of goodwill as he takes office in December facing daunting challenges of affordable housing, homelessness, climate change, Native Hawaiian discontent, struggling schools, health care shortages and overcrowded prisons.
But goodwill can evaporate quickly in politics. As LG, Green could sound off without having to take responsibility for making the tough decisions.
As governor, the decisions are on him, and people expect him to keep his promises to “go for big solutions … take on the largest challenges … demand a lot of moral clarity.”
To deliver on his many promises, he’ll first have to prioritize them and hire talented people who can organize a sharply focused plan of attack.
Along with his obvious talent for winning people over, a key asset is Lt. Gov.-elect Sylvia Luke, with whom he appears to be developing a true partnership after being somewhat marginalized himself by Gov. David Ige.
Luke, a longtime power player in the Legislature as House finance chair, has a deep understanding of the state’s budget and operations. Her influence, along with Green’s own relationships with lawmakers after serving in both houses, might help overcome the Legislature’s usual attempts to put the new governor in his place.
A downside of Green’s success in amassing millions more than his opponents in campaign donations, as well as the vast majority of endorsements, is that he’s more in debt to more special interests than perhaps any previous incoming governor.
This is reflected in the transition committee he named to advise on his hiring, which is heavy with lobbyists and political consultants. Some state legislators are reported to be under consideration for key appointments.
Green risks an early blow to his credibility and agenda if his appointments are perceived to be based more on politics than ability.
But that’s a question for another day.
A nice thing about Hawaii is we haven’t fallen into the toxic mainland politics in which warring sides root for their opponents to fail once elected, and do everything they can to make it happen. We still understand that we all have a rooting interest in the success of our leaders because if they do well, the community does well.
Healthy skepticism is always good when it comes to politics, but so is the old tradition of giving the newly elected a fair chance and some benefit of the doubt as they kick off their administration.
Reach David Shapiro at volcanicash@gmail.com.
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