Randall Y. Iwase (born December 1, 1947) is an American politician and former Hawaii State Senator. In 2006 he announced his candidacy for the

Hawaii Democratic Party The Democratic Party of Hawaii ( haw, ʻAoʻao Demokalaka o Hawaiʻi) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the state of Hawaii. The party is a centralized organization established to promote the party platform as drafted in convention ...

's nomination for

Governor of Hawaii The governor of Hawaii ( haw, Ke Kiaʻaina o Hawaiʻi) is the head of government of the U.S. state of Hawaii and its various agencies and departments, as provided in the Hawaii State Constitution Article V, Sections 1 through 6. It is a direct ...

. He ran on a platform emphasizing reform in the education sector, citing his beliefs in the importance of

universal education Universal access to education is the ability of all people to have equal opportunity in education, regardless of their social class, race, gender, sexuality, ethnic background or physical and mental disabilities. The term is used both in col ...

learned from his own working-class background. The popular incumbent Republican governor defeated Iwase by a substantial margin, in spite of a favorable Democratic climate in 2006.

Early years

Randy Iwase was born in Honolulu. His mother was divorced and because of financial hardship in Hawai'i just after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, moved to the Island of Hawai'i to live with Randy's Big Island grandparents. Later, his family moved back to an Ala Moana Boulevard, Honolulu, and lived with his other grandparents in relative hardship. He attended and graduated from

Kaimuki High School Kaimuki High School is a WASC-accredited four-year public high school located in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. Kaimuki High School falls under the jurisdiction of the Hawaii Department of Education. It is bordered by the Manoa-Palolo Drainage ...

. After high school he attended the

University of Hawaii at Manoa A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

during a time of optimism and technological advancements. Iwase earned his bachelor's degree with honors, there. He applied to and attended the

University of San Francisco School of Law The University of San Francisco School of Law (USF Law) is the law school of the private University of San Francisco. Established in 1912, it received American Bar Association accreditation in 1935 and joined the Association of American Law Sc ...

and earned his Juris Doctor degree. Iwase married his wife Jan in 1977 and has three sons Justin, Jarand, and Jordan.

Career

Randy Iwase returned to Hawai'i with his JD degree and worked as a deputy attorney general and also served as Majority Floor Leader, Hawai'i State Senator (Majority Whip), and executive director of the Aloha Tower Development Corp.

2006 gubernatorial race

Iwase won the Democratic primary by a substantial margin without serious opposition and faced Republican incumbent Governor

Linda Lingle Linda Lingle (''née'' Cutter; June 4, 1953) is an American politician, who was the sixth governor of Hawaii from 2002 until 2010. She was the first Republican governor of Hawaii since 1962. Lingle was also the state's first female and first J ...

. Only one debate occurred in the duration of the campaign, giving the relatively unknown Iwase statewide television exposure.''Honolulu Advertiser'': Debate recap
/ref> According to filings with the Hawai'i state Campaign Spending Commission, the Iwase campaign had only raised $241,973 as of September 23, 2006. This was in contrast to a record $6.37 million raised by his opponent, Governor

. The large difference in available funds was cited as an insurmountable obstacle for Iwase. Instead, the Iwase campaign focused on using Internet technology. In addition to a classic webpage with campaign press releases and schedules, it featured videos, online contributions, links, a discussion/feedback board, blogs, as well as an RSS/Atom newsfeed. Randy Iwase was defeated by over twenty-five points, 63 percent to 35 percent, in the general election, as Governor Lingle's personal popularity and well funded media campaign overwhelmed Iwase. His campaign's financial difficulties and late start offset the congressional Democratic "wave" of 2006.

References

External links

Campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iwase, Randy 1947 births Hawaii politicians of Japanese descent Democratic Party Hawaii state senators Living people Politicians from Honolulu University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa alumni University of San Francisco alumni