Whatever
Happened...
Question: What ever happened to former Honolulu Councilman Leigh-Wai Doo, who served for 12 years but decided not to run for re-election in 1994? Ex-Councilman Doo now
Palolo Chinese Home CEOBy Gordon Pang
gpang@starbulletin.comAnswer: Doo, now 56, took over as chief executive officer of the Palolo Chinese Home last September.
"I never anticipated I would ever in my life be doing this (as a vocation)," said Doo, a lawyer. But he was asked by the home's supporters to help take it through a crucial rebuilding period, and he agreed.
Doo noted that he served six years previously as an unpaid board member of the facility. His grandfather was one of its founders, and his father also served on the board.
Doo is planning a fund-raising drive for an $18 million expansion, which would more than double the 60-bed facility.
When he left the Council, Doo said he wanted to devote more time to his family. He said he is sticking to that promise and takes his family surfing and spearfishing. He and wife Linda, a Kawananakoa Middle School teacher, still live in Palolo Valley with their three children, who range in age from 12 to 17.
"While I was in politics, my family suffered because I had little time to care for them," Doo said.
"Politics is a very noble profession," he said. "One can probably do the most good for the greatest number of people directly than in any other profession. However, it should never be a career -- for me."
Doo said he's been impressed by Mayor Jeremy Harris' ability to handle the city's finances without raising taxes -- despite his own dire predictions when he was budget chairman in 1993 that the city would have difficulty doing so.
Doo said he also continues to serve in a number of other voluntary positions in the community including the March of Dimes and the Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies.
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