A Hawaii Progressive

[Simfan34]

I've written about a fictional progressive Democratic governor of Hawaii on the other Atlas and I thought I might post it here. I started last summer, and he's shaped up to be something of the Bernie successor candidate that people are searching for in reality. Obviously (if you know anything about my politics), this guy's politics are very much not my own, but it's been an interesting thought experiment. Here's the lead of a mock Wikipedia article.




Daniel Zobel "Dan" Hulihe‘e (/huləˈɛˈɛ/; born February 17, 1980) is an American entrepreneur, activist, and politician who has been the 8th Governor of Hawaii since December 1, 2014. Prior to his election as governor, he served for two terms as a member of the Hawaii State Senate from 2011 to 2014.

A Honolulu native, Hulihee is a graduate of Stanford University and Yale Law School. In 2001 he founded the location-based social networking mobile software Dodgeball, which was acquired by Google in 2004. Hulihee was Director of New Media for Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign and was involved in progressive activism before successfully running for state Senator in 2010; he was re-elected in 2012.

In 2014 Hulihee announced his intention to challenge incumbent Governor Neil Abercrombie for the Democratic nomination. Despite being considered as a long-shot, he successfully triumphed in both the three-way primary with 60% of the vote, and the general election, where he defeated Republican Duke Aiona, former Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii, and independent Mufi Hannemann, former Mayor of Honolulu, with 49.5% of the vote. He is currently Chair of the Democratic Governors Association.

A left-wing progressive, Hulihee has led initiatives to accelerate the transition to renewable energy, establish a state-run single-payer healthcare system, improve the quality of public education, reduce homelessness, strengthen organized labor, and further "social justice and inclusion".

Early life and career
Family
Hulihee was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, on August 17, 1978. He is of Native Hawaiian, Filipino, Chinese, and Spanish ancestry. His father, David C. Hulihee, a graduate of Syracuse University and Harvard Business School, is the CEO of Grace Pacific, one of the largest civil construction firms in Hawaii, and Royal Contracting, founded by his father, Edwin S. Hulihee (1919–2015). In 2013, Grace was acquired by conglomerate Alexander & Baldwin for $235 million.[1] According to SEC filings, Hulihee received $91 million in cash and stock for his 38.7% ownership share of the firm.[2] In addition to that of Alexander & Baldwin, David Hulihee is on the boards of First Hawaiian Bank, ʻIolani School, and the Bishop Museum.

His mother, Mercedes Zobel Hulihee (née Zobel), is the daughter of Enrique J. Zobel (1927–2004), a prominent Filipino businessman who was Chairman and CEO of Ayala Corporation, one of the country's largest conglomerates, from 1967 to 1984. Mercedes Zobel met David Hulihee while visiting Hawaii when a student at Wellesley College, they were married in 1977. Zobel and her brother Inigo inherited the shares of their father and the majority of their grand-aunt's, Mercedes Zobel McMicking (1907–2005), shares in Ayala Corporation. In 2015, Forbes estimated the siblings' joint net worth as $870 million; if split evenly Zobel Hulihee would thus be worth $435 million.[3]

Education and business career
Hulihee attended ʻIolani School and then Stanford University, graduating with a Bachelor and Master of Science in Computer Science in 2001. For his graduate thesis at Stanford, Hulihee developed a location-based mobile social networking software that showed users of friends, friends' friends, and interesting events and venues nearby, and in 2002, along with Dennis Crowley and Alex Rainert, it was launched as Dodgeball. In 2004, the startup was acquired by Google for an unspecified sum, although Hulihee's stake was estimated at $30 million. Google hired Hulihee and his partners, but he left after a few months, describing his experience there as "incredibly frustrating". Crowley and Rainert would leave in 2006, and Google discontinued Dodgeball in 2009. He would help launch the similar application Foursquare in 2009, but did not join its management.

Hulihee described his time after leaving Google as "increasingly questioning what I was doing with my life and the beliefs that had guided me so far"; saying that he went from being a "mostly apolitical, sort-of techno-libertarian", to a committed progressive. He then attended Yale Law School, where he was Editor-in-Chief of the Yale Journal of Law and Technology, graduating in 2007.

