REPRESENTATIVE Kymberly Marcos Pine (R-HI) knows the value of hard work.
Pine, who represents the 43rd district of Ewa Beach, Iroquois Point, Pu’uloa, is the Assistant Republican Leader in the House of Representatives for Hawaii.
She told the Asian Journal during the Republican National Convention in Minnesota that her grandmother, who worked in the sugarcane plantations in Hawaii during the early 1900’s, influenced her in many ways.
"Work with honor," is what her grandmother always told her.
And it is the 37-year-old Pine’s hard work with honor that has enabled her to accomplish so much.
"Not long ago, my family came to America from the Philippines to work on plantations in Hawaii in search of the American dream," Pine said in an article on MidWeek Magazine. "They were so poor but still very proud of their Filipino heritage and honored to be given the gift of being American. Nothing is harder than what my grandparents did on the plantation. My life is easy."
Pine was one of the youngest (33) and the highest-ranking Filipino appointee in the State House of Representative in 2004.
The 37-year-old is emerging as one of the top Filipino Americans politicians in Hawaii.
Currently, she is a member of the House Finance committee, Interim Task Force on Smart Growth, Interim Task Force on Standards of Conduct, Labor & Public Employment, Public Safety, and Transportation committee.
As an elected official, Pine is trying her best to make life easy on the people that she represents.
Since being elected in 2004, Pine has already secured more than $265 million for the construction of roads, schools and other projects in the district of Ewa Beach where she represents.
The Filipina Women’s Network (FWN), a non-profit association for women of Philippine ancestry that further enhances the professional and personal growth of its members, recently named her as one of the 100 Most Influential Filipina Women in the U.S.
FWN President Marily Mondejar said that Pine’s relentless community involvement was the reason for her selection.
"Kymberly Pine, with work she has done for her community, serves as a role model for our future generations of leaders and shows what can be accomplished," said Mondejar to MidWeek.
"(Pine) brings that hunger for making a difference," Mondejar added."Especially when you go against odds. She is a role model for Filipina women, being an elected official in Hawaii, and beating her incumbent on her first try - we thought that was very amazing."
A graduate of UC Berkeley, Pine got the political bug when she worked for Arnold Schwarzenegger promoting California’s after-school education.
She then accepted a position as a minority research director at the state Capitol becoming the first Filipino appointed to that position.
Pine said that the main reason she began a political career is to help people and uplift the roles of FilAms.
"My reward has always been knowing that I worked hard to be my very best and to show people that Filipinos can achieve great things," she said.
( Published on December 17, 2008 in Asian Journal Los Angeles p. B2 )
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