GARY CORDERY AND ALOHA FREEDOM COALITION
Many in the community know me through my construction company, Kingdom Builders, building schools, churches, homes, and other small businesses for the past 24 years. Another aspect of my life is my time with Aloha Freedom Coalition (AFC). AFC started in 2020 during some of the deepest, darkest times of the COVID-19 lockdowns here on Oʻahu.
I remember the heaviness we collectively felt as we were all restricted from so many of the things that make life worth living: no more baby luaus, no more popping a tent at the beach with friends, watching our kids stay home and placed in front of a computer screen to “go to school,” proms and graduations being canceled, not being able to stay close by our loved ones as they were sick in hospitals and sidelining our kids’ sports. And I certainly cannot forget being restricted from attending church, being told we cannot hug and kiss each other as we normally do everyday, seeing neighbors and families stay away from one another because of the “6-feet social distance” rule, never seeing anyone smile because we were all masked and witnessing the utter grief of businesses shut down all across the state because they were deemed “non-essential.” The lockdowns went on…and on…and on. The mandates and rules kept shifting and changing. How many people can I have over to my house this week? 5? Or was it 10?
I recall walking through the grocery store and smiling at people as I passed by, yet knowing my smile was hidden under a government mandated mask. The demand of staying home from participating in life was never going to be okay with me. I was angry and so disappointed in the leadership that was slowly deteriorating all that made Hawaiʻi unique. The spirit of aloha was slowly dying.
Then, I remember the day I decided to stop simply watching our quality of life disappearing little by little, and instead do something to push back against the socialist agenda slowly creeping into and controlling our lives. My wife, Kim, would often protest the extreme mandates down at the state capitol. Her endurance and perseverance in fighting back against the draconian government overreach and control encouraged me to also get involved. Although I am a firm believer in American values and rules, I also knew the mandates were infringing on the liberties promised to us by our Constitution.
Then, I remember the day I decided to stop simply watching our quality of life disappearing little by little, and instead do something to push back against the socialist agenda slowly creeping into and controlling our lives. My wife, Kim, would often protest the extreme mandates down at the state capitol. Her endurance and perseverance in fighting back against the draconian government overreach and control encouraged me to also get involved. Although I am a firm believer in American values and rules, I also knew the mandates were infringing on the liberties promised to us by our Constitution.
We knew it was time to DO SOMETHING. Kim and I, along with a couple of incredible women, invited a small group of people over to our house to discuss how we could help, and what needed to be organized to advocate for one another in Hawaiʻi. We decided we wanted to be a voice for truth and freedom and get others involved as well. By word of mouth, we invited anyone we thought might want to help; about 35 people joined in. And there, during the time when we were repeatedly and forcefully told to stay away from one another, our first meeting became the start of something big. Everything fell into place. All at once and with fire in our hearts, Aloha Freedom Coalition was born. We voted in agreement and with ease on the name, “Aloha Freedom Coalition,” and decided on the vision statement at our very next meeting:
“The Aloha Freedom Coalition advocates for the personal freedoms of all communities in Hawaiʻi, promotes transformation and transparency of government, and supports the constitutional rights of the People to act, move and live in Aloha.”
I had the idea of four pillars that I believed would work to engage the community in our coalition: Church, Business, Media, Government. The small group of us began to “divide and conquer” by reaching communities within the specific pillar that each AFC member had the most passion and expertise for creating impact. As we started to meet with different groups and discuss the issues each pillar was struggling with in response to the emergency mandates and lockdowns, our desire to spread our message of hope grew. I can’t tell you how many business owners I spoke with who had tears in their eyes while discussing the loss of their investments of time, money and sacrifice to provide for their families. Pastors would describe the rise in depression among their congregations. Parents continually spoke about the sudden rise in loneliness and depression among their kids. Employees discussed the loss of financial stability and concern for paying bills on time. The more I heard, the more desperate I became to help.
Although the lockdowns, business closures, school closures, and mandated masks were one thing, the aggressive push for a vaccine was at an entirely new level.
Our first rally took place in May 2021 with Del Bigtree, Nurse Erin, and Sheriff Mack all speaking at the event. The awareness of our efforts grew when the HPD arrived in force and arrested two of our participants. I am, and always will be, a huge supporter of the police and understand they were simply following orders, but the orders they were given were unconstitutional and an affront to us as Americans. With highest thankfulness, myself and the AFC group as a whole have established amazing rapport and friendships with many of the gracious HPD officers during our time hosting more rallies and soon, more marches. The goal of these rallies was to educate the public on the government overreach and garner support in our push for freedom and choice in our communities.
Although we received plenty of objections by mainstream media and career politicians, and were consistently censored online, the more people who came to our events and heard fellow teachers, parents and children, pastors and professionals speaking out against the mishandling of emergency use powers and the push for mandated vaccines, the more hope, joy and desire for change grew across the islands.
We joined the “Worldwide Rally” events which started in Europe and we can proudly say that Hawaiʻi’s participation made us the third state in the U.S. to host a Worldwide Rally. We later marched together in Waikīkī and continued marching every week for several weeks in a row. The call for freedom grew until we had approximately 6,000 people at our march on September 11, 2021.
Although criticism for AFC still arises, I am overwhelmingly proud of my fight to be a leader in the push against controlling behavior from our political leaders. I will always stand for truth, liberty and freedom, and I will never apologize for being one of the loudest voices demanding democracy during some of the darkest days in our recent history. I thank you for your support in my run for Governor. I promise the passion I brought to AFC and our fight for freedom will be the same passion I bring to our administration in our desire to build Hawaiʻi into one of the strongest states in the nation.
ALOHA,
Gary Cordery is a candidate for Governor of Hawaii.
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Gary Cordery is a servant leader. Hawai’i needs a governor who is willing to fight for the people: someone who honors others first, pursues the truth, and protects the liberty of all.