David Ige: Governor of Hawaii

Guy Kawasaki:
I'm Guy Kawasaki and this is Remarkable People. This episode's guest is David Ige; he's the governor of the State of Hawaii. Hawaii has the least number of Coronavirus infections, adjusted for population, of any state in the union. It also has the least deaths. I interviewed Governor Ige to understand how Hawaii achieved these remarkable results. It is true that Hawaii is surrounded by water; so controlling infection by outsiders is easier. But there's no doubt in my mind that if some of the governors of other states were the governor of Hawaii, the results would not be the same.
Governor Ige was born and raised in the Pearl City area of Honolulu. He attended the University of Hawaii where he got a degree in electrical engineering. He worked for GTE Hawaiian Tel after college. He started his political career in 1985 when Governor George Ariyoshi appointed him to fill a vacant seat in the Hawaii House of Representatives. He and his wife have three children. I'm Guy Kawasaki and this is Remarkable People. Now, here is Governor David Ige.
According to the numbers today, there's 48 cases per 100,000 people in Hawaii and one death per 100,000 people in Hawaii. Using those normalized figures, you are the best state in the nation. What do you attribute these remarkable results to?
Governor David Ige:
First and foremost, it's our geographic isolation, right? This is one of the few times with the COVID-19 pandemic that our isolation kept us away from the virus. Then, I did take decisive action to order a 14-day mandatory quarantine for all travelers coming in to stay. Clearly, no other state can do it like we did. It is a real 14-day mandatory quarantine. Only essential workers can get beyond the quarantine. That really allowed us to isolate Hawaii and really test those that are infected and do the contact tracing, and all of those things that the public health people insisted that we do.
Guy Kawasaki:
Oh. When did you institute that quarantine?
Governor David Ige:
I ordered the quarantine on March 21st; it was very early on. I issued the emergency proclamation on the 4th. We made modifications to that on the 16th, but the 14-day mandatory quarantine I ordered on March 21st. That allowed us to isolate Hawaii from the rest of the United States, and really the rest of the world. The other part of that, Guy, for us I knew that testing was going to be very important, and our ability to test and detect the virus. Especially because of our isolation, it was a high priority. Hawaii was one of the very first states to get certified to be able to conduct the COVID virus test here in the islands. Our state lab was the first public lab certified; so we had the ability to test locally and we could get results in a day. That made a world of difference in allowing us to identify those infected. Then, trace contact and really identify others who may be sick, and isolate them. Then, the 14-day mandatory quarantine allowed us to isolate from the rest of the country and the rest of the world.
Guy Kawasaki:
Unlike perhaps 49 other governors, how did you come to such a rapid decision? I've heard that your daughter's a nurse. Did she call you up and say, "Dad, this is what you got to do"?
Governor David Ige:
We do have a strong public health department here in the island. We had to deal with SARS and MERS prior to COVID-19; so we have experience in dealing with infectious diseases. I did realize pretty early on that the only opportunity for us to manage the virus was to really take decisive action and isolate very early. As you know, we have limited hospital capacity here in the islands. I think we've all seen all of the videos about New York and all of the deaths that resulted when your healthcare system is overwhelmed with patients. We did not want to see that happening here in the island. There is the real sense of community. I think that generally when we ordered the action, everybody knew that we all had to do our part in order to combat COVID-19.
Guy Kawasaki:
Would you do anything differently if you could go back?
Governor David Ige:
I don't know that I would do anything differently. We learned so much every single day about this virus. It certainly is challenging in how it so infectious unlike other coronaviruses; that's a big challenge. I do read more about asymptomatic carriers of the virus. I think that has all of us just very concerned. Because if we can't see the symptoms that someone is infected, it's virtually impossible to keep people from spreading it especially when they don't know that they're infected themselves.
Guy Kawasaki:
This may be a sore subject, but about two weeks ago I read an article where there was a poll about the popularity of governors. I thought you would be number one, two, three, four, or five. You were number 49. The only one worse was the governor of, let's see, Alabama. You were 48 per 100,000; he's 504 per 100,000. You're one death per 100,000; he's 21 deaths per 100,000. Why is that? Why was that poll portraying you as so unpopular?
