Duties: The Hawaii State House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Hawaii State Legislature. The Hawaii House of Representatives is a part-time body.Areas Represented: Portion of Waipio Acres, Wahiawa, Whitmore Village, a portion of Waialua, MokuleiaHow Elected: The house consists of 51 members elected from an equal number of respective representative districts. A Representative must be a Hawaii resident not less than three years, is at least 18 years old, and is a qualified voter of the representative district from which the person seeks to be elected. Candidates for state legislative offices who are nominated in the primary election and are unopposed in the general election will be deemed elected to the office sought after the primary election regardless of the number of votes received by that candidate (Hawaii State Constitution, Article III, Section 4).Term: Two years, not subject to term limits.Base Salary (FY2024): $72,348 plus $225/day if living outside Oahu, $10/day for members living on Oahu; Speaker of the House - $81,024
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Education
2013 Defended doctoral dissertation in Political Science, UH Mānoa, with distinction; 2000-2001 PBSCE-SS, University of Hawaii at Mānoa; 1992-1995 Ph.D. program in Chinese History, University of California at Los Angeles (one year spent at Taiwan University studying classical Chinese); 1990-1992 Fulbright Scholar, University of Helsinki, Finland; 1986-1990 Bachelor of Arts with Honors (Political Science and East Asian Studies); University of Southern California, Los Angeles (one year spent at Fudan University, Shanghai, China)
Community/Military Service
Wahiawā Lions, Central O'ahu Soroptimist, Hawaiian Civic Club of Wahiawā, UH College of Education Alumni Association Board, Data Task Force, Juvenile Justice State Advisory Council, PACE Commission (Vice Chair).
Campaign Phone
8083510980
My organizing campaigns have always centered public school teachers, students and schools, and I have consistently used both my public platform and my legislative power to fight for the ‘Schools Our Keiki Deserve.’ Most recently, my legislative efforts have focused on addressing the climate crisis by developing programs to sequester carbon through better agricultural practices, strengthen food waste diversion and composting, building strong farm-to-state procurement systems, advocating for Safe Routes to Schools infrastructure, and fighting for clean elections and tax fairness.
The widening gap between the rich and the poor, and the concurrent starvation of the common good, is our most profoundly troubling issue. We passed a tax "reform" bill this session (HB 2404) that disproportionately benefits the very wealthiest in Hawai'i - we will lose over $5 billion without moving progressive tax revenue generation to fund critical public services. I would redesign the tax structure, fund clean elections, close legal loopholes that allow for rampant corrupt pay-to-play practices, and invest in our communities to create a more circular economy and transform our food system.
We need to invest heavily in regenerative agriculture and restorative aquaculture so that we can develop a stronger circular economy and become more self-sufficient, while also dminishing our carbon footprint. We can fund this work by imposing heavier TA on visitors to support a just transition, and to start havinf serious conversations around carrying capacity in these islands.
We have already initiating a REPI partnership with the U.S. Army to better manage lands so as to prevent the outbreak of wildfires like we saw in Maui. We can also do more to pull down federal monies dedicated to protection of our natural resources through NAR designations of native forests if we can revisit our leases of public lands to the military, which have heretofore prevented us from accessing NAR funding. Our office also created a localized approach to disaster preparation, using legislative allowance to provide ham radios and training for more than 35 "neighbor coordinators" in HD 46.
