State Rep. Clift Tsuji’s campaign donors were different. ADVERTISING State Rep. Clift Tsuji’s campaign donors were different. The late Hilo lawmaker often received contributions from the general public — aunties and uncles, next-door neighbors, longtime friends and family members, son
State Rep. Clift Tsuji’s campaign donors were different.
The late Hilo lawmaker often received contributions from the general public — aunties and uncles, next-door neighbors, longtime friends and family members, son Ryan Kalei Tsuji recalls.
“You see a lot of politicians who get large contributions from companies and such,” Ryan Tsuji said Thursday. “(But) my dad had a lot of smaller donors over the years who gave maybe $25, or $100 or $300. That was one of the things that was unique about his notoriety in the community.”
Tsuji, who represented District 2, which includes Keaukaha, parts of Hilo, Panaewa and Waiakea, died in November after suffering a heart attack. He was 75.
His donors, however, have continued giving.
The University of Hawaii Foundation announced this week that 159 friends, family and supporters have raised $81,054 to fund two endowed scholarships in Tsuji’s name — one for a UH-Hilo student and the other for a Hawaii Community College student.
They will be awarded each year to students studying agriculture, an industry that was near to Tsuji’s heart. Amounts will vary year-to-year contingent on the endowment payout, among other factors.
Funding was raised through more than a decades worth of donations to Tsuji’s campaign fund, Ryan Tsuji said.
When an elected official leaves office, campaign spending laws require donations to be refunded to original contributors or given to the state.
Late last year, members of Tsuji’s campaign team went door-to-door to cut checks to Tsuji’s donors. About 95 percent opted to re-donate their contributions to establish the scholarships, Ryan Tsuji said.
“I really think it’s a true illustration of how many people were touched by my dad and how many lives he impacted on the Big Island,” he said. “So it’s just humbling and nice to see how many people cared about him.”
Tsuji chaired the House Agriculture Committee during his time in office and was named the Hawaii Farm Bureau’s Legislator of the Year in 2015. He was known as a staunch proponent of genetically modified crops, biotechnology and geothermal energy as an alternative to imported fossil fuels.
Jerry Chang, a former House representative and longtime friend of Tsuji’s, called his former colleague “the most passionate advocate for the agriculture industry at the Legislature.” Chang said Tsuji “would like nothing better” than to see the scholarships established for budding ag students.
“This will be a lasting testament of a local boy with plantation roots continuing to give back to our youth and future farmers,” Chang said.
The scholarship wasn’t necessarily a formal wish of the Tsuji’s, but Ryan Tsuji said he knew his dad wanted to “set aside money” and in passing, had discussed starting a nonprofit.
A Papaikou native, Tsuji “understood the struggles and how hardworking the (agriculture) industry is” and “wanted to help ensure its future,” he said. Many of Hawaii Island’s farmers are aging, he added, and his dad was worried farming “is not being passed on to the next generation.”
“So we’re hoping students who want to get into ag can get their education and help the sustainability of the whole state,” Ryan Tsuji said. It’s being able to invest in the students and hopefully they invest back in agriculture and the state as a whole.”
“I think my dad would really be passionate about promoting the industry to a younger generation.”
Lawmakers also have renamed this year’s House Bill 1325 the Clift Tsuji Act. Tsuji had pushed for the bill several years. It would require the Department of Agriculture to establish parameters and construction requirements for bio-security facilities.
Email Kirsten Johnson at kjohnson@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
