Elections Pinoy A Festival Trending Cooking to always What does it mean Remember for Filipino voters Resource A pictorial of the this coming election? What was that 2017 Maui Fil-Am Unleash your power… cooking procedure Heritage Festival go vote! called in Pilipino? Page 1 Page 5 Pages 12 –13 November 2017 · Vo l 1 N o9 FILIPINO AMERICAN VOIC E • U PLIFTING OUR COMMUNITY FREE inside FThe iFillipi-noA Votme in Ma ui ECounlty ection Preview Susan Halas hings could look very ipinos, it’s certain to be a sig - different in Hawai‘i pol - nificant portion and increase itics if the population of the total number in the Fil - This elder gentleman’s life- Filipino ancestry were to reg - ipino voter base. savings is threatened. Tister and vote their full nu - Filipinos are followed by How can you avoid this? merical strength. Though the Mauians of Hispanic or Latino p.8 state and local landscape is origin: 18,488; Native Hawai - lightly sprinkled with success - ian and other Pacific Is - ful Filipino elected representa - landers: 15,545 and Japanese: tives past and present (such as 11,575 according to 2015 fig - former Hawai‘i Governor Ben ures. Cayetano, current state sena - The State Office of Election Benjamin Cayetano Gilbert S.C. Keith-Agaran tor Gil S.C. Keith-Agaran and figures show the 2016 total PHOTO COURTESY NAT ’L GOVS ASSN . PHOTO COURTESY GIL KEITH -A GARAN current Maui County council - county primary election regis - men Alika Atay and Don S. tration was 91,138 and the This Maui Church Guzman) the turnout was a celebrates a milestone number of Fil - “When eyeing paltry 25,992 in its faith and history. ipinos who the Filipino (29.6%). The p.9 serve in elected general election office is relative - vote in 2018, was also thin ly sparse given it’s important soup—registra - the numerical tion increased strength. to remember slightly to The most re - 93,912 and the cent figures in that not all turnout was a the 2015 Maui people who tepid 52,972 County Data (56.4%). Alika Atay Don S. Guzman What is your “teleserye” Book show identify as In both the favorite? “What do you PHOTO COURTESY MAUI INDEPENDENT PHOTO COURTESY MAUI COUNTY .US Maui County Filipino look primary and think” explores this. with a popula - general elec - p.15 tion of 164,593 the part.” tions, Maui had in 2015, up –SUSAN HALAS the lowest from 141,698 in turnout in the 2009. state and Of that number Whites are Hawai‘i had the lowest the largest group with 61,299, turnout in the nation. The key up from 54,371 in 2009. to winning the election in The next largest ethnic 2018 is not registering new group is Filipinos. The Filipino voters; it is in getting those population grew from 21,108 who are already registered to in 2009 to 28,450 in 2015, actually cast a ballot. and has almost certainly con - The 2018 election will cer - tinued its upward trend. tainly test whether the Fil - “That’s funny, you don’t ipino ethnic connection has look Filipino” any clout at the polls. The Maui mayor’s race is likely to When eyeing the Filipino be a three or four way con - vote in 2018, it’s important to test. Don S. Guzman, present - remember that not all people ly a county council member who identify as Filipino look representing Kahului, has al - the part. Lots of voters identi - ready declared he is running What’s it all about? It’s all about the vote! Things could look very fy themselves as affiliated and is campaigning hard for different in Hawai‘i politics if the population of Filipino ancestry were to register and vote their full numerical strength. The Fil - with two or more ethnic the office. Councilwoman Elle ipino population grew from 21,108 in 2009 to 28,450 in 2015, groups. There are almost Cochran and former Council - and has almost certainly continued its upward trend. Find infor - 40,000 Mauians who fit that man Michael Victorino have mation relating to voter registration, mail in and walk in voting at bill, so while the data doesn’t also announced their candida - give exact numbers for Fil - see PREVIEW p.2 http://elections.hawaii.gov/voters/registration/. Do it NOW! Preview… from p. 1 cies for Maui Mayor while Lt. Gover - nor Shan Tsutsui recently announced he would not seek any office in 2018. Guzman, a 48 year old Kahului at - torney, lists many Filipino organiza - tions in his campaign biography in - cluding past state president of the United Filipino Council of Hawai‘i, co- chair of the Filipino Community Task Force of Bini At Ani, and former legal counsel for the Maui Filipino Chamber of Commerce. He also chaired the ... Neil Abercrombie was soundly de - The 2016 South Maui victory for Kelly In 2016, Alika Atay won a come-from-be - 2006 Maui Filipino Centennial Cele - feated by his Democratic opponent, un - King was also viewed as an upset when hind, final print-out-last-minute- bration Coordinating Council. derdog David Ige , adding an unscientific she beat incumbent councilmember Don squeaker to capture the Wailuku seat by But aside from Guzman, candidates observation supporting the trend that Couch (who had been one of the top vote beating opponent Dain Kane 23,322 to with a Filipino orientation are few and upsets are part of the “new normal.” getters in the primary). 