John Bickel

John William Bickel is a teacher and activist who is one of four Hawaii Democratic Party Electoral College electors. Born in Bismarck, North Dakota, Bickel has been an active member of politics around Hawaii, and has been teaching in the state for a number of decades.
Teaching career
John Bickel had taught students in two of Hawaii's public schools for nearly 12 years, where he where he eventually left in 2001 as a result of a state-wide 21-day strike caused by the failure of the Department of Education's proposed contracts. He had recounted the unavailabilities of basic resources and having to garner supplies like pencils, and the difficulties of having to fundraise in order to give students the opportunity to travel and compete in a national event. Bickel now teaches at a private institution, and is on his st year of teaching. He has received the awards of Hawaii History Teacher of the Year in 2014, VFW Hawaii Teacher of the Year in 2017, and other institution-specific awards including being the school's yearbook dedicatee alongside fellow teacher Rhonda Nagao. He has been either an advisor or coach of a number of the school's clubs, including but not limited to the National History Bee and Bowl teams, Model United Nations delegation, Young Democrats, Model Congress, and Lincoln-Douglas Debate. He is also known to dress up as historical figures, and lecture to students about the figure for which he is currently representing.
Politics
Numerous testimonies have been sent by John Bickel detailing his and the Americans for Democratic Action Hawaii's standings and opinions on the legislation affecting such topics as climate change, noise pollution, and elections in the state. Bickel is a part of a number of political organizations, including serving on the board of Progressive Democrats of Hawaii and the State Central Committee of the Democratic Party, and being the president of the Americans for Democratic Action's Hawaii chapter. He is also one of four Democratic Party of Hawaii United States Electoral College electors, pledging his first vote for Barack Obama in the 2012 United States presidential election.
 
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