Governor David Ige:
It definitely required me to take very harsh and quick action. It's hard to be governor and chief executive when you're in the middle of a crisis. Remember, Guy, we went from having the lowest unemployment rate in the country at less than 3% to having the highest unemployment rate in the country in the course of six weeks. There are a lot of people being laid off just implementing the social distancing and the stay-at-home orders. There are a lot of people who felt like, "How dare you order us to be at home?" Those kinds of things. Certainly, I was surprised and disappointed by those ratings. But I'm an engineer, right? I'm more concerned about performance and outcome than I am with popularity. People have commented that I'm not the most eloquent speaker or most inspiring; so I work at it. But clearly, I have trouble communicating sometimes. I think that that results in the poll results that you see.
Guy Kawasaki:
Yeah. But if I had a choice between an eloquent governor or an effective governor, I would take an effective one. That goes the same for president, by the way. I'm pretty much convinced that being in Hawaii is safe, but right now there are two deal killers. One is for a tourist, or even myself. I don't want to get in a plane for six hours sitting with 350 people I don't know, elbow to elbow, using the same bathroom, serviced by the same flight attendants; that's deal breaker number one. Deal breaker number two is I land in... What? I'm going to stay in Honokalani for two weeks. Knock on wood, that's a high-quality problem. What's the plan? Would you consider shortening the quarantine? Or maybe proof of negative results before you get on the airplane? This can't go on forever.
Governor David Ige:
Yeah. Absolutely, Guy. I think that that's the challenge and the dilemma in just communicating to the broader community in general about the challenge. We do have 100,00 people unemployed now; they are getting close to the end of the unemployment support that they're getting. Certainly, we need to restart the economy. Last week, we launched what the reopening plan would be. It is focused in a couple different areas. There still is a huge concern about getting infected with the virus. In that same poll that you referenced, they did talk about most in our community would rather us go slow than go fast, right? They are concerned about their health. They don't want to see flare ups of the virus. When we look at restarting the visitor industry, we're looking at what are the conditions that would allow us to do it safely, and how do we bring people from outside of the state back into the state in a way that doesn't put our community's health at risk.
We're looking at it in phases. I announced last week that we're going to allow... Up and to this point, we had a quarantine also on inter-island travel. If you are in Maui-
Guy Kawasaki:
Really?
Governor David Ige:
Yes. Because-
Guy Kawasaki:
Wow!
Governor David Ige:
Well, because part of that was that the virus was really circulating at a much higher rate on Oahu and on Maui. The virus infections on Kauai and Hawaii Island was very low. There was a concern, and the mayors asked that I implement a quarantine for inter-island travel as well. That really drove the numbers down so that all the counties became pretty much equal. There's very little virus in any of the counties. Part of my reopening tourism is starting with inter-island first. Trying to get the local economy and our economy going encourage people to take staycations.
But we are implementing a new process because we know public health is important. I am ordering a new public health forms. When you travel inter-island, you're going to have give us your name and residential address as well as where you're going to, the flight you're on, and two phone numbers actually that we can contact you. Then, we're doing a health screening asking, "Have you traveled anywhere to be exposed to the virus? How are you feeling?" We are taking temperature screens at the airport to make sure that no one with a fever is traveling. Then just asking, "Do you have a cough? Shortness of breath?" All of the symptoms of COVID-19, so at least we can do a screening. Then, we let them know that if you get sick or you become symptomatic, you need to let us know. We'll provide services to you as you travel.
From our perspective, the inter-island is phase 1 because it allows us to fine tune this process of being aware of where people are traveling and being able to contact them should they get sick.
Guy Kawasaki:
You did not mention any kind of swab test. That's not...
Governor David Ige:
Not required for inter-island travel. Okay? We're putting an app together; we're going to ask people to load that up, enter their information online. Then, we're going to ping them every once in a while to make sure that they're healthy and that they don't become symptomatic.
