Utu Abe Malae
Encyclopedia
Utu Abe Malae is an American Samoa
n politician
, banker and businessman. Malae was a candidate for Governor of American Samoa in the 2008 gubernatorial elections
, finishing second in the runoff to incumbent Governor Togiola Tulafono
.
On August 15, 2011, Malae announced his candidacy in the forthcoming 2012 American Samoa gubernatorial election
, which will be held in November 2012.
main island, Tutuila
. His mother's family is from the village of Amouli
, American Samoa. He is the fifth of seven children born to the late Reverend Elder Pita Malae and the late Fiapa'ipa'i Sera Utu Malae.
Malae received his bachelor's degree
s in both chemistry
and English
in 1970 from Morningside College
in Sioux City, Iowa
. He went onto earn his first master's degree
in physical chemistry from Iowa State University
's School of Science & Technology in 1973. His education continued past his graduation from Iowa.
He next obtained two separate master's degrees in both public works administration
and civil engineering
from the University of Pittsburgh
in Pennsylvania
.
Malae was bestowed the Samoa
n chiefly title of Utu by his family in the early 2000s.
(ASPA), a government electric utility. He was appointed to oversee both the LBJ Medical Center and the Port Administration by separate American Samoan governors while he headed the ASPA.
Utu served as the CEO for the LBJ Medical Center from November 1995 to January 1997.
In April 2001, Malae was named one of the "Top Ten Public Works Leaders of the Year" by the American Public Works Association
.
Malae, the American Samoa Power Authority and several other employees of the ASPA were also honored at the Mayors' Asia-Pacific Environment Summit 2001 in Honolulu, Hawaii
. The summit
was sponsored by the Asian Development Bank
. Before the Summit, Malae presented then Honolulu Mayor
Jeremy Harris
with detailed accomplishments of ways in which the ASPA, under his directorship, had worked to combat environmental problems in American Samoa and elsewhere in the Pacific. Malae had initially promised to combat environmental pollution at the first Asia-Pacific Environment Summit in 1999. For his work, Malae received one of the summit's awards and was asked to appear as one of its featured guest speakers. The award "honors Abe Malae and recognize the tangible progress of the municipality
and people of the American Samoa Power Authority in fulfilling their sustainable development
commitment declared." Malae and his management of the ASPA was particularly praised for its operations of a utility
service located in Ebeye
, Marshall Islands
.
Malae became vice chairman of the Pacific Power Association in 2001 and later became the acting chairman of the PPA in 2002 following the resignation of the organization's representative from the Northern Marianas Islands. Malae was chosen for a full two-year term as chairman of the Pacific Power Association at the PPA's annual meeting in Nadi, Fiji, in 2002. Malae was working as the executive director
of the American Samoa Power Authority at the time.
Malae left the ASPA to become acting president of the Development Bank of American Samoa, a government-owned bank, beginning in November 2004. He was retained again as President of the bank in September 2006. Malae received praise for his management of the bank, which included a "clean" audit of its finances in 2007.
He remained as head of the bank until his resignation to run for governor in 2008.
Malae, a Republican
, was one of two American Samoans of the committee which drafted the election platform for the 2008 Republican National Convention
. Malae served as one of American Samoa's elected delegates who supported 2008 presidential nominee Senator John McCain
, and represented the territory at the 2008 Republican National Convention
in Saint Paul, Minnesota
.
April 2008 to study the feasibility of a candidacy for Governor of American Samoa. The committee was made up of Malae's family, friends and supporters.
Malae fueled further speculation that he was planning a run for Governor when tendered his resignation
as president of the Development Bank of American Samoa. He submitted a letter of resignation to the bank's board of directors on May 29, 2008. He left the bank thirty days later.
