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This is an open letter to every newly elected county and state official in Hawaii, and also to those who just managed to squeak by and get reelected to their second terms. Congratulations are in order, and maybe some of you just got lucky, others of you fought tooth and nail, but you made it, nonetheless.

Now what?

As I’ve said before, post-plantation Hawaii has become a palace economy.  People run for office here, because they know that holding elected office means controlling scarce resources, codifying preferential laws, and commanding the power to hire and fire. The fastest way to go from zero to hero in Honolulu is to have an elected title of some type, because then the system which was once stacked against you and everyone else suddenly must show deference to you and your faction.

You may find yourself  “The Candidate,” surrounded by optimistic supporters, interested reporters and close confidants looking for you to make good on your campaign promises, but all you have to say at the moment is, “What do we do now?”

Well, as someone who has advised and worked for numerous elected officials over the years, I’ll tell you how you can be an agent of reform and a driver for positive change, while also avoiding some of the most common pitfalls.

Don’t Tell People What To Do, Show Them What To Do

This may come as a shock to those who recently got elected to office but believe it or not, your job is not to tell people what to do. The biggest mistake people make is to think that a title gives them the power to tell people what to do. Titles may grant authority, but people always have a choice in whether they want to submit themselves to that authority. Far too often, people with big ideas come into government, think they can just command it into existence, and then wonder why it doesn’t work.

Say, for example, that a pedestrian bridge in your district is in severe disrepair. You could do the usual approach and ask for money for the bridge, send strongly worded letters to various departments, get emotional in committees when the amount you ask for gets zeroed out, and do press conferences in front of the bridge talking about why it’s important. But, everyone does that, and it’s become such a common occurrence that this is less “representation” and more ceremonialism of incumbency. 

A better approach would be to find out exactly why the bridge is in disrepair. On the surface, it might look like no one cares and we just don’t have the money. Perhaps the bridge is neglected because the agency tasked with taking care of it has lots of money but not enough people to take care of it. Maybe the person responsible for bridges has a leadership structure that keeps them hamstrung with personality conflicts, excessive micromanagement, and approval times that take forever. 

If something isn’t working, go and find out exactly why it isn’t working, and once you have that information, demonstrate leadership by showing people exactly what needs to be done to resolve the problem.

And, once you’ve started something, stay with it and follow-through until the job is done. There is nothing worse in government than orphaned projects that someone started but then abandoned because they got tired of it (or even forgot about it) and left it in the hands of disinterested parties to complete. Be a leader and lead by example.

Beware The Trap Of Praise

��’v��&�Բ�����;previously spoken of something called “The Matthew Effect of accumulated advantage (or disadvantage)” where those who win will keep on winning, even in things they didn’t compete for. The first thing that’s going to happen to you once you take office for the first time is that you’ll “win” awards from nonprofits and political advocacy organizations for doing absolutely nothing. 

“Legislator of the Year” usually means you introduced a bill or set of bills that no one else likes and won’t touch, but you got talked into doing it. “Rising Star Under 40” is an easy one to get, just don’t be 40 years old, and be politically aligned with the objectives of that group. Trust me, be in government for longer than two years and you’ll have a bookshelf of glass trophies, koa wood plaques, commemorative award pens and framed certificates from national organizations.

It’s important to remember that getting recognition and going on trips to awards events are extremely deceptive because it can make us feel like we’re doing something when in reality all we’re doing is putting on professional clothes and giving a nice speech now and then. Make no mistake, organizations do this on purpose so that you add legitimacy to them (rather than them adding legitimacy to you) and to box you into niche special interest silos. 

Praise will destroy you faster than unwarranted criticism because it appeals to your ego. The ultimate determination of whether or not you’re “winning” and making a difference will be the quality of life for your constituents, the standard of professionalism you maintain against adversity, and most of all, whether or not you’re the same person Saturday night that you are Sunday morning after being exposed to the temptations of politics.

The Pursuit Of ‘More Data’ Is A Curse To Be Avoided

There’s an old saying that if you’re out hiking in the woods and you get a sharp cramp in your side, find a perfectly round stone to cure the pain. Does the stone have magic healing powers? Not really, it’s just that the quest to find a round stone is to distract you from the pain and consume you with looking for rocks and stretching your muscles to pick up stones for inspection.

Data collection in government is a lot like the search for round stones. Beware, newbie elected official. You will often hear your colleagues saying things like “we need more data to make a decision” or “we need to create an intake for this” or “I am shocked how information about such-and-such doesn’t exist.”

At the surface level, this may sound reasonable, but in reality, many times politicians create data collection as a fool’s errand to slow down a decision we already know needs to be made, or to send people away empty handed without looking like a villain.

One of the most powerful things that you can do to be a successful reformer is to insist on being above reproach.

Yes, data is important. But in most cases we are creating excessive micromanagement where people can’t do their jobs because they’re trying to collect information for policymakers who don’t plan to act on it anyway. Do we really need to mandate the coding of more things? Must we send people to go look at all records of a certain activity?

If you know what needs to be done, asking people to prove something you already know is right is evil. Firmly rebuke anyone you discover using this delay or control tactic.

Avoid Palace Intrigue

At the end of the day, you’re an elected official in local government. You’re there to do boring, bland, but very necessary work essential to the right functioning of local government. This is not “Game of Thrones,” “House of Cards,” or “The Windsors.”

Want to get shipwrecked over stupid stuff? Co-mingle partisan politics into your office’s relationship with other offices, fail to obey the State Ethics laws, or act inappropriately toward your colleagues, and I guarantee you that you’ll sabotage your ability to ever be a reformer from that point forward.

One of the most powerful things that you can do to be a successful reformer is to insist on being above reproach. This means we do our best and don’t quit, even when things start to get tougher than we can take. It means we do not lie, cheat, or steal or tolerate those among us who do. It means we understand that sometimes the most courageous act is not what we do, but what we don’t do. And most importantly, it means following your oath of office, rather than following the crowd.

I wish all of you the very best of luck as you take your new offices and try to find your way in rising up as a reformer and a force for good. You may be asking yourself, “What do we do now?” The answer is, “Do a good job with your new office.”