The next phase is really trans-Pacific. We're looking at bringing people from out of state into state in a couple of different ways. Hawaii gets tourists from all around the world, and definitely looking international. We are looking for communities that have low virus infection rates that are similar to ours. It's the first phase of bringing people from out of the state into state. Clearly, Japan and Korea on the international level have done very well in fighting the virus. Also, looking at New Zealand, everybody talks about New Zealand and all the work that they've done. And Australia, both of those have very low virus transmission rates. The challenge for us is domestically. As you know the virus is really increasing in California.
Guy Kawasaki:
Yes.
Governor David Ige:
That's going to be the biggest challenges. When will we be ready here in Hawaii to invite visitors from California or anywhere else in the United States for that matter?
Guy Kawasaki:
I can't ask you the timeline because who knows what's going to happen. But what are the conditions that you say, "Okay. Now it's okay for people from California to come to Hawaii"?
Governor David Ige:
Well, we are working on a couple of pilots, what we call pilots. Then, I actually am trying to set up a call with Japan and members of the Diet there. But so we are looking at the whole notion of can we require them to take the COVID test. A prior PCR test prior to departing, 72 hours before departing to Hawaii and be able to demonstrate a negative result; so they are not infected with COVID. That would allow us to make sure in our community that people are comfortable, that they've been tested, and that they're negative.
We are working with the whole hospitality industry and asking them to be a part of the solution. Part of that is they have to help us keep track of the visitors who are staying in their facility. We're going to ask them to embrace a new cleaning and sanitation standards. We're going to ask them to educate the traveler to what is respectful and appropriate travel. In Hawaii, we have been in the past protecting our native Hawaiian culture and protecting the environment specifically. Now we're going to expand that a little and ask them to be respectful of our health so that if someone travels and becomes symptomatic, and begins to show signs of COVID-19, then they agree that we'll provide them health care and get them tested. Really ask the properties to take responsibility and make sure that they're isolated so that they don't infect other travelers. Most importantly, they don't infect our community. We are looking at establishing these kinds of protocols and processes so that we can bring travelers back in in a way that ensures the health and safety of our community.
Guy Kawasaki:
I've read a few stories where people come to Hawaii; they're supposed to do 14-day quarantine. You noticed that they're not in their hotel rooms and all that. They actually get arrested? That's true? They get arrested for doing that?
Governor David Ige:
Yes. Guy, it's one of those things. I wanted to make sure when I ordered the quarantine that people understood that this was a real quarantine. It's not just something for show. Twenty two other states have ordered a mandatory quarantine. We're the only state that's actually arresting people who violate the quarantine. We've actually arrested 41 individuals who have come and broken quarantine. We do have law enforcement. Most of that is in response to their posting on TikTok or Instagram, or all of those things. Flaunting the fact that they've come to Hawaii and they're in a hotel, and they're violating the quarantine. We have been aggressive in going after them because we don't want people to just be traveling and think that the quarantine isn't meaningful. We are in a public health emergency. Someone coming from California, where the virus is raging, coming into Hawaii has a higher probability of being infected and obviously making residents sick.
Guy Kawasaki:
Is it literally true that hotels are giving people keys that open the door one time; so if you go out, you can't get back in the key the second time? That's true?
Governor David Ige:
Yes. We are. That's part of our protocol. I can send you what the quarantine protocol is. You're supposed to go straight from the airport directly to the quarantine site without making any stops for any reason.
Guy Kawasaki:
Not even Zippy's?
Governor David Ige:
Not even Zippy's. You're supposed go straight to your hotel or your accommodation, and you're not supposed to leave. We do have providers who will deliver food; so you can get meals there. We have been working with the hotels here so that they understand and they help communicate. When people check in to the hotels, they are informed that we have a real quarantine here, and they're not allowed to leave their rooms. In some instances, they would be escorted to the room and they don't actually get a key at all. In other-
Guy Kawasaki:
Wow!
Governor David Ige:
... instances, they get a key that is key so that'll work once. Then, it won't work again.
Guy Kawasaki:
Okay.
Governor David Ige:
Yup.
Guy Kawasaki:
What is your opinion of the federal or national leadership at this time as a governor?