Malae officially announced his candidacy on June 10, 2008, for Governor of American Samoa in the 2008 gubernatorial election
. He chose Nua Mailo Saoluaga
, a former Speaker of the American Samoa House of Representatives
who is from Manu'a, as his running mate
for Lieutenant Governor
. Malae filed his petition to run for governor at the American Samoa Election Office at 9:00 A.M. on June 10. He held his official gubernatorial announcement at the Maliu Mai Beach Resort later in the day.
In his announcement, Malae promised to make healthcare and education
a top priority in a future Malae administration. He referred to these as the top two issues facing American Samoa
today.
Malae faced incumbent Gov. Togiola Tulafono
and two other candidates in the gubernatorial election on November 4, 2008. Tulafono received 41.3% of the vote to Malae's 31.4%. Because no candidate received more than 50% of the vote, a run-off election between Malae and Tulafono will take place in mid-November.
American Samoa
American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the sovereign state of Samoa...
n politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
, banker and businessman. Malae was a candidate for Governor of American Samoa in the 2008 gubernatorial elections
American Samoa gubernatorial election, 2008
The 2008 American Samoa gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2008, coinciding with the 2008 United States general elections and the American Samoa general election. Because no candidate received more than 50% of the vote, a runoff election between the top two candidates was held on...
, finishing second in the runoff to incumbent Governor Togiola Tulafono
Togiola Tulafono
Togiola Talalelei A. Tulafono is the Governor of American Samoa. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He had previously served as Lieutenant Governor, taking this position on January 3, 1997....
.
On August 15, 2011, Malae announced his candidacy in the forthcoming 2012 American Samoa gubernatorial election
American Samoa gubernatorial election, 2012
The 2012 American Samoa gubernatorial election will take place on November 6, 2012, coinciding with the 2012 United States presidential elections, 2012 United States general elections and the American Samoa general election....
, which will be held in November 2012.
Personal life
Utu Abe Malae's family and ancestry is originally from the Manu'a Islands,(his father's side) which are located approximately 70 miles east of American SamoaAmerican Samoa
American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the sovereign state of Samoa...
main island, Tutuila
Tutuila
Tutuila is the largest and the main island of American Samoa in the archipelago of Samoan Islands. It is the third largest island in the Samoan Islands chain of the Central Pacific located roughly northeast of Brisbane, Australia and over northeast of Fiji. It contains a large, natural harbor,...
. His mother's family is from the village of Amouli
Amouli
Amouli is a village on the southeast coast of Tutuila Island, American Samoa at the narrowest point of the island. It is located to the west of 'Au'asi, immediately to the south of 'Aoa on the north coast....
, American Samoa. He is the fifth of seven children born to the late Reverend Elder Pita Malae and the late Fiapa'ipa'i Sera Utu Malae.
Malae received his bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
s in both chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
and English
English studies
English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...
in 1970 from Morningside College
Morningside College
Morningside College is a private, liberal arts college affiliated with the United Methodist Church located in Sioux City, Iowa. Founded in 1894 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, Morningside College is a private, four-year, co-educational liberal arts institution. Morningside has 21 buildings on a ...
in Sioux City, Iowa
Sioux City, Iowa
Sioux City is a city in Plymouth and Woodbury counties in the western part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 82,684 in the 2010 census, a decline from 85,013 in the 2000 census, which makes it currently the fourth largest city in the state....
. He went onto earn his first master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in physical chemistry from Iowa State University
Iowa State University
Iowa State University of Science and Technology, more commonly known as Iowa State University , is a public land-grant and space-grant research university located in Ames, Iowa, United States. Iowa State has produced astronauts, scientists, and Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, along with a host of...
's School of Science & Technology in 1973. His education continued past his graduation from Iowa.
He next obtained two separate master's degrees in both public works administration
Public Works Administration
The Public Works Administration , part of the New Deal of 1933, was a large-scale public works construction agency in the United States headed by Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes. It was created by the National Industrial Recovery Act in June 1933 in response to the Great Depression...
and civil engineering
Civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...
from the University of Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
.
Malae was bestowed the Samoa
Samoa
Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...
n chiefly title of Utu by his family in the early 2000s.
