James "Jimmy" Kunane Tokioka is an American politician and a Democratic member of the

Hawaii House of Representatives The Hawaii House of Representatives is the lower house of the Hawaii State Legislature. Pursuant to Article III, Section 3 of the Constitution of Hawaii, amended during the 1978 constitutional convention, the House of Representatives consis ...

since January 2007 representing District 15.

Career

Before entering politics Tokioka owned a restaurant. He entered politics in 1996, when we was elected to the Kauai County Council. He served in that role until 2006. When Democratic Representative

Ezra Kanoho Ezra R. Kanoho (September 16, 1927 January 23, 2022) was an American politician who served in the Hawaii State Legislature from 1987 to 2006. Early life and education Kanoho was born on September 16, 1927, in Lihue, Kauai. He graduated from ...

retired in 2006 and left the District 15 seat open, Tokioka won the September 26, 2006 Democratic Primary with 2,965 votes (53.4%), and won the November 7, 2006 General election with 4,280 votes (56.1%) against

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

nominee Ron Agor. In 2008 Tokioka was unopposed for both the September 20, 2008 Democratic Primary, winning with 3,203 votes, and the November 4, 2008 General election. Tokioka won the September 18, 2010 Democratic Primary with 3,569 votes (65.6%), and won the November 2, 2010 General election with 5,855 votes (71.0%) against Republican nominee Larry Fillhart. In 2012 Tokioka was unopposed for both the August 11, 2012 Democratic Primary, winning with 3,486 votes, and the November 6, 2012 General election. In 2014 Tokioka was re-elected with nearly 74% of the vote in the general election against

Steve Yoder Stephen Kent Yoder (born c. 1939) is an American former college basketball coach. He served as the head men's basketball coach at Ball State University from 1977 to 1982 and the University of Wisconsin–Madison from 1982 to 1992, compiling caree ...

after getting by novice candidate Dylan Hooser with 63% of the votes compared to Hooser's showing of 30%. In early 2013, Tokioka submitted HB 293 HD1 to establish ''

Flavobacterium akiainvivens ''Flavobacterium akiainvivens'', or koohonua ili akia, (literally "ākia bark bacteria") is a species of gram-negative bacteria in the Flavobacteriaceae family. The specific epithet ''akiainvivens'' is Latin (') and literally means "living on or ...

'' as the

state microbe A state microbe is a microorganism used as an official state symbol. Several U.S. states have honored microorganisms by nominating them to become official state symbols. The first state to declare an Official State Microbe is Oregon which chose ' ...

Hawaii 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 stat ...

. At the time, no other

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

s had a

microorganism A microorganism, or microbe,, ''mikros'', "small") and ''organism'' from the el, ὀργανισμός, ''organismós'', "organism"). It is usually written as a single word but is sometimes hyphenated (''micro-organism''), especially in olde ...

as a state symbol. However, on 29 May 2013

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

officially designated ''

Saccharomyces cerevisiae ''Saccharomyces cerevisiae'' () (brewer's yeast or baker's yeast) is a species of yeast (single-celled fungus microorganisms). The species has been instrumental in winemaking, baking, and brewing since ancient times. It is believed to have been o ...

'' as the official microbe of the state, making it the first in the nation. Meanwhile, the Hawaiian legislation was deferred for a year when it encountered competition from Senator

Glenn Wakai Glenn S. Wakai (born May 14, 1967) is an American politician and a Democratic member of the Hawaii Senate since January 2011 representing District 15. Wakai consecutively served in the Hawaii State Legislature where he served from 2003 until 20 ...

's SB3124 proposing ''

Aliivibrio fischeri ''Aliivibrio fischeri'' (also called ''Vibrio fischeri'') is a Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacterium found globally in marine environments. This species has bioluminescent properties, and is found predominantly in symbiosis with various marine an ...

''. In 2015 James Tokioka was charged with

misdemeanor A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than adm ...

"Failure to file a complete and accurate candidate committee report" for finance reports filed during his 2014 campaign. He pleaded

no contest ' is a legal term that comes from the Latin phrase for "I do not wish to contend". It is also referred to as a plea of no contest or no defense. In criminal trials in certain United States jurisdictions, it is a plea where the defendant neith ...

to the misdemeanor charge in lieu of a

felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...

on August 31, 2015, and was granted a deferment of his plea Tokioka concealed $27,489 in campaign contributions for nineteen days after filing false campaign finance reports during the 2014 primaries in order to win re-election. The details of the official investigation reveal James Tokioka would have received a felony charge if he didn't make a plea deal.

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:Tokioka, James Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Democratic Party members of the Hawaii House of Representatives 21st-century American politicians Hawaii politicians of Japanese descent