DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
State Rep. Dennis Arakaki posed for a photo during a break on the final day of the legislative session on Thursday. Arakaki is leaving politics to help abused and neglected children.
|
|
Arakaki is praised for social work as legislator
As a legislative and White House intern while in high school and college, Dennis Arakaki said he "really got turned off to politics and government."
He saw what was happening in the Legislature, then in Washington, D.C., during President Richard Nixon's years and thought, "This is not the way to make social change," he said. That changed after Arakaki served on a neighborhood board.
"That kind of turned me around. It took too long to make changes one person, one community at a time," he said. He had planned to go into social work but "decided to run for office to see what kind of changes I could make at a higher level."
He was elected in 1985 as a Democratic state representative and has built a significant record as an advocate for children and youth, the poor, disabled, mentally ill and elderly.
Arakaki said he is proud that he's never lost an election in his district of Kalihi Valley, Kapalama Heights and Moanalua. But he announced at the close of this year's session that he's bowing out of politics to spend more time helping abused and neglected children and youth here, in the Philippines and other countries.
"He has always had a heart of gold and has always worked for the underserved, the people most likely to need help in our community," said Beth Giesting, Hawaii Primary Care Association executive director. "He really will be sorely missed."
He has served as chairman of committees overseeing human services, health, Hawaiian affairs and housing.
One of his first and best achievements, he said in a recent interview, was to draw attention to mental-health issues. He founded the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Task Force, which led to legal action resulting in improvements in what was once the nation's worst mental-health system.
He also focused legislative attention on children and youth, starting the Hawaii Children's Campaign with the late Sen. Mamoru Yamasaki. He worked with Sen. Suzanne Chun Oakland (D, Kalihi-Liliha) to create the Keiki Caucus, which both say has made great advances in children and health issues. Children and Youth Day last year had 20,000 participants, he said.
Passage of the Keiki Care plan to provide health coverage for all children was a high point for the caucus this year.
Arakaki has tried for years to get universal health care for all residents. "At least the vision is out there" with a bill this session elevating a study from a task force to a commission, he said.
He said he "hit the jackpot" this session with two bills aimed at combating smoking -- one raising the tax on cigarettes and the other banning smoking in all workplaces and public places. "To get one would be a major achievement, but to get two ..."
Arakaki said one of his most notable achievements was negotiating a Hawaiian Homes settlement claim for more than $600 million, from which the program is benefiting now.
He also had to address sovereignty as former Hawaiian Affairs chairman. "Out of that experience, different groups realize they have to come together if they want to see a Hawaiian nation," he said.
Arakaki said he is happy to make advances in early childhood education, improvements in the foster care system and Child Protective Services policy changes.
Failure to get long-sought legislation for long-term care heads his list of disappointments.
Arakaki plans to leave May 20 for the Philippines, where he is helping to establish shelters for street children in Pangasinan province. A medical/dental clinic will be opened this month, he said.
Chun Oakland said: "The community is very sad that he will be retiring, and so am I. ... With the community's help, we were able to prioritize all the important issues and that's why I think we were able to achieve so much."
Amy Agbayani, a University of Hawaii official, said she supported Arakaki's opponent in his first primary election because she thought the heavily Filipino district needed a young Filipino candidate.
Agbayani, who later became Arakaki's campaign chairwoman, said she "turned 180 degrees" after watching his performance and has since been his campaign chairwoman. "I was so grateful there was someone there who worked so hard, not just for the district but for the other issues I cared about."
"I tell people he's more Filipino than I am," Agbayani said, pointing to his strong support from Filipinos and native Hawaiians.