Political Quotes

“Mr. President, what is aloha? It is not a catchphrase. As it is commonly understood, it is synonymous with kindness, with love, with hospitality, with a Hawaiian perspective, but it is difficult for those not from Hawaii to fully understand its meaning and for those of us from Hawaii to fully explain. No one embodied the spirit of aloha more than State senator Gil Kahele, who died suddenly last week. He was a living personification of the idea that we are all in this together, that it really does mean something to live together in an island State in the most isolated populated place on the planet and the most beautiful place in the world. Senator Kahele devoted his life to public service, but political office for him was an afterthought. Gil was a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps. He worked for the State's department of defense for 33 years and eventually became director of public works at the Pohakuloa Training Area. Gil took office in 2011 and dedicated his efforts to the people of Senate District 1. He was the chair of the Tourism and International Affairs Committee. Gil was committed to supporting the needs of his district and was instrumental in securing funding for the College of Pharmacy at the University of Hawaii at Hilo. The circumstances of my election in 2014 were unusual in the extreme, and they brought me to Gil.…”