When we catch elected officials doing the right thing in difficult situations, let’s lock them into a PFL.
It’s important we catch the new ones before they decide “going along to get along” is the best path forward.
I’ll never forget the first time it happened to me.
It was back in 1998. I’d just been elected to the Kauai County Council.
One of the first issues I had to vote on was a proposed zoning change for lands at Kukuiula on Kauai’s south side. Alexander and Baldwin (A&B) were the land owners.
The request before the Council was to allow A&B to build a luxury golf course/resort-type development. Years earlier, when the lands were first rezoned from agricultural to residential, A&B had promised to “build housing for local Koloa residents for generations to come.”
Now, after sitting on their residential zoning for decades and building almost nothing, A&B had come before the Council claiming the original residential plan was not economically feasible. A resort component was essential, they declared.
On the day of that public hearing back in 1998, the room was standing-room only, packed with carpenters.
Over and over, they testified: “We need the jobs!”
“Trust us” said A&B, “We’ll build homes for local people, but we must first build the resort component, and the golf course, and the luxury shopping center, and the high-end homes.”
I knew in my heart this was a bad, bad, bad proposal and that our community would likely never see the promised housing. Certainly it wouldn’t be built any time soon.
On the night before the vote, as I lay in bed preparing to doze off, my life partner Claudette turned to me and asked, “So how are you going to vote tomorrow?”
“NO,” I responded, without hesitation. “I’m going to vote ‘No.’”
“You’re never going to get re-elected” was her immediate response.
“I don’t care” was my reply.
Of course, I cared. Actually, I cared a whole lot.
I was proud to serve my community on the Council. I’d worked hard to get elected. Many people had spent countless hours knocking on doors, holding signs along the highway, attending meetings and coffee hours. They’d donated money to my campaign.
They were counting on me.
The next day came, the vote was held, and mine was the only No vote.
My mind was swirling as I walked out of the Council Chambers and awaited my political world to end.
Incredibly, the first person I saw gave me a huge hug and told me thank you. Then another and another, and still ANOTHER came up, gave me a hug or a high-five and told me “Right-on Gary, I knew I voted for the right person.”
My phone messages and email over-flowed with people offering their aloha and gratitude.
I was caught in a positive feedback loop (PFL) unlike any I’d ever encountered.
I followed my na’au, did what my gut told me to do, and what my constituents expected of me. I could look myself in the mirror. It was an incredible feeling.
Let’s entangle others in that same, PFL, and keep them there. All it takes is an email, a text, or a phone call to acknowledge the good work of others. We all can benefit from the positive reinforcement.
And in case you’re wondering: I was reelected in 2000, then elected to the State Senate in 2002 – 2010.
And to this day, 27 years after that vote – there are still practically zero homes for local residents built on those lands (1,000 acres).
Mahalo to all who came up to me that day and the many days since to share your support and encouragement.
•••
Gary Hooser served eight years in the state Senate, where he was majority leader. He also served for eight years on the Kaua‘i County Council. He presently writes on Hawai‘i Policy and Politics at www.garyhooser.blog.
