IF you recognized his last name, you’d think he was a Philippine movie star or showbiz personality.
It’s easy to confuse Rep. Joey Manahan (D-HI) for a Philippine matinee idol because of his dashingly handsome features.
But the grandson of former famous TV talk show host of Two for the Road Elvira Manahan, the nephew of TV exec Johnny Manahan and pop star Kuh Ledesma, and the cousins of theater actors Patricia and Niccolo Manahan, didn’t follow in their footsteps.
Joey Manahan chose a different path and wouldn’t want it any other way.
Rep. Manahan represents the 29th Representative District that serves Kalihi, and Sand Island in the Hawaii State Legislature. He was first elected in 2006.
"I never thought I’d get into politics," he told the Philippine Daily Inquirer in a profile piece. "I always thought I’d be a writer or a teacher. There was even a part of me that wouldn’t have minded being a poet or a rock star."
Born in Makati, Philippines, Manahan and his mother immigrated to the United States for a better life through education.
He graduated from Bellarmine Prep School in San Jose before continuing his education at the University of Hawaii, where he graduated with honors with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications.
And it was at UH where he decided to serve the community.
Manahan told the Inquirer that he learned the importance of serving the community while taking an ethics class with Dr. Dean Alegado.
The class made him aware of his surroundings and he became conscious of what it is to be a Filipino in America.
"Through Dean, I got involved in programs administered by the University of Hawaii that were geared toward helping Filipino students in [my district] Kalihi to assimilate into the mainstream classroom and to pursue higher education," he told the Inquirer.
After graduating, he served as a legislative aide to State House Representative Dennis Arakaki, State Senator Donna Mercado Kim, and Mayor Mufi Hannemann. In 2004, he served as an administrator for the State of Hawaii Office of Elections.
In 2006, he took that bold leap and was elected to his first term as a state representative for Hawaii’s 29th district, winning by just 11 votes.
According to the Inquirer, Manahan’s first term as state representative, he was able to secure $45 million in funding for schools, housing, harbors and health and social services, which includes $100,000 support for a multilingual effort to broadcast emergency messages to non-English-speaking residents and visitors in Hawaii.
Manahan also led a delegation in making the Hawaii State Legislature the first to designate October as Filipino-American Heritage Month.
Most recently, Manahan secured a second term in office. He is continuing to advocate for not only his residents in the 29th district but larger issues as well. He is in a number of committees including Agriculture, Economic Development and Business Concerns, Finance, and Vice Chair’s the Tourism and Culture committee.
( Published on February 4, 2009 in Asian Journal Los Angeles p. B2 )
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