Gov. Ige Thanks Molokai

Newly-elected Governor David Ige and his family visited Molokai for a mahalo luncheon last week Saturday to thank Friendly Isle residents for their support during his campaign.

Gov. Ige met with Molokai residents on Saturday. Photo by Catherine Cluett.

“Every time we were here, [my wife] Dawn and I really enjoyed your hospitality and the warmth with which we were received,” said Ige. “Because Molokai is rural, [you] did a lot for our campaign that’s sometimes invisible. We wanted to thank each and every one of you for the hours to sign wave, put up signs and talking to friends and neighbors… that is really what allowed us to be successful.”

Ige, Dawn and their son Matthew greeted a crowd of eager residents and enjoyed lunch and entertainment.

“He’s the most easy-going, laid back guy,” said Lynn DeCoite, one of Ige’s campaign leaders on Molokai. “You can run up to him and tell him anything you want.”

Both Ige and Dawn spoke passionately about education.

“We had grant-in-aid to support Molokai High School and we will be releasing that in the next few days,” he said, amid cheers. “I know that the challenges for public education are different in rural communities, and we will be working with you to assure that your children have all the opportunities they deserve.”

Dawn, a vice principal of an elementary school in Waipahu, said education is “close to her heart.”

“We need to empower our schools, we need to empower the teachers at the school, the administrators of the school, because they know their students the best, so they can [give] the best education…” she said.

Ige said his administration is also planning a program to support agriculture across the state.

“We don’t have a lot of money in this budget cycle, so we’ll be challenged to do things better and differently, so that we can support more of our farmers,” he said.