Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 27, Number 9, 1 September 2010 — Q&A Naomi Tacuyan Getting out the Hawaiian vote [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Q&A Naomi Tacuyan Getting out the Hawaiian vote

\aomi Tacuyan enjoys getting out ofthe nation 's capital to meet with Asian and Pacific Islander groups across the country in an effort to mobilize the masses toward greater voter engagement. Fresh off a visitto the GulfCoastto assess how civic engagementcan help Vietnamese fisherman recoverfrom the BP oil spill, the 30-year-old Deputy Director ofthe nonprofit APIAVote, or Asian and Pacific Islander Amenean Vote, visited Honolulu in Augustfor a presentation to a group in the OHA boardroom, including OHA Advocacy leaders, OHA staffand community groups. While in the Islands, she also presented at the Sovereign Councils ofthe Hawaiian Homelands Association convention. Civic engagement doesn '/ stop at the voting booth, she says; it covers everything from holding elected ojficials accountable to advocating for issues to runningfor office. With the eleeūon season in full swing - Hawai'i's Primary Eleehon is Sept. 18 - Tacuyan talked to KWO about APIAVote and its message to Native Hawaiians.

Interviewed by Lisa Asato KaWai Ola KWO: With the Primary Eleetion upon us and the General Election right on its heels, is the focus right now primarily on getting out the vote? NT: At this point in the game, it's two things: it's voter edueation as well as the GOTV (Get Out The Vote). Voter edueation is basieally anything you do that adds to the knowledge for the voter. It's how to vote, where to vote, what issues are at stake. If you're a nonprofit edueating on heahh matters or edueation matters, how does that play into the eleetion and the deeisions that you're making at the polls? It's also about edueating eandidates on the issues that are important to the eoimnunity and edueating voters about what eandidates are on the ballot. It's about a whole host of things where you're eoimnunieating with your voters in a eonsistent manner and ultimately you're turning them out. You're helping them see what their stake is in the eleetion. KWO: Can you talk a little about APIAVote? NT: APIA started as a eoalition 1996 in a eampaign that ineluded muhiple organizations doing PSA and voter registration. We got ineorporated as a 501e3 several years ago, so we're very mueh a young organization. At the same time, we have leadership that has done this throughout: they've been at the forefront of

eivil rights, of inunigrant rights, the labor movement. We still look baek to the past and let that guide the work that we're doing. KWO: What is the message you brought to the group at OHA today? NT: My message is basieally inereasing infonned and empowered voter partieipation beeause, as you know, our mission is inereasing eivie engagement within Asian and Paeifie Islander populations. So how ean Native Hawaiians really eorral the power that they have and have more eoordinated efforts to inereasing the vote? KWO: Is the message to Native Hawaiians different from the other ethnic groups APIAVote focuses on? NT: The uniqueness of Hawai'i, like the uniqueness of any ethnie eonununity, is you have to go in with eultural eompeteney. It's relatively easier for someone like me, I grew up on Guam, a Paeifie island (among its indigenous people,) Chamorros. In Hawai'i, we talk about kuleana - 1 heeame familiar with that tenn from another voter eampaign that used the phrase "Voting is my kuleana." And we realize that there's eertain sets of values that are eentral to being from Hawai'i or Native Hawaiian and the importanee of bringing that to the table and integrating it into a eampaign. KWO: Are you learning any

thing through this visit? NT: Yes, I think being in Washington, D.C., I'm so far removed from the loeal eonununity it's good to be here and to be able to help hands on. ... I think it's one of the most valuable parts of doing national work is really taking from the wisdom and the power on the loeal level that sometimes folks don't know they have until someone else points it out to them. KWO: Can you elaborate on that, the "wisdom and power at the loeal level?" NT: One of our eentral premises is we never paraehute into a plaee. It's about communities knowing how to best represent themselves. They may not necessarily have it in the framework of an organized campaign or mobilization effort but they know what they're doing - so it's helping people look into a mirror. KWO: Do you have an example? NT: In our session at OHA, I was talking about voter contact methods and I asked eaeh representative of eaeh organization, "With the limitations or strengths you have, whieh one of these methods resonate with you?" And Dede (Alo) raised her hand and she said, "Definitely door-to-door because you talk to people." But then she went on and described an entire campaign. To us, that's a completely natural conununity organizer. She doesn't necessarily think of herself that way, but she does everything from making sure

everyone in her town is registered to introducing candidates to them to getting them out to the polls, and they even compete with other towns and neighborhoods to see who ean finish their voter rolls faster on election day. She didn't realize she's a eommunity organizer, and that has a lot of social capital and power in your conununity. KWO: How ean Native Hawaiian organizations request a training session with you? NT: I do webinars. They ean email field@apiavote.org.

KWO: What do you see as the biggest weakness when it comes to Native Hawaiian engagement? NT: Particular to this year it might be exhaustion. When I drove here today, I ran into four sign-waving campaigns. KWO: Any words of encouragement for Native Hawaiians on how to stay engaged and not tune out after awhile? NT: Its not easy by any means, but just stay focused on your responsibility. This is for your future. ■

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ABOVE: Naomi Tacuyan. BELOW: Shirley Swinney of Maluohai Homestead Association, center, and Paul Richards of Waimanalo Homestead Association talk with Leimomi Khan of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs at the APIAVote training at OHA. After the session, Khan said as the eleehon nears, she would be encouraging the civic clubs to refocus their energies on getting members out to vote, in addition to continuing voter registration. - Photos: LisaJ\sato