Obama campaign and activism
In 2007, Hulihee joined the Obama campaign as its Director of New Media, and also became its principal digital policy adviser. The New York Observer claimed in 2016 that, following Obama's victory, Hulihee unsuccessfully sought to be appointed as the first Chief Technology Officer of the United States and declined to take a less senior post in the administration, a charge he denied.

Hulihee served as the executive director of the 2009 Netroots Nation conference in Pittsburgh, which was notable for (unsuccessfully) pressuring the Democratic leadership to retain the Affordable Care Act's public option. Hulihee was on record as saying that he would prefer a single-payer system but regarded the public option as superior to the status quo.

Political career
State Senate
In 2010 Hulihee announced he would run for the seat being vacated by retiring Republican Senator Fred Hemmings in the 25th District of the Hawaii State Senate. He won the Democratic primary by a wide margin, having been endorsed by President Obama among others, and was elected to a two-year term in the general election, with 59% of the vote. In the 2012 elections, he was re-elected to a four year term with 67% of the vote against Hemmings, who sought to regain his former seat.

[P. Clodius Pulcher did nothing wrong]

Sounds cool! You plan to do anything with this character?

I'm interested in learning about characters made up by Atlas posters, so who else got some goods?

[GoTfan]

I've been toying with the idea of a fictional character myself, but was reluctant to do it. Might just take a crack at it now.

[Simfan34]

Political career
State Senate
In 2010 Hulihee announced he would run for the seat being vacated by retiring Republican Senator Fred Hemmings in the 25th District of the Hawaii State Senate. He won the Democratic primary by a wide margin, having been endorsed by President Obama among others, and was elected to a two-year term in the general election, with 59% of the vote. In the 2012 elections, he was re-elected to a four year term with 67% of the vote against Hemmings, who sought to regain his former seat.

Governor of Hawaii
Hulihee was sworn in as the eighth governor of Hawaii on December 1, 2014, with Lieutenant Governor who, in the Hawaii State Capitol Rotunda.[4] Signalling a more informal governing style, he announced hew would eschew the use of Washington Place, the official gubernatorial residence. Critics have since accused him of having made an "empty gesture", saying that he has increased the use of the `Iolani Palace.

In 2016, the Hawaii Naval Militia was reactivated by executive order, with Hulihee announcing it was necessary to "manage the effects of climate change". In 2017 three former US Coast Guard Island-class patrol boats were acquired for a total of approximately $627,000.

Healthcare
Hulihee has proposed the introduction of a statewide single-payer healthcare system, which is currently under consideration on the state legislature. Building on the already low uninsurance rates, lower-than-average costs, and quality standard of health in the state, the proposal would introduce a statewide insurance for those resident for over eighteen months. The proposal aims to reach low-income Hawaiians, especially natives, and lower costs further.

Education
Hawaii's public school system has been a relative underperformer compared to other state, and thus redressing this was a key part of his election platform. The solution envisioned entails a substantial—up to 50%—increase in teachers' wages, which currently are the nation's lowest relative to cost-of-living, in exchange for a slew of reforms including increasing the length of the school year; this is to be funded in part by the new land value tax. Another program has been the introduction of "high-quality, universal" free school lunches, often drawing inspiration from (healthy variants of) Hawaiian cuisine. Legislation is currently under way to provide for the elimination of tuition at public colleges and universities for Hawaii residents. Universal means-tested pre-school is also planned to be introduced for the 2017-18 school year.

Jobs and labor
Hulihee has encouraged the formation of cooperatives and the unionization of workers in both the public and private sector, "saying that the future of the economy is the sharing economy, and the future of the sharing economy is the cooperative economy". His campaign included a pledge to implement the "living wage" of an $15 minimum wage, which was in committee as of May 2017. In 2017 he proposed a bill that would "significantly strengthen" labor rights in favor of unions. This has partly stymied efforts to encourage the growth of the tech sector, in particular making Hawaii a hub for the 3D printing industry. He supports the repeal of the Taft-Hartley Act.

