Reviving Aloha
How Action Builder is powering Jackson Sayama’s people-centered campaign for Hawaii House District 20
District 20 in the Hawaii State House has had just one representative for as long most residents can remember. When the 44-year incumbent, Calvin Say, announced he would not seek reelection this year, Jackson Sayama, a 23-year-old recent college graduate, was not totally sold on running for office yet, but he knew he wanted to do something to restore opportunity in his community and reverse the trend of local Hawaii residents leaving the island.
“I was born and raised in this district,” Jackson told me in a recent interview. “I went to school locally and went to college in China for four years, then decided to come back home. Hawaii is the home that I love, and I want to have a future here.”
The first thing he did when he returned home was get involved in the community — attending neighborhood board meetings, eventually joining the neighborhood board himself, and doing outreach to local houseless communities.
“As someone who wants to have a future here, who is a fourth generation in Hawaii, I wanted to work hard to create a Hawaii where our families and children can continue to thrive and call Hawaii their home for generations to come.”
“I was really glad to be reconnecting with the community I grew up in, but I was really sad and frustrated to see that many of my own family, friends, and neighbors were leaving Hawaii because of the rising cost of living and the lack of opportunity that Hawaii could provide,” explained Jackson. “So as someone who wants to have a future here, who is a fourth generation in Hawaii, I wanted to work hard to create a Hawaii where our families and children can continue to thrive and call Hawaii their home for generations to come.”
“My first thought wasn’t, ‘I need to run for office,’” Jackson continued. “But one thing that’s unique in this generation is the limitation of time. A lot of these issues are happening now, and they need to be addressed now to bring about a solution. So I set aside my doubt about running for office because I knew I had this great team that was willing to support me, and, win or lose, I was going to be able to connect with my community in a way I wasn’t able to before.”
That’s when Jackson’s campaign for District 20 representative began. Driven by a sense of urgency and passion for his community, Jackson and his campaign team put together a campaign plan with direct voter outreach front-and-center.
Carrying Action Builder in his pocket as he went door-to-door, Jackson was able to track assessments, take notes on key issues, and set reminders to write thank you notes to the neighbors who were especially welcoming to him on the campaign trail. Action Builder is an organizing tool that takes the tried-and-true tactics organizers have used for centuries to build power — including one-on-ones, assessments, wall charts, and more — and puts them in the palm of your hand in a powerful, easy to use tool. It’s proved invaluable for organizing and electoral campaigns like Jackson’s.
“As a young person, it was challenging to go door-to-door and try to convince people that I can be your next representative, even though I might be younger than your grandchild,” Jackson said with a laugh. “There were some folks who were like, ‘What high school do you go to now?’ I just have to say, ‘No, I did that a long time ago.’”
He soon found that, for many voters, his youth and global perspective were huge benefits.
“A lot of the voters are looking for someone fresh, someone new, who has a broader vision for Hawaii and how to connect Hawaii with the global community,” explained Jackson. “So that vision resonated with people once they saw me put in the effort to reach out to them.”
“Jackson focused first-and-foremost on who was in the district, on getting to know people and building relationships,” said Cristina Moon, communications manager for Jackson Sayama for House District 20. “The tools were really helpful in that regard, being able to have Action Builder on his phone, make walk maps really easily, and generate call lists.”
“Any time I’d have a conversation with someone, I’d rate their friendliness to the campaign, being a supporter, an ambassador, or a volunteer,” Jackson explained. “If we talked about an issue, I could categorize that voter into a certain issue they care about. If they were really nice to me or handed me a water, I’d note that I should write a thank you note to them.”
From the start of his campaign, Jackson walked District 20 twice, knocking on over 7,400 doors.
“It’s a very hilly district too, so people appreciate that I was coming to their door personally rather than maybe sending a volunteer to just leave a pamphlet on their door without that engagement,” Jackson said.
Then, just weeks into the campaign, the Covid pandemic changed everything. Jackson and the rest of the campaign team were forced to adapt their initial plans, which had included Jackson walking the district four times. The campaign transitioned to a digital approach, incorporating Action Network alongside Action Builder to engage voters.
“We transitioned to a more digital outreach program with emails, social media, and call banking,” Jackson explained. “Instead of meeting voters in person, I was bringing up the phone numbers on Action Builder and calling down those lists.”
“The flexibility and customization was really nice, and it made it more intuitive,” added Cristina. “And we got a lot of hands-on support from Michael [Crusinberry, Senior Partner Success Specialist at Action Builder].”
On August 8, 2020, after a night of soaring voter turnout, Jackson and his team saw the result they’d been working towards: After knocking thousands of doors and talking with thousands of voters, Jackson won the Democratic Primary to represent Hawaii’s 20th District in the Hawaiʻi State House of Representatives. He beat three other candidates for the nomination who were all 20 to 40 years older than him.
“Our faith in a vision for a better Hawaiʻi and love for our community has brought this campaign further than I could have ever imagined,” Jackson shared in a message to supporters on Election Night. “Our victory in the Democratic Primary is a testament to our dedication and the people of this districtʻs hope for a brighter future.”
Now, Jackson and his campaign have set their sights on the General Election against an experienced local Republican candidate. Mail-in ballots will go out on October 16, and the campaign expects most voters will cast their ballots within a couple days of receiving them in the mail. Now, the campaign is seeking volunteers to get out the vote during that crucial period. If you’re in District 20, you can go to JacksonSayama.com and click the ‘Volunteer’ button at the top of the page to get involved.
“We need all hands on deck for sign waving!” added Jackson.
Finally, before getting back to the campaign trail, Jackson offered the following advice as a 23-year-old running for office for the first time:
“If any young person is thinking about running for office, you should really take a hard look at why you are running — if you’re running just to get your name out there, maybe that’s not the right way to go about it. But if you’re looking to make a difference for your community and future generations, then those are the right reasons. I say go for it!”
