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Quick Facts
Personal Details

Education

  • JD, University of San Francisco School of Law, 1995
  • BA, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1989

Professional Experience

  • JD, University of San Francisco School of Law, 1995
  • BA, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1989
  • Attorney, Cronin, Fried, Sekiya, Kekina and Fairbanks, present

Political Experience

  • JD, University of San Francisco School of Law, 1995
  • BA, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1989
  • Attorney, Cronin, Fried, Sekiya, Kekina and Fairbanks, present
  • Representative, Hawaii State House of Representatives, District 25, 1999-present
  • Former Vice Speaker, Hawaii State House of Representatives
  • Candidate, Hawaii State House of Representatives, District 25, 2018, 2020

Former Committees/Caucuses

Former Vice Chair, House Committee on Economic Development and Business Concerns, Hawaii State House of Representatives

Former Chair, House Committee on Judiciary, Hawaii State House of Representatives

Former vice Chair, House Committee on Legislative Management, Hawaii State House of Representatives

Former Chair, Select Committee on War Preparedness, Hawaii State House of Representatives

Current Legislative Committees

Chair, Finance Committee

Religious, Civic, and other Memberships

  • JD, University of San Francisco School of Law, 1995
  • BA, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1989
  • Attorney, Cronin, Fried, Sekiya, Kekina and Fairbanks, present
  • Representative, Hawaii State House of Representatives, District 25, 1999-present
  • Former Vice Speaker, Hawaii State House of Representatives
  • Candidate, Hawaii State House of Representatives, District 25, 2018, 2020
  • Member, American Association for Justice, present
  • Member, American Bar Association, present
  • Member, Consumer Lawyers of Hawaii, present
  • Member, Hawaii State Bar Association, present
  • Member, Kawananakoa Middle School Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA), present
  • Member, Nuuanu Elementary School Parent Teacher Association (PTA), present
  • Member, Nuuanu Valley Association, present
  • Member, Pacific Heights Coalition, present
  • Member, Pauoa Hawaii Police Activities League Baseball, present
  • Member, Pauoa School Parent Teacher Association (PTA), present
  • Member, Roosevelt High School Alumni Association, present
  • Member, American Bar Association
  • Former Member, University of San Francisco Law Review
  • Barrister, American Inn of Court, 1996-1997

Other Info

— Awards:

  • Humane State Legislator Award, Humane Society of the United States, 2006; Hawaii Certificate of Appreciation for Consumer Protection, AARP, 2006; Pioneer Award in Leadership, Korean American Coalition, 2003; Outstanding Civic Leadership Award, Hawaii Technology Trade Association, 2000

Policy Positions

Hawaii State Legislative Election 1998 National Political Awareness Test

Abortion

Indicate which principles you support (if any) concerning abortion.

1. Abortions should always be legally available.
- No Answer

2. Abortions should be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy.
- No Answer

3. Abortions should be legal only when pregnancy resulted from incest, rape, or when the life of the woman is endangered.
- No Answer

4. Abortions should be legal only when the life of the woman is endangered.
- No Answer

5. Abortions should always be illegal.
- No Answer

6. Abortions should be limited by waiting periods and parental notification requirements.
- No Answer

7. Prohibit the late-term abortion procedure known as "partial-birth" abortion.
- No Answer

8. Support "buffer zones" by requiring demonstrators to stay at least 15 feet away from abortion clinic doorways and driveways.
- No Answer

9. Other
- No Answer

10. Should Hawaii government funding be provided to clinics and medical facilities that provide abortion services?
- No Answer

Affirmative Action

Indicate the principles you support (if any) concerning affirmative action. State government agencies should take race and sex into account in the following sectors:

1. College and university admissions
- Yes

2. Public employment
- No Answer

3. State contracting
- No

4. Other
- No Answer

Crime

Indicate which principles you support (if any) to address crime.

1. Increase state funds for construction of state prisons and for hiring of additional prison staff.
- No Answer

2. Support contracting with private sector firms to build and/or manage state prisons.
- No Answer

3. End parole for repeat violent felons.
- X

4. Support the use of the death penalty.
- No Answer

5. Oppose the death penalty.
- X

6. Implement penalties other than incarceration for certain non-violent offenders.
- X

7. Inform communities when a convicted sex offender moves into the community.
- No Answer

8. Increase state funds for programs which rehabilitate and educate inmates during and after their prison sentences.
- X

9. Decriminalize the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes.
- No Answer

10. Strengthen penalties and sentences for drug-related crimes.
- No Answer

11. Strengthen penalties and sentences for sex offenders.
- X

12. Support the blood-alcohol-content limit defining drunk driving.
- No Answer

13. Prosecute juveniles who commit murder or other serious violent crimes as adults.
- X

14. Support the transfer of Hawaii inmates to out-of-state prisons.
- No Answer

15. Support building a state prison in Kau on the Big Island.
- No Answer

16. Support labeling Rohypnol the, "date-rape drug", as a controlled substance, which would make possession a felony.
- X

17. Other
- No Answer

18. Should suspects accused of sexual assault be tested for HIV?
- No Answer

Economy and Employment

Indicate which principles you support (if any) concerning the economy and employment.