Social issues
Since entering office Hulihee has taken a strong stance on several social issues, saying that "the cause of social justice and economic justice are inseparable". Since coming to office Hawaii has passed several sweeping equity and LGBT inclusion measures, and hiring quotas for disadvantaged groups. New laws on gender identity, approved in 2017, have been considered as among the world's most progressive. In 2015 the position of State Commissioner-General for Diversity and Inclusion, was established, and has been given sweeping powers over public universities.

Sex education has been introduced at the elementary level, gender and sexual identity instruction has also been integrated into the curriculum at an early level, identity issues have been included. Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States will be made part of middle school history curricula in the 2017-18 school year, and Hulihee has suggested that two years of mandatory Hawaiian language instruction be made part of the curriculum as part of "indigenous justice" efforts.

Marijuana was legalized in 2016, following a statewide referendum in which Hulihee supported the pro-legalization campaign. He has expressed support for the Black Lives Matter movement.

Public funding for Planned Parenthood has also been increased during his tenure. Hulihee has a 100% pro-choice rating from NARAL Pro-Choice America, indicating an unbroken record of support for abortion rights. He has, however, said that in some cases the Democratic Party must be accepting of pro-life candidates who support its "broader agenda", for which he was criticised by NARAL.


Hawaiian-language programming on ʻŌiwi TV, which receives substantial government funding.

Native Hawaiian rights
Hulihee has strongly supported expanding the use of the Hawaiian language. In 2015 Hulihee signed a bill that established the Hawaiian Language Board, intended as a Language regulator and promoting body for the Hawaiian language. Funding for Pūnana Leo immersion preschools has been increased with the target of increasing their number from 11 to 100 over a decade, and for establishing Hawaiian-language elementary and middle schools.

Hulihee has said that he would like to see the establishment of a public Hawaiian-language broadcaster on the model of New Zealand's Maori TV, and in 2016 the state approved public funding for non-profit channel ʻŌiwi TV, which focuses on native Hawaiian culture and includes some Hawaiian-language broadcasting. He has also encouraged the use of Hawaiian on road signs and program names.

In 2017 a New York Times article said that Hulihee had been accused by conservatives of stoking Hawaiian nationalism in response to the Trump presidency by, among other things, increasing the use of the Hawaiian language, wearing aloha shirts, and associating his administration with the trappings of the former monarchy and thus nationhood, including by expanding the ceremonial Royal Guard of Hawaii and making frequent use of the `Iolani Palace and other former palaces, especially for entertaining foreign leaders such as Benigno Aquino III and Justin Trudeau.

[Cactus Jack]

I have to say, considering your views and your character's are just about polar opposites, you're doing a fantastic job at portraying his policies sympathetically and believably.

[Simfan34]

Environment and renewable energy
Hulihee launched the Hana Loli Honua initiative, modeled on the German Energiewende, which aggressively aims to shift Hawaii to 100% renewable energy sources by 2030, largely centered on 800MW of geothermal energy, 900MW of solar power (mostly rooftop generation) and 1100 MW of wind power.[5] The state utility had previously had the target of 65% by 2030.[6] As of 2015, Hawaii had the highest electricity prices of any state in the US; at 34 cents per kilowatt-hour, rates were nearly 3.5 times the U.S. average and more than double the second-highest state electricity price of 16 cents per kilowatt-hour in Alaska. Unlike most states, over 70% of power is generated from imported oil, rather than coal or natural gas.[7]

Part of the plan is improving transmission linkages between the islands and grid capacity, as most of the identified geothermal energy is due to come from the Big Island of Hawai'i. Also part of the programme is increased subsidies for electric cars, to be funded by phased-in surcharges on petroleum-powered cars. Stanford University Professor Mark Z. Jacobson, who is an advocate for a speedy transition to clean, renewable energy, praised the plan as a "model" and presenting and "ambitious yet achievable" roadmap to a full transition.

