The charitable and political powerhouse Hawaii County Economic Opportunity Council has turned 50, and it’s inviting the community to join the celebration.
The charitable and political powerhouse Hawaii County Economic Opportunity Council has turned 50, and it’s inviting the community to join the celebration.
HCEOC is holding a buffet dinner and talk story from 5 to 8 p.m. Sunday at Aunty Sally Kaleohano’s Luau Hale in Hilo. General admission at the door is $20; kupuna and keiki get in for $15.
“We’re celebrating people helping people,” said Kaniu Kinimaka-Stocksdale, one of the co-chairwomen of the event. “That’s the whole history of the HCEOC. They were created to give a voice to the poor on our island.”
Led for 40 of those years by George Yokoyama, HCEOC has often been cited for its work revitalizing East Hawaii and Hamakua after the sugar plantations closed in the 1990s. HCEOC created a number of other businesses, creating jobs in everything from candle-making to computer science. Multicultural language, dropout prevention, economic development, housing and food service programs are also among the projects.
Tough, street-smart and humble Yokoyama, 89, retired five years ago but he still keeps an office at HCEOC, where he writes grants. He was traveling on the mainland this week and unavailable for an interview.
HCEOC is said to have brought almost $100 million in state and federal grant money to the Big Island. But that history hasn’t been without its controversy.
Yokoyama’s behind-the-scenes and out-front ventures into political territory have sometimes ruffled feathers even as they feathered the nest. Longtime Big Island campaign chairman for former U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka and active in a committee for then-candidate Barack Obama, Yokoyama is also a major player on the local political scene, supporting state and county Democrats.
That Democratic activism apparently didn’t play well with former Republican Gov. Linda Lingle, who in 2008 held back a legislative grant-in-aid appropriation until a powerful Democratic senator interceded on his behalf. A Lingle spokesman at the time said the decision not to release the money had nothing to do with politics, but was a response to tough economic times.
Lingle released the money after learning it provided transportation for 800 low-income elderly people, curbside handi-pickup for 300 disabled individuals and dialysis patients and 200 preschool children from low-income families. The buses take passengers to doctor visits, pharmacies and grocery stores — and to the polls come election day.
More politics ensued in 2009, when former Hilo County Councilman Donald Ikeda tried to raid the county auditor’s budget to give more money to HCEOC’s transportation service. Yokoyama responded to council opposition by using one of the buses to bring a bevy of white-haired ladies to the meeting, where they took a front-row seat and intently watched the proceedings.
Former Puna Councilwoman Emily Naeole saw the irony of delaying a vote on the topic, saying doing so would only mean Yokoyama would have to “drag” the women back for another meeting. The council ultimately found money for both endeavors.
The HCEOC was formed in April 1965 under the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, which was an offshoot of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s war on poverty. With counterparts on Maui, Kauai and Oahu, the agency has provided transportation, food, education and job training to many thousands of needy residents.
Yokoyama’s 2010 retirement roast drew an assortment of the politically connected. Headlining the event were former Gov. Neil Abercrombie, former U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa and Hawaii County Mayor Billy Kenoi.
“In legislative circles, the name George Yokoyama is a very familiar name,” former state Sen. Dwight Takamine, a Hilo Democrat, said at the time. “He’s a humble man. But for four decades, he’s been the driving force. … Whenever George asks for help, it’s never for himself, it’s always for the people he serves.”
Yokoyama’s most recent public appearance was at a Sept. 17 County Council meeting, where the subject of a reprimand for Kenoi was on the agenda. The resolution, which failed on a 1-7 vote, came in the midst of a criminal investigation by the state attorney general, following a West Hawaii Today report earlier this year that Kenoi had used his county purchasing card for personal items and services.
Testifying in Hilo, Yokoyama called Kenoi a “wonderful, effective mayor,” and said there have been “relentless newspaper articles” on the pCard issue.
“Enough, already, the newspapers,” Yokoyama said at the time.
Kenoi, contacted Thursday, had nothing but praise for Yokoyama and the good he’s brought the island.
“One of Hawaii Island’s treasures. He has been a champion and advocate for the vulnerable in our community for decades. His leadership and vision have allowed thousands access to education, vocational training, and employment,” Kenoi said in a text message. “His commitment to our seniors and working families are unparalleled. I am honored to call George Yokoyama a friend.”
Yokoyama is a tireless advocate for the disadvantaged, constantly researching new economic projects and writing grants to help fund them.
“If I don’t work, I die,” he said in a 2005 interview. “You got to keep active. The mind (has) got to be active.”