the community newspaper for east oahu since 1987

Ward campaigns for District 17

by MICHELE VAN HESSEN
Sun Correspondent
*Archived November 2006 article

At the age of twenty-two, after three months of training for the Peace Corps on Hilo, Gene Ward was sent to North Borneo in Malaysia, as an assistant land development officer for the Department of Agriculture. With his crew chief, an ex-head hunter, 10,000 acres of jungle were cleared, planting plantations of palm oil was planned and a school was built. Ward became the principal and a teacher in the school while continuing to design and build bridges and roads for the village. As a result of this dedication, within a few years Malaysia became the largest exporter of palm oil in the world. Ward saw the people in the village community go from primitive blowpipe hunters to small business owners. After his return from Southeast Asia, Ward returned to the University of Hawaii's East-West Center to pursue the graduate degree program in Technology and Development and worked in first U.S. International Entrepreneur Program. Ward's Ph.D. thesis hypothesis proved that your network of associates would determine your career choices.
Gene Ward is running for State Representative of District 17. He is someone who has always made a choice to serve his community. During the summer, Ward worked with Senator Slom to initiate meetings for opposing the cabin project on the Ka Iwi coast. "Ninety-nine percent of our residents in Hawaii Kai opposed the cabins," said Ward who has set up a neighborhood watch committee to monitor the developer. As a Republican candidate, Ward like other members in the GOP is concerned with the decentralization of education. "As Governor Lingle has pointed out, 2.5 billion dollars is paid to thirteen members of the Board of Education each year and there is no accountability for their expenditures." Ward continued, "The teachers need to be paid more, there must be textbooks in the classroom for the students and the schools need maintenance."
Whether he's advocating for a new dog park in Hawaii Kai or tackling the issue of traffic congestion, Ward is always campaigning for the betterment of his community. "I feel joy when I'm serving my country and my community," said Ward as he stood on the sidewalk waving to the passing cars. The General Election is Tuesday, November 7th.