Jacqueline Eurn Hai Young (May 20, 1934 – February 10, 2019) was an American politician and activist. Young was born in

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

, Hawaii Territory and graduated from

Punahou School Punahou School (known as Oahu College until 1934) is a private, co-educational, college preparatory school in Honolulu, Hawaii. More than 3,700 students attend the school from kindergarten through twelfth grade, 12th grade. Protestant missionar ...

in 1952. She was of Korean descent. Young received her bachelor's degree from

University of Hawaiʻi The University of Hawaiʻi System, formally the University of Hawaiʻi and popularly known as UH, is a public college and university system that confers associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees through three universities, seven com ...

in 1969; her master's degree from Old Dominion University, in 1982, and her doctorate degree from

Union Institute & University Union Institute & University (UI&U) is a private university in Cincinnati, Ohio. It specializes in limited residence and distance learning programs. The university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and operates satellite campuses ...

, in 1989.

Public office

Young was first elected to the Hawaii House of Representatives's 20th District in 1990 as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, with 54.02% of the vote to 45.98% for Republican nominee Eve Glover Anderson (incumbent

Campbell Cavasso Campbell "Cam" Cavasso (born October 14, 1950), is an American politician, businessman and perennial candidate. A Republican, Cavasso served three terms in the Hawaii House of Representatives from 1985 to 1991, and would later run for both chamb ...

, initially a candidate, did not run). She was re-elected in 1992 from what was now the 51st district, defeating Anderson with 59.76% of the vote to Anderson's 40.24%. In January 1993, she was elected Vice-Speaker of the State House. In 1994, instead of seeking re-election, she sought the Democratic nomination for

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

, losing to fellow Representative

Mazie Hirono Mazie Keiko Hirono (; Japanese name: , ; born November 3, 1947) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Hawaii since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, Hirono previously served as a member of the ...

, who pulled 65.24% of the vote; Young's 26.29% was second, in a six-way race. (Her House seat was taken by Anderson.) She was the unsuccessful Democratic nominee for

Hawaii State Senate The Hawaii Senate is the upper house of the Hawaii State Legislature. It consists of twenty-five members elected from an equal number of constituent districts across the islands and is led by the President of the Senate, elected from the member ...

's 25th District in 1996 (losing by 187 votes to Republican incumbent Whitney T. Anderson), and again in 2002. She was appointed to the Hawaii Judicial Selection Commission in 2013 by Senate President Donna Mercado Kim, and served four years as Vice-Chair. In 2017 she was re-appointed by Governor

David Ige David Yutaka Ige (; born January 15, 1957) is an American politician and engineer who served as the eighth governor of Hawaii from 2014 to 2022. A Democrat, he served in the Hawaii State Senate from 1995 to 2014 and the Hawaii House of Represen ...

, and served a two-year term as Chairwoman.

After office

Young was involved with the Hawaii

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...

. Young died at St. Francis Hospice, in Honolulu, Hawaii, after suffering a severe stroke. She is survived by four children and three grandchildren.

References

1934 births 2019 deaths 21st-century American women Politicians from Honolulu Punahou School alumni University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa alumni Old Dominion University alumni Union Institute & University alumni Women state legislators in Hawaii Democratic Party members of the Hawaii House of Representatives American Civil Liberties Union people {{Hawaii-politician-stub