Hawaii was a founding member of the Under2 Coalition in 2015. In October 2016 Hulihee and the Icelandic Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism signed an agreement to develop clean geothermal energy in Hawaii.[8] In February 2017, the State of Hawaii, Hawaiian Electric Industries (which Hulihee has suggested the state should take over), and Tesla Energy signed an agreement to install 200 MW, or 800 MWh, of Tesla Powerpack battery storage capacity across the Hawaiian islands in just 18 months' time.[9] The agreement was part of a deal in which HECO would end a policy of requiring households installing rooftop solar to pay for grid upgrades and require permission to operate their panels in return for selling excess power to the utility at fixed rates.[7] In March 2015, a 52 MWh battery installation plus a 13 megawatt SolarCity solar farm opened on Kauai, operated by the Kauai Island Utility Cooperative.[10].


The Kauai Island Utility Cooperative's new 13 megawatt Tesla solar farm

In June 2017, following President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement on climate change, Hulihee signed two bills that respectively committed the state to meeting regardless its greenhouse gas emission targets under the Paris Agreement and established a carbon reduction and soil health taskforce.[11] Along with Governor Jerry Brown of California and Andrew Cuomo of New York, Hulihee co-founded the United States Climate Alliance to support the goals of the Paris Agreement. On June 8th, Hulihee and Brown met with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People, and signed an agreement for cooperation and Chinese investment in green energy in Hawaii, also signing deals with Hainan Party Secretary Liu Cigui and Shanghai Party Secretary Han Zheng, as well as Jiangsu.[12]

In July 2017 it was announced Hulihee and Brown would co-host a climate summit in September 2018, for city, state, and business leaders in the United States and around the world to come together and commit to greater climate action, which the New York Times described as having "reinforced their reputation as America’s de facto co-leader on climate change".[13][14] The San Francisco Chronicle described the two governors as having previously fought for the position of "climate supremo of the Resistance" but instead taking a collaborative approach. In July Hulihee also met with Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama, organizer of the UN COP 23 conference in Bonn. Hulihee also declared Hawaii's intention to join as an observer to the Alliance of Small Island States, meeting with its chairman, ambassador Ahmed Sareer of the Maldives in May 2017.

Housing and homelessness
In October 2015 Hulihee declared a state of emergency due to the escalating scale of the homelessness problem; in 2015 Hawaii had the highest rate of homeless persons per capita in the United States.[15] A housing-first program was established, which aims to emulate Utah's success in ending its homelessness problem.

Hulihee has introduced a sweeping sliding-scale affordable housing mandate, reaching up to 50% for high-rises over 15 floors. While generally praised by progressive groups, it has been criticised by left-wingers for not expanding public housing directly, and also for a scheme where a small portion of affordable housing is to be reserved for migrants to the state in certain high-priority sectors (but on the other hand, people like teachers will also be given preference). Since the new housing law was passed, foreign buyers formerly interested in places in Vancouver are now looking to Hawaii, due to new taxes, and house prices have begun to rise, with central areas of Honolulu seeing tear-downs and densification. Hulihee has also proposed re-establishing a land value tax, which the state previously experimented with between 1965 and 1977.


The governor promotes a new bike-sharing program in Honolulu. An avid cyclist, Hulihee has championed the adoption of favorable laws and increased funding.

Transportation
Hulihee has taken substantial measures to facilitate the widespread adoption of cycling. 5% of all state transportation funding has been mandated for cycling and pedestrian infrastructure, the highest in the nation (compare to Oregon's 1%). All major road projects must include protected bike lanes, and a bike share program has been introduced in Honolulu and other towns with an aim to have state-wide reach. All second-grade public school students now are taught how to ride a bike, and a public bike-subsidy program will provide bikes at reduced cost to very low-income residents, the first such known program in the world. State laws with regard to cycling have been completely overhauled, including a repeal of the helmet requirement. Meanwhile, faced with fiscal constraints related to the Honolulu Rail Transit project, which has faced substantial delays and cost overruns, the governor has shifted the focus of public transit advocacy to high-quality (Latin American-style) bus rapid transit, citing the potential for future upgrading, but has expressed his support for completing HART.