1. Provide low interest loans and tax credits for starting, expanding, or relocating businesses.
- X

2. Reduce state government regulations on the private sector in order to encourage investment and economic expansion.
- X

3. Support limits on cash damages in lawsuits against businesses and professionals for product liability or malpractice.
- No Answer

4. Increase funding for state job-training programs that retrain displaced workers or teach skills needed in today's job market.
- No Answer

5. Ban workers' compensation claims for stress attributed to disciplinary actions on the job.
- X

6. Legalize casino gambling in Hawaii.
- No Answer

7. Support a state lottery.
- No Answer

8. Support a state lottery if all the funds were used to fund education.
- No Answer

9. Oppose a state lottery.
- No Answer

10. Other
- No Answer

Education

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding education.

1. Increase state funds for professional development of public school teachers and administrators.
- X

2. Encourage private or corporate investment in public school programs.
- X

3. Provide parents with state-funded vouchers to send their children to any participating school (public, private, religious).
- No Answer

4. Favor charter schools where independent groups receive state authorization and funding to establish new schools.
- No Answer

5. Support sex education programs which stress abstinence.
- No Answer

6. Support sex education programs which stress safe sexual practices.
- No Answer

7. Increase state funds for school construction and facility maintenance.
- X

8. Increase state funds for hiring of additional teachers.
- X

9. Endorse teacher-led voluntary prayer in public schools.
- No Answer

10. Grant the University of Hawaii more autonomy in running the university system.
- X

11. Other
- No Answer

12. Should the state Board of Education be appointed by the Governor instead of elected?
- No Answer

13. Do you support establishing elected county school boards in place of the state Board of Education?
- No Answer

Environment & Energy

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding the environment and energy.

1. Require the use of cleaner burning fuels in order to prevent pollution.
- No Answer

2. Support "self-audit" legislation which creates incentives for industries to audit themselves and clean up pollution.
- No Answer

3. Require a cost/benefit analysis to determine the economic impact of proposed environmental regulations before they are implemented.
- No Answer

4. Require the state to fully compensate citizens when environmental regulations limit uses on privately owned land.
- No Answer

5. Provide funding for recycling programs in Hawaii.
- X

6. Request added flexibility from the federal government in enforcing and funding federal environmental regulations.
- X

7. Suspend participation in unfunded, federally mandated environmental protection legislation.
- No Answer

8. Restructure the electric utility industry to allow consumers to choose their power company.
- No Answer

9. Limit public access and research projects on the Mauna Kea mountaintop.
- No Answer

10. Support the state proposal to buy the Queen's Beach area in Hawaii Kai for $11 million to use as a state park.
- No Answer

11. Other
- No Answer

12. State environmental regulations should not be stricter than federal law.
- No Answer

13. Do you support the proposal to buy the Waiahole ditch system?
- No Answer

Government Reform

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding government reform.

Do you support limits on the number of terms of the following Hawaii officials?

1. State Senators and Representatives
- Yes

2. Governor
- Yes

Do you support limiting the following types of contributions to state legislative candidates?

1. Individual
- Yes

2. PAC
- Yes

3. Corporate
- Yes

4. Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information?
- Yes

5. Do you support imposing spending limits on state level political campaigns?
- No Answer

6. Do you support partial funding from state taxes for state level political campaigns?
- No Answer

7. Would you vote to ratify an amendment to the U.S. Constitution requiring an annual balanced federal budget?
- No Answer

8. Other
- No Answer

9. Do you support Hawaii holding a constitutional convention to evaluate the state constitution?
- No

Gun

Indicate which principles you support (if any) concerning gun issues.

