Green leads Hawaii delegation in nominating Kamala Harris
Hawaii delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago donned light-blue, long-sleeved aloha shirts and dresses and wore green “Hawaii for Harris” buttons Tuesday as Gov. Josh Green pledged Hawaii’s support for Vice President Kamala Harris to become the next president of the United States.
Green spoke to a convention filled with raucous delegates who cheered louder and louder as Green highlighted Hawaii’s record on progressive issues.
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“America, thank you all for loving Hawaii,” Green said. “The spirit of aloha means acting with love and kindness. Our Hawaii was the first state to legalize abortion. Our state was the first to ratify the ERA. Our state was the first to pass universal health care for all and target 100% renewable energy. Our state is the birthplace of Barack Obama. Our state shares the values of Kamala Harris. And we cast six votes present and 23 votes for Kamala Harris, the first woman president.”
The roll call of delegates — including from the District of Columbia, U.S. territories and “Democrats abroad” — goes in alphabetical order, meaning Green cast Hawaii’s votes after Guam and before Idaho.
Along with their matching aloha attire for the roll call vote, the Hawaii delegates brought along chocolate-covered macadamia nuts and lei from Hawaii for “special guests,” said Derek Turbin, chair of the Democratic Party of Hawaii.
The delegates and their guests have been sitting just left of the stage behind the delegation from Missouri, Turbin said. “To the right is Utah, Vermont and Alaska. And delegates from Wisconsin are wearing their cheese heads.”
It’s not all been political speeches and musical performances, said Honolulu City Council member Tyler Dos Santos-Tam, a delegate to Chicago who chaired the Hawaii Democratic Party from 2020 to 2022.
He had just attended a discussion Tuesday on affordable housing policy and said there are lots of opportunities to learn more about important issues that could benefit Hawaii residents.
“It’s not just the evening pep rally speeches,” Dos Santos-Tam said. “It’s our kuleana to not just sit through the speeches, but to be engaged and educated and bring that enthusiasm back home.”
Each morning has begun with breakfast at the delegates’ hotel, the Hyatt Regency Chicago downtown.
Tuesday’s combined breakfast with the Utah delegation featured appearances by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland.
Raskin serves as the ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol in a failed effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, which Trump lost to President Joe Biden.
The breakfast appearances by Whitmer and Raskin started Tuesday’s session by “pumping us up, getting us excited,” Turbin said.
Turbin’s parents — Richard Turbin, 79, and Rai Saint Chu, 77 — are attending their third Democratic National Convention. But they said none had the same energy as this week’s Chicago convention, which wraps up Thursday night with a speech by Harris accepting her party’s nomination.
“There’s just so much energy, and Biden hit it out of the park in a great farewell speech,” Richard Turbin said. “This one is just so much more exiting, with so much more energy and enthusiasm. We’re all so cautiously optimistic about Kamala Harris.”
