Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi: From tenement to football to TV to City Hall
The People's People from Spectrum News
Release Date: 12/14/2021
Rep. Jason Smith: The son of a preacher man becomes a congressman
The People's People from Spectrum News
There are many roads that lead to becoming an elected official. As the son of a preacher/auto mechanic and a nurse, Jason Smith’s self-described blue-collar background found him working a series of jobs, graduating early and pursuing a career as a lawyer. After that it wasn’t long before he found himself a Missouri state representative at the very young age of 25. Smith speaks with journalist Lindsey Christ about his upbringing and tells some moving stories about why his work in politics means so much to him. He also shares how he convinced a loan officer to give him the money to buy the...
info_outline
Rep. Ann Wagner: From Broadway dreams to a career in politics
The People's People from Spectrum News
As a child, Congresswoman Ann Wagner aspired to Broadway stardom. But her hardworking parents made sure she had something to fall back on — even if they didn’t necessarily expect it to be elected office. But after working at two well-known Missouri companies, she found herself married and living in Jefferson City, and that’s exactly what happened. Wagner speaks with journalist Lindsey Christ about her St. Louis upbringing and the experiences that have made her who she is today. They also discuss the value of a dollar, how the arts can affect your life, and how a Christmas party...
info_outline
Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft: Politics at the Dinner Table
The People's People from Spectrum News
Jay Ashcroft grew up in politics. It’s been a part of his life forever, and the family dinner conversations often centered around it. His childhood also included meeting presidents and Arnold Schwarzenegger, sitting first row for the St. Louis Cardinals, and sneaking around the governor's mansion. And while he also worked as a lifeguard, a Dairy Queen worker, an engineer, a teacher and a lawyer, it is, perhaps, unsurprising that he has ended up where he is now - as an elected official. Ashcroft speaks with journalist Lindsey Christ about his road to becoming Missouri Secretary of State. They...
info_outline
Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe: Insights from the life of a restless entrepreneur
The People's People from Spectrum News
Perhaps there’s no direct path from childhood to Lieutenant Governor, but Mike Kehoe’s story has a few more surprises than one would expect. Raised in northern St. Louis by a hardworking single mother, Kehoe was the youngest of six. He went from being a teenager washing cars at the Ford dealership to owning one. He also became a first-generation farmer. And, of course, Lieutenant Governor of Missouri. Kehoe talks with journalist Lindsey Christ about his journey, and why he feels his life experience makes him a good politician. He also discusses the importance of core values,...
info_outline
State Senator Dru Mamo Kanuha: Deeply rooted in Kona life
The People's People from Spectrum News
Dru Mamo Kanuha was just 28 when he was first elected to represent the people of his Kona community. Though his family can trace its local lineage back 12 generations, Kanuha has forged a path in politics all on his own. In this episode of the podcast, he explains how much the local canoe club meant to his childhood sense of community and how it still plays a role in his life today. Though Kanuha started out helping his father with contracting work and then went to college planning on becoming a marine biologist, he has found a place as the Hawaii State Senate majority leader.
info_outline
Hawaii Mayor Mitch Roth: A high school dropout credits his rise to faith
The People's People from Spectrum News
With several life stories that read like a movie script, Hawaii Island Mayor Mitch Roth had a circuitous path to elected office. In this episode of the podcast, he discusses the impact of several key moments in his life, from a teenage plan to take a trip around the world, to a side-job caring for his boss’s elderly mother, to almost losing his life twice. Roth didn’t plan to run for office and then when he initially did, he says nobody expected him to win. Now, a year into the role of mayor, he is focused on using his life experiences to make a difference for Hawaii County.
info_outline
State Senate President Ron Kouchi: Decades of service to Kauai
The People's People from Spectrum News
Hawaii State Senate President Ron Kouchi hoped to be a high school history teacher and enjoyed reading novels in his spare time. But to get out of a job he was too embarrassed to quit, he began campaigning at age 24 for the Kauai County Council, and that was the beginning of a long career in public service. In this episode of the podcast, Kouchi discusses how he ended up in Iowa for college, what he learned from playing sports, the advice his father gave him, and what he now tells people just beginning their careers in politics. He also discusses the impact of local politics and how his...
info_outline
U.S. Rep Ed Case: How a restless soul from Hilo found his way to D.C.
The People's People from Spectrum News
Congressman Ed Case has had a life full of adventures, from a childhood “close to nature” in Hilo to working as a jackaroo on a sheep farm in Australia to weathering the culture shock of a small liberal arts college in New England. He first ended up in Washington D.C. almost accidentally as a young man but has found he loves public service and representing the state his family has called home since 1896. In this podcast episode, Case talks about how he met his wife at his thirtieth high school reunion and how his grandchildren now play a crucial role in his life. He also explains how he...
info_outline
Kauai Mayor Derek Kawakami: Once rebellious kid, now island leader
The People's People from Spectrum News
Derek Kawakami has gleaned lessons from all sorts of life experiences, from hustling to grow his paper route as a young boy to feeling like an outsider as a teenager to parenting while trying to build a career in public service. The mayor of Kauai thoughtfully reflects on his life experiences in this episode of the podcast and shares insight into how he structures his days and what his whole family watches together at night (hint: they don’t easily get scared or squeamish). As a local kid who had to be convinced to run for office, he says he grew to love his job so much that he then...
info_outline
State Senator Lynn DeCoite: A Farmer, a Hunter, a Grandmother, a Senator
The People's People from Spectrum News
State Senator Lynn DeCoite is a third generation homestead farmer who grows purple sweet potatoes when she is not traveling from island to island representing her constituents in the so-called “canoe district”. She is also a proud grandmother of two, a devoted member of her community and an active hunter, who says she often has to remember to wash the blood of her hands before starting work for the day. In this episode of The People’s People, Senator DeCoite talks about how she ended up becoming an elected official, even though she “hated politics” and tell stories from her life,...
info_outlineRick Blangiardi is new to elected office but not leadership. After a long career as a television executive, he became mayor of Honolulu in January 2021. Yet Blangiardi’s road to City Hall began on the other side of the country, in a tenement in Cambridge, MA, where he says he was raised “in a household full of expectations.”
In this episode of The People’s People podcast, Blangiardi reflects on the twists and turns of a long career and the opportunities and ties that led him to move to Hawaii three separate times. He discusses the influence of his mother, his promise to his children and why the responsibilities of his current job are the most intense, and gratifying, of his professional life.