The Hawaii State Teachers Association is endorsing Sergio Alcubilla for Hawaii’s First Congressional District. The district covers most of Oahu from Makapuu through central Honolulu and Leeward to Mililani, Waipahu, Ewa, and Kapolei.
“Sergio Alcubilla has been deeply involved in Hawaii communities as an attorney and nonprofit leader supporting the working class and public schools,” Hawaii State Teachers Association President Osa Tui Jr. said in a press release. “He strongly believes that our public schools need our support as they are teaching our future. He supports labor rights and unions, and as an attorney, he advocates for community members who are struggling to ensure everyone has a voice.”
According to the release, the Hawaii State Teachers Association supports candidates who “invest in public education, educators and labor, and who are committed to creating a better future for the community.”
HSTA previously supported Ed Case, the incumbent U.S. representative in Oahu’s First Congressional District. But the HSTA board of directors now feels Alcubilla's values better align with the citizens of Hawaii.
“I will push for increasing teacher pay and benefits, similar to how we take care of our military personnel, with an emphasis on increasing homeownership for our teachers,” Alcubilla said in the release.
Alcubilla was born in Iloilo City, Philippines. His father, a military police officer, was assassinated by a communist hit squad during the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos, prompting him and his mother to immigrate to the U.S. when he was 7.
He attended public schools in Virginia and Florida and volunteered to help nonprofit youth groups and worked with local churches and sports programs to develop peace-centered community service programs in high-conflict areas.
Alcubilla arrived in Hawaii in 2010 and has served on various committees of the Hawaii Access to Justice Commission. He is a board director of the Hawaii Filipino Lawyers Association and is a past board director of the Filipino Young Leaders Program. He is also involved with the Hawaii Workers Center, a nonprofit organization that advocates for the rights of low-wage workers.