Governor David Ige:
It's really been hard for all us governors. Guy, I'm on a call once a week with all the other governors. We're just sharing notes and talking about it. Especially in the last two weeks with all of the Black Lives Matters protests and all of that, all governors felt like it was really important that the President provides some assurance to the general community. He shouldn't be instigating more activity or military action to really call the violence. I think regardless of party, I think we all feel and recognize that the tragic death of George Floyd just demonstrates that we still have a long way to go in racial equality all across the country.
In Hawaii, as you know, Guy, where we're all minorities, we learned a long time ago that we have to work together in order to be able to do anything. For all of us here in the islands, it's very important. Some of the governors respectfully suggested that the President needs to move to be the president for all people and really calm people's concerns and really express the notion, and make a commitment to reforms, to address the grievances that have festered so long in our community. Unfortunately, the President wasn't willing to do that. I think a number of governors called him on on it because it's really important what the President says regardless of the politics of the situation.
Guy Kawasaki:
Do you think that this lack of national leadership, has it caused you to have to almost redefine what a governor is?
Governor David Ige:
It absolutely has, and for a number of reasons. Typically, in an emergency situation, our roles in connecting to the federal government, for a hurricane or a tsunami, or things like that, is very specific. I think because all of us had wanted assistance from the federal government. They were not reliable, and we couldn't count on them. All of us governors had to take matters into our own hands. For the longest time, we had trouble purchasing personal protective equipment, N95 masks to keep first responders safe, swabs and reagents to be able to conduct tests. All of us states were really competing with each other to try and get the materials that we needed to protect our communities. In fact, we had an order for personal protective equipment lined up early on in the episode, in late February and early March. We got outbid by the State of California. Suddenly, the supplier wanted to charge us three times what we had agreed to because California was willing to pay and we just couldn't do it.
It's those things that really should have been coordinated early on, availability of testing. It was very clear to me as governor from Hawaii, that we weren't going to get much help from the federal government in terms of testing. We made a commitment to not only get the state labs, but we were working with our private sector labs, and helping them to get certified. Making sure that they could get access to all of the materials and equipment that they needed so that we could conduct tests for COVID-19 in the State of Hawaii. In the very early days when we had to send samples to the mainland to get tested, it would take a week to 14 days to get results back. How can you fight a virus with an incubation period of up to 14 days and it takes you 14 days to get test results? It's virtually impossible and it's not helpful. It did force all of us as governors to be more self-reliant and really count on each other more than we would count on the president.
Guy Kawasaki:
The irony of that is I think one of the GOP or conservative theories is the reduction of federal government. The party that stands for that has caused a situation where the states are, for unintended consequences, in that position, right? I think states are more independent now and less dependent on the federal government because they could not depend on the federal government; so what irony.
Governor David Ige:
Yes. It certainly is, and it's really sad. For all of us involved in politics, emergencies is one thing we felt that politics shouldn't be involved. It really should be the needs of the people and the communities should clearly come first. This is one instance where it's very clear from the federal government that politics would be involved and that some of what they did, or how they did it was really depending on the specific politics involved in this situation.
Guy Kawasaki:
Switching gears a little, going to Black Lives Matter. What do you think the impact will be on policing going forward? Is it going to be more controlled by the state government as opposed to the municipal governments? This movement for defunding police department, what's your take on what's going to happen to policing in America?
Governor David Ige:
I'm disappointed that one of the solutions that is being promoted by some of the protesters is the whole notion of defunding police. I think we all recognize that there needs to be law and order in all communities regardless of political parties. Defunding police, it's just not a pragmatic or a realistic solution. Really, it doesn't address the fundamental issue of racial inequalities and the fact that there are still remnants of discrimination throughout law enforcement throughout the country. Just defunding police doesn't really address it directly.
Guy, in Hawaii, I was really proud. This past Sunday, we had the largest demonstration or statement of concern that I've seen in Hawaii probably in more than a decade. There were more than 10,000 people collecting at the state capital to really support the Black Lives Matter and make a commitment to fund and invest and support, addressing the racial inequalities and the mistreatment. We don't see it so much here in our community. As you know, our police departments are filled with minorities, pretty much in the ratios of our communities. I think our police departments here in Hawaii have embraced the whole notion of community policing and being involved with the community a long time ago. We don't have the anger and the hostility here in the islands that we saw across the country, that really erupted in different ways. But I think all of us recognize that there's no place for discrimination and mistreatment of anyone due to skin color or ethnic background.
