Luella Toledo Costales is an American politician who served as a Democratic member of the Hawaiʻi House of Representatives. She was appointed to represent the 39th district after incumbent Representative

Ty Cullen Ty J.K. Cullen is an American politician and a former Democratic member of the Hawaii State House of Representatives who represented District 39 from January 16, 2013 until his resignation on February 8, 2022. Cullen served in the D ...

resigned in February 2022.

Early life and education

Costales was born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and moved to

Hawaiʻi Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

in 1992 after her children were born. She graduated from the University of California San Diego with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication/Visual Arts and minors in Literature/Writing and Sociology.

Career

Costales previously served as executive director of the Hawaiʻi Farm Bureau Federation and the

Filipino Community Center The Filipino Community Center, or "FilCom Center", in Waipahu, Leeward Oahu; sits on a parcel of land gifted by the AmFac Corporation. Its . structure provides some . of usable space. It has three stories of rental space, offices for social, heal ...

in Waipahu. She was previously the director of fund development for the Rehabilitation Hospital of the Pacific and currently works as the community and resource manager for the Oahu Economic Development Board. Costales was appointed to the

Honolulu Police Commission The Honolulu Police Commission consists of seven Police Commissioners (members). They do not receive compensation for their five-year terms. Their terms are staggered, and each member serves until their replacements are appointed by the Mayor and co ...

in 2012 by Mayor

Peter Carlisle Peter Benson Carlisle (born October 12, 1952) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 13th Mayor of Honolulu, Hawaii from 2010 to 2013. Prior to serving as interim Mayor following the resignation of former Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hann ...

. She resigned in 2017 in protest over a lack of gender, ethnic, and work background diversity on a consultant-selected panel reviewing candidates for a new police chief to replace Louis Kealoha.

Hawaiʻi House of Representatives

Governor David Ige appointed Costales to fill the 39th district seat left vacant after incumbent Representative

resigned due to pleading guilty to federal

bribery Bribery is the Offer and acceptance, offering, Gift, giving, Offer and acceptance, receiving, or Solicitation, soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty. With reg ...

charges. She was sworn in on March 11, 2022. Costales did not run for a full term in the 2022 Hawaiʻi House of Representatives election, and she was succeeded by Republican Elijah Pierick. Costales had previously run for the 36th district in 2014, losing the Democratic primary to former representative Marilyn Lee who went on to lose to incumbent Republican

Beth Fukumoto Beth Keiko Fukumoto (formerly Fukumoto Chang, born March 30, 1983) is an American politician who served in the Hawaii House of Representatives from 2013 to 2018, representing District 36. Fukumoto was first elected to the state House of Represent ...

Electoral history

References

External links

Official page
at the

Hawaii State Legislature The Hawaii State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state legislature is a bicameral body consisting of a lower house, the Hawaii State House of Representatives, with 51 representatives, and an upper house, the ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Costales, Luella Year of birth missing (living people) Living people University of California, San Diego alumni Hawaii politicians of Filipino descent Democratic Party members of the Hawaii House of Representatives Politicians from Los Angeles 21st-century American politicians American women of Filipino descent in politics American politicians of Filipino descent Women state legislators in Hawaii Asian-American people in Hawaii politics 21st-century American women politicians