Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 26, Number 9, 1 May 2009 — Anderson handily wins City Council seat [ARTICLE]

Anderson handily wins City Council seat

By Lisa Asato Public lnfūrmatiūn Spacialist Coming off a landslide victory in a special City Council eleetion, Ikaika Anderson said he's ready to fill the shoes of his late boss Barbara Marshall and will maintain her open-door policy that she was known for. "I will represent the distiict the same way she did," said Anderson, Marshall's longtime aide who celebrated his April 23 victory surrounded by friends, family and supporters at his Waimānalo home. "I will listen to all sides of every issue and then I will make a responsible decision. Barbara Marshall always . . . made siue she would hear other points of view and she was always open to changing her mind." Asked if he had a message to his Native Hawaiian constituency, Anderson said, "First of all I would just like to say I'm honored to be the second Hawaiian on the Council along with Council Chairman Todd Apo, and I would ask for the Hawaiian eommu-

nity's support," he said, adding that he wanted to "assure them that I will do my best to represent them and I will never do anything to harm them." Anderson said he supports rail, supports keeping Waimānalo Gulch Landfill open in Nānākuli, and supports bed and breakfasts as a "working part of our community." For rail, he said, it's our "mandate to build a system; I don't think that means we just blindly rush into it . . . for the sake of putting something up quickly. The eouneil has to "do it responsibly because we're going to get one ehanee." During the eleehon, Anderson cited passage of the Akaka Bill, pending in Congress, as the No. 1 issue facing Native Hawaiian in his district. "I realize that federal recognition is a obviously a federal issue, but if there's anything that ean be done at the county level, or just to be there for moral support, I will speak out to represent the Hawaiian community at every opportunity," he said. "As a Hawaiian, I feel I do have that obligation to represent that part of our community."

Anderson, 31, a longtime aide to Marshall was supported by Marshall's husband, Cliff Ziems, following her death on Feb. 22 following a battle with cancer. The special election to fill her vacated District 3 seat eneompassing parts of Kāne'ohe, Kailua and Waimānalo in Windward O'ahu attracted 1 1 candidates. Anderson won with 12,582 votes, or 49 percent of the vote. His closest opponents, Steve Holmes and Tracy Bean Nakano got 3,612 and 2,617 votes, or 14 percent and 10 percent, respectively. "The best many won," said Wilson Ho, ehainnan of the Waimānalo Neighborhood Board, who got 832 votes, or 3 percent. "I'm justhappy for the winner and wish him the best." Ho said he looks forward to working with Anderson on issues like beach erosion, getting back 200 acres of ceded lands from the military, establishing a senior center and infrastructure issues such as potholes. And he said the district-wide race raised his awareness to issues outside

his Waimānalo district, including the work of various groups to improve the wetlands in He'eia Kea in Kāne'ohe. "I want to work with him to see that other communities benefit as well as us," said Ho, who will begin another two-year term on the board Iuly 1 . Anderson, who ean take office ' May 14, said his first priority is the city budget and that he will be ready to submit amendments to the budget after inauguration. Anderson spent around $100,000 on the election and had various union endorsements, including the Hawai'i Government Employees Association, whieh is the state's largest public worker union, with about 40,000 members. lohn Henry Felix, a former City Councilman who got 1,825 votes, spent the most on the race, about $120,000. Anderson, who attributed his win to community members, some of whom contributed the only thing they could - time. "Yes, I think (funds) helped us to get our message out, but I don't think money carried the day," he said. "All the money in the world and no community support won't get you anywhere." ■

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