David Ige is the incumbent Governor of Hawaii who assumed the office on December 1, 2014 as the successor of Neil Abercrombie. Formerly, he was a member of the Hawaii Senate (1995 – 2014) and Hawaii House of Representatives (1985 – 1993).
Early Life and Education
David Ige was born on January 15, 1957 to Japanese descent parents, Tokio and Tsurue Ige. Brought up in Pearl City of Hawaii, Ige went to Pearl City Elementary School and Highlands Intermediate School for early education. Then, he joined Pearl City High School.
Completing high school education, Ige joined the University of Hawaii despite having an offer letter from tech biggie Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T). At UH, Ige did a degree in electrical engineering.
Personal Life
David Ige is a married man with three children: Lauren, Amy and Matthew. Dawn Ige is his wife’s name.
Career
Academically competent David Ige did electrical engineering at the University of Hawaii. Hence, the same field became his primary sector of profession. Ige joined GTE Hawaiian Tel and later became project manager at Robert A. Ige and Associates, Inc. He also served as vice president at NetEnterprise’s engineering department and principal engineer at Pihana Pacific. Alongside engineering career, Ige did his MBA from the University of Hawaii and was even named as one of UH’s best MBA holders.
Leaving a lucrative engineering, David Ige turned towards politics with the pursuit of serving his community. As a Democrat, Ige landed a position at the Hawaii House of Representative from the 43rd District on December 2, 1985, succeeding Arnold Morgado. Ige served in the position for eight years and joined the same seat representing the 34th district. He left the office on January 15, 1995 and was succeeded by Mark Takai.
David Ige got elected to the Hawaiian Senate and assumed the office on January 15, 1995 as the representative of 17th district. On January 15, 2003, Ige joined the Senate from the 16th district as s successor of Norman Sakamoto. Subsequently, he left the office on December 1, 2014 to become Governor of Hawaii, succeeding Neil Abercrombie. In 2014 Hawaii Gubernatorial Democratic Primary Election, David won the nomination by receiving 67.35% votes. Consequently, he teamed up with Shan Tsui to defeat Republican candidates Duke Aiona and Alwin Ahu.
Under David Ige, Hawaiian economy is thriving in its major industries: tourism, agriculture, defense, and manufacturing. Alongside a thriving economic sector, the rate of unemployment has dropped to around 4% and the GDP growth rate is averaging around 2.5%. Likewise, as of 2014, the Hawaiian GDP per capita was $49,686.
Donald Trump and David Ige
As the two leaders represent two different parties, they do not have many resemblances on their stands. However, as an opposition, David Ige has repeatedly commented on Donald Trump and his agendas. On Japan foreign policy, Ige said,
“As (Trump) settles into the job of president, and as he learns and understands more about Asia-Pacific and the importance of the U.S.-Japan relationship, I think you’ll see a change in his campaign promises to what actually gets implemented.”
Likewise, Ige strongly opposes Trump’s travel ban on seven Middle-East Muslim countries.
