Governor Ige is focused on improving the lives of Hawaiʻi’s people by increasing affordable housing, reducing homelessness, moving toward the state’s 100% renewable energy goal, and remodeling public education. Ige was a successful electrical engineer and project manager with a 34-year career devoted to information technology, telecommunications, networks, and responsible public policy. He began his political career in 1985 after being appointed to fill a vacant seat in the Hawai‘i House of Representatives. Ige is the first governor in the United States of America of Okinawan descent.