It really just reminded all of us that we need to all take ownership of that, and really do everything that we can to end the racial inequalities, and the miscarriage of justice regardless of ethnic backgrounds.
Guy Kawasaki:
As governor of perhaps the most diverse state in the union, do you have any advice for governors of other states about what they can do to reduce racial inequality and increase racial harmony?
Governor David Ige:
Well, I do talk a lot in my participation in the National Governors Association just about recognizing that it's really comes down to respect for our peoples. Guy, what I talk about a lot is the gift that all of us received. All of us immigrated from somewhere in the islands, even the native Hawaiians, although they may have come thousands of years before the rest of us is immigrants. But the gift we received from native Hawaiians is the whole notion of it's important of where you came from and not forgetting those who came before you. But most importantly, it's about being proud and willing to celebrate where you're from and the traditions and cultures that you believe in, and really allowing all of us to celebrate.
I'm from Okinawa in Japan. The first Okinawan descendant elected governor in the country. In Hawaii, we celebrate that and how different Okinawans are from other Japanese and Koreans, and Chinese, and native Hawaiians. All are empowered to do the same. I just promote the notion that everyone deserves to be proud of where they've been. Proud of the traditions and cultures, and religions that they have, and that they embrace. Certainly, that they should be allowed to share it with everybody. We all become better when we do that, when we are able to participate in cultural festivals here in the islands and be able to share. You know what my grandfather believed in with others? It's just an important part of working to build that better nation where everyone is truly treated equally.
Guy Kawasaki:
Do you have any advice for just the random listener? Something tactical that they can do vis-à-vis either the pandemic or the racial discrimination. What can Mr. or Ms. Regular Person do? Not a governor, not a president, not an influencer, just anyone.
Governor David Ige:
I think what we promote a lot here, Guy, is about living aloha, right? It's about living the values that you would want to see your neighbors embrace, about being respectful of everyone and of views. Even those that might disagree with you on specific issues, everyone deserves to be respected. I think that that's really key; treat others as you would want to be treated. That's the golden rule. I think if everybody could embrace that, then the world would be a much better place.
This pandemic has truly forced all of us to evaluate what we're doing. I know that Hawaii will not be the same moving forward. The challenge and the opportunity is to reinvent every single industry. It's remarkable how every business, every industry in the islands have had to rethink what they do and operate differently to protect employees, to protect customers, to protect the community. Clearly in a different way 9/11 changed the world, I do think that in 2020 this novel coronavirus will change the world. Being better prepared to be flexible, to embrace technology because clearly a lot of the technology, in a way... I've not seen so much telework and telecommuning. My son is a software engineer for Microsoft. He's been working from home for the last six months. I'm trying to get him to recognize that he can come home and do software development from Hawaii as we've talked a lot about.
Guy Kawasaki:
Well, I would agree with that sentiment. Before there was a judgment, right, that you're not in Silicon Valley, you're not where the center of the universe is for tech and all that. But now quite frankly, nobody knows where anybody is anymore. My niece works for CBS. CBS, not the drugstore. She used to be based in LA, but she is in Hawaii. Nobody could tell that she's making sales calls from wherever. Why couldn't you have a Microsoft or an Apple, or anything start in Hawaii? Absolutely, you can now.
Governor David Ige:
Absolutely. I can't think of any place better in the world to live. Our commitment to equality is beyond compare to any other community. I think the quality of life here and our commitment to the environment, there is no better place to live and work, and to raise a family than to be here in the islands. This pandemic has really proven that you can be anywhere and work for anyone, and able to be very productive. Certainly, I'm going to track down your niece. Make sure I can connect to her and keep her here. I've been definitely working on my son to get him to be able to do software for Microsoft from here in the islands.
Guy Kawasaki:
As you look back over your career, do you have any mistake that stands out and what you learned from it? People find it very curious what someone remarkable and successful would say, "Yeah. I really blew it that time".
Governor David Ige:
I don't know if I've ever can point to anything specific. Guy, my wife likes to remind me when I graduated from engineering school back in '79. I have several job offers from Silicon Valley, from once a few start-up companies like Intel before they became the giant that they are.