Career
Malae has worked within the government of American Samoa for over twenty-five years. He served as the executive director of the American Samoa Power AuthorityAmerican Samoa Power Authority
The American Samoa Power Authority is a government-run public utility company headquartered in American Samoa.The American Samoa Senate proposed the dissolution of the ASPA in 2008 due to financial difficulties. Under the bill, the ASPA would be dissolved and its assets and operations would be...
(ASPA), a government electric utility. He was appointed to oversee both the LBJ Medical Center and the Port Administration by separate American Samoan governors while he headed the ASPA.
Utu served as the CEO for the LBJ Medical Center from November 1995 to January 1997.
In April 2001, Malae was named one of the "Top Ten Public Works Leaders of the Year" by the American Public Works Association
American Public Works Association
The American Public Works Association is a not-for-profit, professional association of public works agencies, private companies, and individuals dedicated to promoting professional excellence and public awareness through education, advocacy and the exchange of knowledge...
.
Malae, the American Samoa Power Authority and several other employees of the ASPA were also honored at the Mayors' Asia-Pacific Environment Summit 2001 in Honolulu, Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
. The summit
Summit (meeting)
A summit meeting is a meeting of heads of state or government, usually with considerable media exposure, tight security and a prearranged agenda.Notable summit meetings include those of Franklin D...
was sponsored by the Asian Development Bank
Asian Development Bank
The Asian Development Bank is a regional development bank established on 22 August 1966 to facilitate economic development of countries in Asia...
. Before the Summit, Malae presented then Honolulu Mayor
Mayor of Honolulu
The Mayor of Honolulu is the chief executive officer of the City and County of Honolulu and considered the third most powerful official in the U.S. state of Hawaii, behind the Governor of Hawaii and the Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii...
Jeremy Harris
Jeremy Harris
Jeremy Harris, born December 7, 1950 in Wilmington, Delaware, served as Mayor of Honolulu from 1994 to 2004. A biologist by training, Harris started his political career as a delegate to the 1978 Hawai'i State Constitutional Convention...
with detailed accomplishments of ways in which the ASPA, under his directorship, had worked to combat environmental problems in American Samoa and elsewhere in the Pacific. Malae had initially promised to combat environmental pollution at the first Asia-Pacific Environment Summit in 1999. For his work, Malae received one of the summit's awards and was asked to appear as one of its featured guest speakers. The award "honors Abe Malae and recognize the tangible progress of the municipality
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
and people of the American Samoa Power Authority in fulfilling their sustainable development
Sustainable development
Sustainable development is a pattern of resource use, that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come...
commitment declared." Malae and his management of the ASPA was particularly praised for its operations of a utility
Utility
In economics, utility is a measure of customer satisfaction, referring to the total satisfaction received by a consumer from consuming a good or service....
service located in Ebeye
Ebeye
Ebeye is the most populous island of Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, as well as the center for Marshallese culture in the Ralik Chain of the archipelago. Settled on 80 acres of land, it has a population of more than 15,000. Over 50% of the population is estimated to be under the age of...
, Marshall Islands
Marshall Islands
The Republic of the Marshall Islands , , is a Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator. As of July 2011 the population was 67,182...
.
Malae became vice chairman of the Pacific Power Association in 2001 and later became the acting chairman of the PPA in 2002 following the resignation of the organization's representative from the Northern Marianas Islands. Malae was chosen for a full two-year term as chairman of the Pacific Power Association at the PPA's annual meeting in Nadi, Fiji, in 2002. Malae was working as the executive director
Executive director
Executive director is a term sometimes applied to the chief executive officer or managing director of an organization, company, or corporation. It is widely used in North American non-profit organizations, though in recent decades many U.S. nonprofits have adopted the title "President/CEO"...
of the American Samoa Power Authority at the time.
Malae left the ASPA to become acting president of the Development Bank of American Samoa, a government-owned bank, beginning in November 2004. He was retained again as President of the bank in September 2006. Malae received praise for his management of the bank, which included a "clean" audit of its finances in 2007.
