Posted on: Monday, August 30, 2004
Hawai'i delegate eager to live 'history'
| • | U.S. security a big issue for delegates |
By Lynda Arakawa
Advertiser Capitol Bureau
Until a few years ago, Kay Ahina had long supported Democrats, a practice largely influenced by her father.
"If you had told me, like, six years ago, that I was going to do this, I wouldn't have believed you," she said.
Ahina, secretary to Department of Hawaiian Home Lands director Micah Kane, joined the GOP four years ago after "realizing how important the two-party system was for Hawai'i."
After seeing various changes in government following the election of Republican Gov. Linda Lingle in 2002, Ahina, who is in her 50s, began to think maybe she could make a little bit of a difference, too. She ran for the national delegate position and was among those voted in at the GOP's state convention in June.
She said she's looking forward to meeting other delegates and perhaps speaking to them about the Native Hawaiian federal recognition bill, which she supports. She's also excited about seeing President Bush and recharging the party's energy for the rest of the campaign.
"Like when you go to any kind of convention, what it does is it just revs you up," she said. "It gives you that extra edge that you need. ... As soon as we get back we (will) meet with people, meet with the campaigns, and share what happened there. And that's the way it kind of gives you that push, that kick that carries you through to the general election.
"Being there will be a moment in history. And I'm going to remind myself and tell myself that evening when we nominate and the president accepts his nomination, to just kind of close my eyes for a moment and relish the moment because it will be a moment in my life to always remember. And I think it's going to be something that my grandchildren can talk about, too."
This week, the Nu'uanu resident will be one of 20 delegates representing Hawai'i at the Republican National Convention.
Kay Ahina