1. Ban the sale or transfer of all forms of semi-automatic weapons.
- No Answer

2. Increase state restrictions on the purchase and possession of firearms.
- No Answer

3. Maintain state restrictions on the purchase and possession of firearms.
- No Answer

4. Ease state restrictions on the purchase and possession of firearms.
- No Answer

5. Repeal state restrictions on the purchase and possession of firearms by law-abiding citizens.
- No Answer

6. Favor allowing citizens to carry concealed firearms.
- No Answer

7. Require manufacturers to provide child-safety locks with firearms.
- No Answer

8. Other
- No Answer

Hawaii Annexation

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding Hawaii's annexation.

1. Support recognizing the laws of the Kingdom of Hawaii.
- No Answer

2. Support creating a council of Native Hawaiians who would be consulted before the approval of land transactions in the Hawaiian Islands.
- No Answer

3. Support nation-within-a-nation sovereignty similar to Tribal Nations.
- No Answer

4. Support secession from the United States and establishing Hawaii as an independent sovereign nation.
- No Answer

5. Oppose Hawaiian independence from the U.S.
- No Answer

6. Other
- No Answer

Health

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding health issues.

1. Provide tax incentives to small businesses that provide health care to their employees.
- X

2. Ensure that citizens have access to basic health care, through managed care, insurance reforms, or state funded care when necessary.
- X

3. Provide health care to uninsured children and low-income families through Hawaii's QUEST health insurance program.
- X

4. Transfer more existing Medicaid recipients into managed care programs.
- No Answer

5. Use state funds to continue some Medicaid coverage for legal immigrants.
- No Answer

6. Limit the amount of damages that can be awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits.
- No Answer

7. Guaranteeing medical care to all citizens is not a responsibility of state government.
- No Answer

8. Other
- No Answer

Social

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding social issues.

1. Increase state funding for programs to prevent teen pregnancy.
- X

2. Provide tax credits for businesses that provide child care for their employees.
- X

3. Increase state funds to provide child care to children in low-income working families.
- No Answer

4. Deny or suspend state-issued permits and licenses to parents who are delinquent in paying court-ordered child support.
- No Answer

5. Favor banning smoking in public places.
- No Answer

6. Increase state funding for Head Start in order to serve additional children and/or increase services from a half to a full day.
- No Answer

7. Increase state funding for community centers and other social agencies in areas with at-risk youth.
- X

8. Support state funding of programs for at-risk youth such as guaranteed college loans and job training and placement.
- X

9. Other
- No Answer

10. Do you believe that the Hawaii government should include sexual orientation in Hawaii's anti-discrimination laws?
- No Answer

11. Do you believe that the Hawaii government should recognize same-sex marriages?
- No Answer

12. Do you support a constitutional amendment granting the Hawaii Legislature the power to limit marriage to opposite-sex couples?
- No Answer

State Budget

Indicate the funding levels you will support for the following general categories. Select one level only.

1. Agriculture
- No Answer

2. Education (K-12)
- Greatly Increase

3. Education (Higher)
- Greatly Increase

4. Environment
- Slightly Increase

5. Health care
- No Answer

6. Law enforcement
- Greatly Increase

7. Transportation infrastructure (highways, roads, bridges)
- No Answer

8. Welfare
- No Answer

9. Other
- No Answer

State Taxes

Indicate the tax levels you will support. Select one level only.

1. Alcohol Taxes
- No Answer

2. Capital gains taxes
- No Answer

3. Cigarette taxes
- No Answer

4. Corporate taxes
- No Answer

5. Gas taxes
- No Answer

6. Income taxes (incomes below $75,000)
- No Answer

7. Income taxes (incomes above $75,000)
- No Answer

8. Sales taxes
- No Answer

9. Excise taxes
- No Answer

10. Other
- No Answer

11. Do you support a flat tax structure for state income taxes?
- No Answer

12. Do you support implementing state property taxes?
- No

Welfare

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding welfare.

1. Maintain the five-year limit on welfare benefits.
- No Answer

2. Require that able-bodied recipients participate in work-related programs in order to receive benefits.
- X

3. Increase employment and job training programs for welfare recipients.
- X

4. Provide tax incentives to businesses that hire welfare recipients.
- X

5. Provide child care for welfare recipients who work.
- No Answer

6. Increase access to public transportation for welfare recipients who work.
- No Answer

7. Allow welfare recipients to remain eligible for benefits while saving money for education, starting a business, or buying a home.
- No Answer

8. Limit benefits given to recipients if they have additional children while on welfare.
- No Answer

9. Eliminate government-funded welfare programs.
- No Answer

10. Other
- No Answer

Legislative Priorities

Please explain what your two main legislative priorities will be if elected. Please explain how you would obtain any additional government funding needed to implement these priorities.
- No Answer

State Bills