“Things do not happen. Things are made to happen.” -John F. Kennedy

Aloha. I am a common sense, moderate, reform Republican running for the 2018 US Senate seat to represent the people of Hawai’i. While following the news coverage of the federal government shutdown this past January, I decided it was time to stop complaining about the problems in our government and time to become part of the solution. Our federal government is wasteful and inept because it has grown to the point that it is too big to be adequately managed or overseen. People are frustrated with the current ineffective state of our federal government and its divisive underlying partisan politics in Washington DC. Congress has devolved into legislating for the next election cycle rather than doing what’s in the best interest for the people of this country. We elected adults to represent us in congress and it has deteriorated into school yard bickering and fighting. So I am running on a platform of comprehensive change across the whole of our federal government.

“I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.” -Thomas Jefferson

I am retired at a good place in life. Through lifelong planning, hard work, good fortune, and making the most of opportunities, I was able to retire early on Kaua’i with a pension and a 401k savings account that will outlast my lifetime. I have always made an effort to live a pay-it-forward lifestyle. In paying-it-forward, the right thing to do with this senate race opportunity is to run for the US Senate for the people of Hawai’i. I have no need to run for office myself and any of the $174,000 annual US Senator salary that isn’t used towards personal senatorial expenses will be donated to charities in Hawai’i for our keiki. This will amount to approximately $120,000 annually going to those charities. Our keiki are our future and there is no better investment for our future than investing in our keiki.

“Working hard is important. But there is something that matters even more, believing in yourself.” – Harry Potter

I am an agent of change. I worked for over 35 years for federal government contractors as a systems engineer in a wide variety of roles across multiple disciplines. All my roles involved managing change and innovation, especially with new and evolving technologies, to deliver or improve efficiency and effectiveness on government contracts while significantly eliminating or preventing waste. The first 29 years of that career was working on government contracts in the Washington DC area for NASA, the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Agriculture. I relocated permanently to Kaua’i in August 2009 for the last role of my government contractor career as the station manager of NASA’s Kokeʻe Park Geophysical Observatory (KPGO). I chose to retire in February 2016 to make more time for my aging ‘Ohana and to further enjoy life on Kaua’i with my dogs.

“For time and the world do not stand still. Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or the present are certain to miss the future.” -John F. Kennedy

I approach everything with a practical, grounded, hands-on, “rubber meets the road” mindset. My engineering approach to resolving problems and managing change grew out of best practices acquired over my career as an analyst, researcher, scientist, programmer, network manager, and systems engineer. I made a career around successfully using change management to develop and implement near-term and long-term plans at work and in my personal life. I am now seeking to apply my skill sets to drive change and improvement in our federal government as the junior Hawai’i US Senator if the people of Hawai’i choose me to represent them. If you agree that our federal government has taken a turn for the worse, please join me to start managing change and innovation in Washington DC to drive our federal government back on course to being more functional, efficient, and effective.

Mazie Hirono for US Senate Webpage

Mazie Hirono

Mazie Hirono grew up on her grandparents’ rice farm in Fukushima, Japan. When she was nearly eight years old, her mother Laura made the courageous decision to escape her abusive marriage and take Mazie and her brothers to the United States in search of a better life. When they arrived in Hawaii, Mazie spoke no English and Laura worked low wage jobs with no job security or health benefits. In elementary school, Mazie worked as a student lunch cashier in exchange for lunch.

Mazie worked hard and graduated with honors from Kaimuki High School. She went on to attend the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where she graduated as a member of Phi Beta Kappa academic honor society. It was during college that Mazie first experienced political action as a way to make social change in protesting the Vietnam War. She was part of a small group of young activists who recognized that protesting and marching wasn’t enough – they needed seats at the table to bring about change. Driven by her desire to be a more effective advocate for others, Mazie went to law school, graduating from the Georgetown University Law Center.

Shortly after law school and after a time serving as a Deputy Attorney General for the State of Hawaii, Mazie ran for and won a seat in the Hawaii State House of Representatives in 1980, where she earned a reputation as a fearless advocate for consumers. She was elected Hawaii’s Lieutenant Governor in 1994, and was the first statewide elected official to stand up for marriage equality. Hawaii voters elected Mazie to represent Hawaii’s Second Congressional District in 2006, and to the U.S. Senate in 2012.

In Congress, Mazie has been a leading voice for immigration policies that keep families together; health care as a right and not a privilege; preserving the programs our kupuna rely on; and increasing access to quality, affordable education. Since the 2016 election, she has emerged as a leader in the resistance to the Trump administration’s attacks on our core values, including undermining the judiciary, degrading civil and voting rights, taking health care away from millions, and restricting immigration. In 2018, Mazie is running for reelection to the U.S. Senate to continue her fight for Hawaii families and people across the country whose voices are often not heard loud enough in Congress.

Mazie lives in Honolulu with her husband Leighton, mother Laura, and cat Kuromame. Her early endorsers for her 2018 reelection include the Hawaii State AFL-CIO, EMILY’s List, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, Americans for Democratic Action, the League of Conservation Voters, Natural Resources Defense Council, and End Citizens United.