Democratic candidate for governor: Josh Green

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - During the COVID pandemic, Lt. Gov. Josh Green became a leading voice in Hawaii government for not only medical expertise but practical advice and guidance.

Many Hawaii residents turned to his near-daily updates on social media for the latest on case counts and hospitalizations. He used a white board to walk people through the numbers, one by one.

He says his performance during the pandemic is proof of his ability to lead to the state.

[Special Section: The Job Interview]

“I ended up being in people’s living rooms, kind of metaphorically, because of all the time where we had to tell them what was going on, what we could expect and where we were going,” Green recently told a panel of journalists from Hawaii News Now and Honolulu Civil Beat for “The Job Interview.”

“So I think that it’s the trust that I developed with the people of Hawaii. And I think they want, I believe, a new kind of leader or communicator, and someone who gives us some vision.”

To help voters learn more about the candidates for Hawaii governor, Hawaii News Now partnered with Honolulu Civil Beat to conduct “The Job Interview” — a series of one-hour interviews with gubernatorial contenders.

But Green’s approach to the pandemic also ruffled feathers, including the governor’s.

He drew criticism for publicly criticizing Gov. David Ige on some issues or delivering mixed messages.

But in “The Job Interview,” Green defended his actions and credits his leadership for saving “10,000 lives by working with my team and keeping us straight.”

“I was aggressive in my attempt to make sure people had the actual data in real time,” he said. “The way I approached the crisis was, and being the liaison meant that I had to liaise with the health people, the people in the hospitals, the public health officials, national leaders, actually people on the ground.”

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Green said if elected governor, he would support his lieutenant governor to act independently — like he did.

“I lived the experience,” he said. “These four lieutenant governor candidates are good people.

“I have a relationship with each of them. The difference I would have between what I’ve experienced in what they’ll experience is right out of the gate, I’m going to ask them, really, what do you want to do?”

To watch all of the “The Job Interview” sit-down sessions, click here.

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