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Ken Hamaguchi
Richmond Sentinel file photo
Hamaguchi tops trustee polls
Ken Hamaguchi sought a seat on Richmond
School Board four years ago believing he could help makes things better for
local students.
It’s still what motivates him.
But after getting the most votes (17,196) in
Saturday’s election of trustees, he also has a heightened sense of
expectations.
“We just went through re-visioning our core
values as a school district, outlining our want for Richmond to be the best
place to learn and live,” he said. “But I also want it to be the best place to
work at too. I’ve learned over the years working with kids with special needs
that if those people who work for kids are supported, they are going to do that
much better of a job with the kids. As much as the kids are our focus, their
success is dependent on those who work with them.”
Hamaguchi, who ran as an independent in the
2011 election, formed the Richmond Education Party this time around in hopes of
advancing a team mindset inspired by his longtime involvement in local sports.
“We really worked hard to get out there and
talk to people,” he said. “Our members did a lot of door knocking and meeting
people, and we all supported each other. I think that was one of the big
reasons for our success (as Richmond Education Party candidates finished first,
second, fourth and fifth in the polls).”
The idea of an education party also stemmed
from Hamaguchi noticing the lack of a “block” of candidates dedicated solely to
school board issues.
“(Traditionally) trustees have been kind of a
subset of the council parties,” he said.
Hamaguchi said the Sexual Orientation and
Gender Policy (SOGI) is one that is clearly “at the emotional heart for people.”
“No policy is perfect, but we’ve voted on it
and now we need to implement it. It addresses a request for support, and I’m
sad to say, protection for some of our students in the LGBT community. This
policy was important to them, which we’ve tried to explain to (those) people
against the policy.”
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