Endorsements and political activities
In January 2017 Axios reported that as part of advancing his political agenda the Governor has "quietly coordinated efforts to 'renew' the Hawaii Democratic Party" by installing progressives, often young, in positions of influence throughout the party". The goal of this "renewal" effort, termed "Ho'ōla Hou", was to gently ease older, more conservative politicians out of office and replace them with more left-leaning ones. Also said to be part of this effort was preventing the new and revitalized unions from becoming overly-powerful, by maneuvering for the election of friendly leaders. The first round of this was successfully carried out in the 2016 elections at the legislative and local levels, in addition to for all intents and purposes having taken over the state party, precinct by precinct, with the effect of consolidating control over what had previously been a fractious state party. In the 2016 elections, inspired by the Turkish Peoples' Democratic Party, the state Democratic Party required that 50% and 10% of its candidates for state and local legislative bodies identify, respectively as women and LGBT, compelling a sizeable number of incumbents to retire.


The notorious front page of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, featuring a shirtless governor, which critics described as emblematic of increasingly pliant state of the press under Hulihee's tenure.

National politics
In the 2016 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Hulihee endorsed the candidacy of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and campaigned for him. He then endorsed the eventual nominee, Hillary Clinton, and in an October 2016 post on Facebook urged undecided voters to not vote for a third-party candidate. On December 5, 2016, he was elected Chair of the Democratic Governors Association, succeeding Dan Malloy.

The governor has backed the anti-Trump "Resistance", and worked to organize a general strike in his own state for May 1, with support from public sector and private sectors. The New York Times said that the state was "all but shut down" for the day, aside from the tourism sector; even there "waiters and flight attendants wore shirts, hats, and buttons expressing their solidarity".

Following the election he announced he had joined the Democratic Socialists of America and encouraged people who supported Sanders in the primaries to join the group. In March 2017 The Los Angeles Times reported that he had obtained access the contact list of Sanders' donors—said to be much-desired by the Democratic National Committee— and had proposed to DSA leadership that it be used in a recruitment push with the aim of signing up 2-3% of Sanders supporters as members. If successful, this would amount to 250,000-400,000 members, a 20-fold increase in its present membership of approximately 20,000; Hulihee denied he had "obtained" the list.[16] He is known to be a strong ally of left-wing Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard.

He has been been suggested as a potential candidate in the 2020 presidential elections, running as Sanders' "successor" and utilising his record on "identity issues" to broaden his base of support to minority voters. In April 2017 he was said to be forming an "embryonic policy team", with Bard College's Pavlina Tcherneva named as a member.

Personal life
Hulihee is an avid surfer and cyclist, cycling daily to the state capitol from his house near Diamond Head. He is fluent in Spanish and is currently learning Hawaiian. In March 2017, it was announced he was engaged to his girlfriend.

[Simfan34]

I have to say, considering your views and your character's are just about polar opposites, you're doing a fantastic job at portraying his policies sympathetically and believably.

Thanks! My views have taken an ever-communitarian bent so I'm broadly sympathetic to some of these. As for the rest I like to joke I'm DSA-adjacent so I think I have a fairly strong grasp on their thinking.

Sounds cool! You plan to do anything with this character?

I'm interested in learning about characters made up by Atlas posters, so who else got some goods?

Not really sure. Will probably write some in-universe articles and slowly develop his trajectory over the years. If I'm in the mood I can jump ahead a few years.

Cathcon had a good timeline, I forget the name.

[Simfan34]

BREAKING: HAWAII GOV. HULIHEE ANNOUNCES HE'LL RUN FOR DEM NOMINATION

[We Live in Black and White]

This gives me a mighty urge to bring back one of my original political characters. Always liked your setup here.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Sounds cool! You plan to do anything with this character?

I'm interested in learning about characters made up by Atlas posters, so who else got some goods?

Not really sure. Will probably write some in-universe articles and slowly develop his trajectory over the years. If I'm in the mood I can jump ahead a few years.

Cathcon had a good timeline, I forget the name.

I told myself for years that my greatness was under-appreciated. Never again. :')

Unforunate Son: The Story of Christian Mattingly

Reminds me, I might need to finish up the last 15 years or so...