Representation Still Matters, We Encourage More Filipinos to Run for Public Office

When Filipino baby boomers — including descendants of plantation workers and immigrants who arrived after 1965 — helped elect Ben Cayetano in the early 1990s, many said they voted with their children’s future in mind. Cayetano, the first governor of Filipino ancestry, represented the possibility that their children could rise to the highest levels of Hawaii government. It also helped that Cayetano was a bold and highly qualified candidate to vote for.

Today, their children are middle-aged, and many have adult children of their own. As generations pass, some have become less familiar with the hardships their grandparents endured during the plantation era, and the discrimination faced by Filipino immigrants who arrived in large numbers in the 1960s.

Over 30 years since Cayetano’s historic victory widely seen as a breakthrough for Hawaii Filipinos, the community has seen steady representation of Filipinos in politics – strong representation in the State Senate and Honolulu City Council, under representation in the State House and neighbor islands’ counties. This pattern hasn’t changed.

Structural barriers abated, broken down

What has changed? Many of the structural barriers that confronted Filipino baby boomers —and, to some extent, Generation X — have largely been dismantled. Many Filipinos in Hawaii now say the community has broad access to the state’s institutions, including politics, without the discriminatory obstacles that limited opportunities for their grandparents. Today, there are equal realistic opportunities for Filipinos to enter public life, compete for office and influence decisions that matter.

In this light, the older Filipino generations, have been successful. It was never just about electing any specific Filipino candidate or some quota to be met but rather breaking down the structural barriers and achieving equal access and opportunity for the next Filipino generations. Clearly, while the older generations paved the way, a more educated and confident Filipino Millennial and Gen Z ultimately are responsible for climbing over old structural barriers.

Higher office, still elusive

However, it’s a fact – while structural obstacles improved — that representation at the highest levels of Hawaii government have remained out of reach for the Filipino community, and therefore Filipino gains are arguably qualified gains. The recent defeat of longtime House member Della Au Belatti, a part-Filipina, in her 2026 campaign for lieutenant governor is just one among many other failed attempts by qualified Filipino politicians seeking office at the highest level in Hawaii government at both the executive and congressional level.

Filipinos and people of part-Filipino ancestry account for about one in four Hawaii residents, making them the state’s second-largest racial group after Caucasians. Given those numbers, concerns about their limited representation in Hawaii’s highest offices are warranted. The three-decade absence of a Filipino leader at the top level of state government since Cayetano underscores that gap.

Several factors help explain the gap: 1) Hawaii’s seats in the U.S. Senate and House have traditionally been held by long-serving incumbents who rarely lose reelection. Still, the 2nd Congressional District, which includes the neighbor islands and rural Oahu, has periodically offered viable openings. 2) Filipino voter turnout is low, and Filipino voters do not vote as a bloc. 3) Despite their large numbers, Hawaii’s Filipino electorate includes a comparatively sizable share of independents and Republicans, unlike the state’s Japanese American community that’s mostly Democrats. Because Hawaii’s highest-profile races are usually won by Democrats, shared ancestry alone does not determine support for the Filipino community. Filipino candidates may take positions that many Filipino voters oppose. 4) Candidates of Filipino ancestry seeking Hawaii’s highest offices have not replicated Cayetano’s success in building coalitions across the state’s major ethnic groups. They also have not consistently demonstrated the leadership and political instincts needed to win statewide races.

Filipinos are encouraged to seek public office

Representation for the sake of ethnic representation isn’t the goal. It’s not strategic, fair or encouraged. But Filipinos with a strong platform on policies that could benefit Hawaii’s people, Filipinos with qualified backgrounds and knowledge to achieve these goals – these Filipinos should consider taking on the higher responsibility of serving public office.

Political representation in the Filipino community still matters. When Filipinos see politicians from their ethnic communities, government can appear less distant and open to serving their needs. Visible representation also challenges assumptions about who is qualified to lead which certainly includes Filipinos.

Filipinos must be at the table of decision-making. While there aren’t issues that affect the Filipino community alone, there are certain experiences Filipinos face that warrant particular attention beyond needs outside the core values. For example, Filipinos’ access to quality healthcare and improving health outcomes are better serviced by a politician who’ve had similar experiences. That shared experience prioritizes healthcare access and quality.

. Representation in government for Filipinos also strengthens trust and communication particularly among Filipino immigrants who tend to feel as outsiders. Immigrants in general may feel more comfortable requesting assistance, attend hearings, or participate in the democratic process from fellow immigrants.

Two years after this General Election will come by quickly. We hope a larger wave of members in our community seek public office. Now is the time to prepare.