22,513, in another upset. far between. Areas with heavy concen - PHOTO COURTESY GOVERNOR .HAWAII .GOV PHOTO COURTESY MAUI DEMOCRATIC PARTY PHOTO COURTESY MAUI COUNTY .US tration of Filipino voters include the island of Läna‘i, where nearly all of the permanent population is of Fil - candidates is posted on online at for public office are decided in the Au - The deadline to register for the ipino ancestry, Central Maui especially Hawai‘i Office of Elections Calendar gust primary and with a few excep - Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018 general elec - Kahului, North Kïhei, and portions of http://elections.hawaii.gov/about- tions the general election in November tion is Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2018. Lahaina. us/calendar/. is often only a formality. Those who register and vote in the Open seats in the 2018 election Filing for candidates opens on Feb Likewise, with expanded early mail primary do not need to re-register to (i.e. with no incumbent) will include 1, 2018 at 7:45 a.m. Nominations and walk-in voting, as much as 30% vote in the general. Guzman’s old Kahului council seat; close on June 5, 2018 at 4:30 p.m. All of the total vote is already decided Find information relating to voter the West Maui council seat now held filings must be submitted by that date well before election day. To be sure, registration, mail in and walk in vot - by Elle Cochran, who has also an - together with other essential paper - there are still some close races, where ing at http://elections.hawaii.gov/vot - nounced she is running for mayor, the work. the winner is not decided until the fi - ers/registration/. Kihei-Wailea-Mäkena state house seat The August Primary nal print-out in the wee hours of the now held by Kaniela Ing, who recently Usually Counts for More than morning, but most of the time, the What’s different announced a bid for Congressional the November nod goes to the trend set by the early District 1 which is located entirely on General Election vote. about the coming the island of O‘ahu, and other oppor - Be more politically active in tunities may arise as the date draws In Hawai‘i the primary election is 2018: Be a voter—Make Our elections? closer. the name of the game. Presently all of Filipino Vote Count Maui’s elected representatives are ei - Thinking of running for pub - What a difference lic office and tapping into that large ther non-partisans or Democrats. Be - The deadline to register for the Sat - and as yet not very mobilized Filipino cause of the heavy tilt toward the urday, Aug. 11, 2018 primary election four years makes. Democratic preference, most hot races is Thursday, July 12, 2018. vote? The timetable for prospective As Maui County gears up for the Open an account* with Maui Federal Credit Union and Receive Two 25%-Off Discounts** Wanted on Western Union® Transfer Fees Registered Nurse, Full Time with Excellent Benefits; RN Independent Contractor. Must have two years experience at Nursing Home Facility or Home Care Agencies or other community based services. 107 East Wäkea Avenue Kahului, HI 96732 www.mauifcu.com Ph: 873-5050 Maui FCU is a Western Union® Agent location Please send resume to you can visit to send money to the Philippines All Island Case Management Corporation Western Union services are available *New members only Email [email protected] to all Maui FCU members **Discounts available while supplies last, Membership eligibility requirements apply thru Jan. 31, 2018 2 | Fil-Am Voice | November • 2017 | Vol 1 • No 9 There you have it: Close races, real opposition, new faces, genuine upsets, all part of the “new normal.” As the voice of environmentalists, Hawaiian activists and those con - cerned with land use and water rights got louder and more organized, the voice of the traditional power struc - ture diminished. Nothing put this change into stark relief like the closing of HC&S, the last of Hawai‘i’s operat - ing sugar plantations. HC&S went from an agricultural workforce of more than 700 to fewer than a dozen.