Samuel Wilder King II, Kalanikupua, Enters OHA At-Large-Trustee Race

With a Vision for a Better, More Responsible, More Pono OHA

LINK: VIDEO

News Release from VoteSamKing.com, Feb 20, 2022

(HONOLULU, HI) - On February 20, at the Kakaako Waterfront Park from 12:30 PM, Samuel Wilder King II Kalanikupua will be announcing his campaign to enter the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) At-Large-Trustee Race. Born and raised on O`ahu, Sam comes from a long tradition of service to the people of Hawaii. His Great Grandfather, Samuel Wilder King, was the first Native Hawaiian Governor of Hawaii. His Grandfather, Judge Samuel Pailthorpe King, was instrumental in exposing the Bishop Estate corruption in Broken Trust. His parents have served the community for decades.  Now Sam continues his family’s legacy of improving the fortunes of Native Hawaiians and preserving the culture of Hawaii.

Sam graduated from Georgetown University in 2006.  After working in DC, Iraq, & Afghanistan and volunteering in India, Zambia and Thailand, Sam returned to O`ahu in 2010 to attend University of Hawaii’s William S. Richardson School of Law.  Sam graduated with his law degree from UH in 2013.  His first entries into public service included his clerkship for the Supreme Court Justice Richard W. Pollack until 2014 and continues his work as the executive director of 3 non-profit organizations advocating for Native Hawaiian rights in the areas of land use, astronomy, space sciences, religious freedom, democracy and equality.  After his time working in real-estate law, Sam also continues his position as in-house counsel for a major health insurer working on vendor contracts and commercial real estate leasing.

Asked why he felt the call to now enter the race for the OHA At-Large-Trustee, Sam shared, “OHA was born out of a desire to confront our shared history and move forward in a spirit of perpetuation through contribution. Unfortunately, OHA has spent many years obsessing over the confronting instead of the contributing. This focus on confrontation has made OHA an ineffective servant of the Native Hawaiian people and a drain on state resources. Ultimately, an ineffective and wasteful OHA corrupts the soul of our state. We see the impact of this corruption in bribery scandals and disrespect for the rule of law pervading our society.”

Sam continued to share his vision for a more pono OHA, saying, “To make OHA more effective, OHA must shift its focus from confrontation to to perpetuating the Hawaiian spirit of Aloha and inclusion through contributions to our state, to listening to all beneficiaries, and to improve how it tells its own story and Hawaii’s story to the people of Hawaii and at the legislature.  Then OHA can begin contributing positively to Hawaii.  OHA can become an advocate for more housing in Hawaii, especially in Kakaako Makai, so that our keiki can afford to live where they grew up.  OHA can shift resources from fighting for more money from the legislature to instead using its significant resources more effectively.  OHA can target interventions that have the biggest impact, such as expanded early childhood education.

Surrounded by family today Sam promised to bring a new voice to OHA to create real solutions for the Native Hawaiian people.

For more information about the campaign and Sam, please visit his website at votesamking.com