Guy Kawasaki:
Well...
Governor David Ige:
She keeps saying that I should have took that job because my life would be different. I'd be like you and getting out surfing, and doing all the things that you enjoy doing. She reminds me that I really should have done that and taken that job instead of returning back to the islands.
Guy Kawasaki:
You tell your wife that I quit Apple twice. Steve offered me another job; I turned him down. I turned down the opportunity to interview for the CEO position of Yahoo, the first CEO of Yahoo. If you add all that up, that's a lot of money.
Governor David Ige:
Yes.
Guy Kawasaki:
Something you and I shared that we made those kinds of mistakes. Well, thank you, Governor. I appreciate this very much. I know you have lots on your plate and it's not just macaroni salad. Loco Moco. Take care. Huh? I'm coming to Hawaii as soon as I can.
Governor David Ige:
Just remember you'll be subject to quarantine, but please come. Aloha!
Guy Kawasaki:
I can't say I'm the friend of the governor? There's no FOG plan?
Governor David Ige:
Unfortunately, no get-out-of-quarantine free card.
Guy Kawasaki:
If nothing else, I hoped that you learned from Governor Ige that Hawaii takes its 14-day quarantine really seriously. Don't be flying there and then post pictures of you cruising around Hawaii because you will get arrested. The lesson of Governor Ige is that listening to scientists and doctors, taking decisive action, and putting people's lives above partisan politics is how to control a pandemic. This attitude is sorely missing in much of the United States. As an exercise, compare and contrast what your political leadership has done.
Okay. It's review time. Boy, this has got to be one of my all-time favorite reviews. The title is Why This Podcast is So Darn Important; it's by Josh Rippin. Here is why Guy Kawasaki's podcast, Remarkable People, is so crucial to this COVID-19 2020 moment. I taught United States, European, Hawaiian, and Medieval History for 17 years in Hawaii. Throughout my life and my career as an educator, I came to understand that the stories of Remarkable People are one of the prime drivers of history. There are hundreds of thousands of podcasts that occasionally capture the stories of exceptional humans. But so far, not one that focuses so exclusively, so intently, and so intelligently on remarkable people. Every single day, young readers around the world read about these people in books. They watch them in great films and theater productions. They follow them on social media. As they read, watch, and follow remarkable people, they emulate the evident innovation, imagination, creativity, vision, sustainability, resilience, kindness, compassion, morality, and wisdom in their stories. This is our hope for the world.
To have Guy Kawasaki bring these remarkable people and their qualities to life especially in this particular COVID-19 moment that cries out for leadership is a great blessing to the world. When I listened to great questions for and great responses from Steven Pinker, Jane Goodall, Sean Thompson, Arianna Huffington, Sam Wineburg, my superhero, and Sir Ken Robinson, oh my, another superhero among others, I aspire just to be just a little bit remarkable to my friends, my family, and my community. I'm inspired to be better and do more. That Guy Kawasaki's podcast has this kind of impact on me and hopefully millions of others is way, way cool and very remarkable.
Well, what can I say, Josh? Thank you very much for that review. I'll give you one more. Title of this one is Awesome by brianm254. I first saw Guy in a documentary on Apple. His screen presence was really captivating. I thought he would be a good podcast host. Then, I forgot about it. The thought returned to me years later and I looked Guy up on Apple Podcast, and there he was. Guy seems genuinely curious and open-minded. I will definitely keep listening.
Thank you, Brian. Thank you, Josh. I really appreciate these reviews. I hope others will also post reviews of Remarkable People. Just go to the Apple Podcast app and off you go. I'm Guy Kawasaki and this is Remarkable People. My thanks to Mufi Hannemann, the CEO of the Hawaii Lodging and Tourism Association. Think about how hard that job must be now. He's also running for the mayor of Honolulu. Mahalo also to Jeff Sieh and Peg Fitzpatrick for the magic that makes this podcast happen. Until the next episode, wash your hands, maintain your social distance, listen to scientists and doctors, not politicians. Be safe and be healthy. Aloha.
This is Remarkable People.