He remained as head of the bank until his resignation to run for governor in 2008.
Malae, a Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
, was one of two American Samoans of the committee which drafted the election platform for the 2008 Republican National Convention
2008 Republican National Convention
The United States 2008 Republican National Convention took place at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota, from September 1, through September 4, 2008...
. Malae served as one of American Samoa's elected delegates who supported 2008 presidential nominee Senator John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
, and represented the territory at the 2008 Republican National Convention
2008 Republican National Convention
The United States 2008 Republican National Convention took place at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota, from September 1, through September 4, 2008...
in Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...
.
2008 Gubernatorial Candidacy
Utu Abe Malae announced the formation of an exploratory committeeExploratory Committee
In the election politics of the United States, an exploratory committee is an organization established to help determine whether a potential candidate should run for an elected office. They are most often cited in reference to United States Presidential hopefuls, prior to the primaries.Exploratory...
April 2008 to study the feasibility of a candidacy for Governor of American Samoa. The committee was made up of Malae's family, friends and supporters.
Malae fueled further speculation that he was planning a run for Governor when tendered his resignation
Resignation
A resignation is the formal act of giving up or quitting one's office or position. It can also refer to the act of admitting defeat in a game like chess, indicated by the resigning player declaring "I resign", turning his king on its side, extending his hand, or stopping the chess clock...
as president of the Development Bank of American Samoa. He submitted a letter of resignation to the bank's board of directors on May 29, 2008. He left the bank thirty days later.
Malae officially announced his candidacy on June 10, 2008, for Governor of American Samoa in the 2008 gubernatorial election
American Samoa gubernatorial election, 2008
The 2008 American Samoa gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2008, coinciding with the 2008 United States general elections and the American Samoa general election. Because no candidate received more than 50% of the vote, a runoff election between the top two candidates was held on...
. He chose Nua Mailo Saoluaga
Nua Mailo Saoluaga
Nua Mailo Saoluaga is an American Samoan politician. He served as the Speaker of the American Samoa House of Representatives from 1997 until 2002....
, a former Speaker of the American Samoa House of Representatives
American Samoa House of Representatives
The American Samoa House of Representatives is the lower house of the American Samoa Fono. The House consists of 21 representatives serving two-year terms, with 20 popular elected members, and one representative elected by a public meeting on Swains Island....
who is from Manu'a, as his running mate
Running mate
A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position but can also properly be used when referring to both candidates, such as "Michael Dukakis and Lloyd Bentsen were...
for Lieutenant Governor
Lieutenant Governor of American Samoa
The government of American Samoa consists of a locally elected governor, lieutenant governor and the American Samoa Fono, which consists of an 18-member Senate and a 21-member House of Representatives. The first popular election for Governor and Lieutenant Governor took place in 1977...
. Malae filed his petition to run for governor at the American Samoa Election Office at 9:00 A.M. on June 10. He held his official gubernatorial announcement at the Maliu Mai Beach Resort later in the day.
In his announcement, Malae promised to make healthcare and education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
a top priority in a future Malae administration. He referred to these as the top two issues facing American Samoa
American Samoa
American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the sovereign state of Samoa...
today.
Malae faced incumbent Gov. Togiola Tulafono
Togiola Tulafono
Togiola Talalelei A. Tulafono is the Governor of American Samoa. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He had previously served as Lieutenant Governor, taking this position on January 3, 1997....
and two other candidates in the gubernatorial election on November 4, 2008. Tulafono received 41.3% of the vote to Malae's 31.4%. Because no candidate received more than 50% of the vote, a run-off election between Malae and Tulafono will take place in mid-November.
External links
- Official campaign websites
- Utu Abe Malae and Nua Mailo Saoluaga for Governor and Lt. Governor, Nonpartisan candidate
- Samoa Onserver: Utu Abe Malae agrees to explore bid for Governor