Kaiali‘i Kahele
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Kaialiʻi Kahele (born March 28, 1974) is an American politician, educator, and commercial pilot serving as the
U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
for
Hawaii's 2nd congressional district Hawaii's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Hawaii. It is currently represented by Kai Kahele, who succeeded Tulsi Gabbard following the 2020 election. The district encompasses all rural and most suburba ...
. From 2016 to 2020, he served in the Hawaii Senate from the 1st district. Kahele is a member of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
and the son of the late Hawaii Senate member
Gil Kahele Gilbert Kahele (May 15, 1942 – January 26, 2016) was an American politician and a Democratic member of the Hawaii Senate from January 16, 2011, representing District 1. He was appointed by Governor Neil Abercrombie to fill the vacancy caus ...
. In January 2019, Kahele announced he would challenge Tulsi Gabbard in Hawaii's 2nd congressional district in 2020, but Gabbard dropped out of the race to focus on her campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. Kahele won the congressional nomination on August 8, 2020. He won the
general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
and became the second Native Hawaiian to serve as a member of Congress representing Hawaii since statehood, after Daniel Akaka. After one term in Congress, Kahele ran for governor in
2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...
. He was defeated in the Democratic primary by Lieutenant Governor Josh Green.


Early life and education

Kahele is a Native Hawaiian whose family comes from the small fishing village of Miloliʻi in
South Kona Kona is a ''moku'' or district on the Big Island of Hawaii in the State of Hawaii, known for its Kona coffee and the location of the Ironman World Championship Triathlon. In the current system of administration of Hawaii County, the ''moku'' ...
, where he was born on March 28, 1974. He is the son of Linda Haggberg ​and Gil Kahele. He graduated from
Hilo High School Hilo High School is a Public school (government funded), public, Coeducation, co-educational high school of the Hawaii State Department of Education, and serves grades nine through twelve. Established in 1906, its first class graduated in 1909. ...
and attended
Hawaiʻi Community College Hawaii Community College is a public community college with two campuses on the Island of Hawaii. It is part of the University of Hawaiʻi System and is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges. Hawaii Comm ...
and the
University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo The University of Hawaii at Hilo (UH Hilo) is a public university in Hilo, Hawaii. It is one of ten general campuses of the University of Hawaii system. It was founded as Hilo Center at Lyman Hall of the Hilo Boys School in 1945 and was a bran ...
before earning a Bachelor of Arts in education from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in 1998.


Career


Military service

Kahele is a military and civilian pilot. He is a commissioned officer in the
Hawaii Air National Guard The Hawaii Air National Guard (HI ANG) is the aerial militia of the State of Hawaii, United States of America. It is, along with the Hawaii Army National Guard, an element of the Hawaii National Guard. As state militia units, the units in the ...
, where he continues to serve as a lieutenant colonel with the 201st Air Mobility Operations Squadron at Hickam Air Force Base. Kahele is a decorated combat veteran with multiple deployments to both Iraq and Afghanistan since 2005. He flew 108 combat sorties, logged 3,075 hours of military flight time, and commanded
C-17 The McDonnell Douglas/Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is a large military transport aircraft that was developed for the United States Air Force (USAF) from the 1980s to the early 1990s by McDonnell Douglas. The C-17 carries forward the name of two ...
combat missions. Kahele has received numerous awards, including the Meritorious Service Medal, the
Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fifth ...
, the Air Medal for combat missions flown in Afghanistan, the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal, Hawaii State Active Duty Medal and the Combat Readiness Medal. He has been named both Pacific Air Forces Guard Officer of the Year and Hawaiʻi Air National Guard Officer of the Year. Kahele also flies as a civilian pilot for Hawaiian Airlines, and has served as an adjunct faculty member at the
University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo The University of Hawaii at Hilo (UH Hilo) is a public university in Hilo, Hawaii. It is one of ten general campuses of the University of Hawaii system. It was founded as Hilo Center at Lyman Hall of the Hilo Boys School in 1945 and was a bran ...
.


Hawaii State Senate

Kahele was appointed to the 1st district of the Hawaii Senate on February 16, 2016, after the death of his father,
Gil Kahele Gilbert Kahele (May 15, 1942 – January 26, 2016) was an American politician and a Democratic member of the Hawaii Senate from January 16, 2011, representing District 1. He was appointed by Governor Neil Abercrombie to fill the vacancy caus ...
. Kahele defeated Dennis "Fresh" Onishi in the August 2016 Democratic primary, 57% to 35%, and Libertarian Kimberly Arianoff in the November general election. He won the 2018 general election by a wide margin. In 2019, Kahele was selected to serve as the Majority Floor Leader in the Senate and as chairman of the Senate Committee on Water and Land. He was a member of the Ways and Means, Hawaiian Affairs and Higher Education committees. During the 19th Annual Western Legislative Academy (WLA), lawmakers from other states elected Kahele as the class president of the
Council of State Governments The Council of State Governments (CSG) is a nonpartisan, non-profit organization in the United States that serves all three branches of state government. Founded in 1933 by Colorado state Sen. Henry W. Toll, CSG is a region-based forum that ...
(CSG) West. He represented the WLA and all alumni as an executive committee member of CSG West. Kahele has vowed to reform the
University of Hawaii system A university () is an institution Institutions are humanly devised structures of rules and norms that shape and constrain individual behavior. All definitions of institutions generally entail that there is a level of persistence and continu ...
, declaring that the "system is broken". He introduced SB 1161 in 2017 to freeze tuition until 2027. The bill did not advance. Kahele introduced SB 2329 in 2018 calling for reduction in tuition at UH campuses. The bill has been criticized for reducing the university's ability to manage its finances. Kahele backed passage and enactment of a measure establishing the Hilo Community Economic Division to pave the way for County and State investment in Hilo and East Hawaii's economic future. He was a key supporter in developing a bachelor of science in commercial aviation program that will commence in the fall of 2019 at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo. Other legislative priorities for Kahele were
Banyan Drive Banyan Drive is a tree-lined street at the shoreline of Hilo, Hawaii. It is known as the "Hilo Walk of Fame" for the banyan trees planted by celebrities. These trees have withstood several tsunamis that have devastated the town on the Hawaii (islan ...
redevelopment and funding for
rat lungworm disease Angiostrongyliasis is an infection by a roundworm of the '' Angiostrongylus'' type. Symptoms may vary from none, to mild, to meningitis. Infection with ''Angiostrongylus cantonensis'' (rat lungworm) can occur after ingestion of raw or undercoo ...
research. HB 2014 for $1M in research funding related to rat lungworm disease at
UH Hilo Uh or UH may refer to: Education * United Hospitals, medical schools in London, UK * University of Hartford * University of Hasselt * University of Havana * University of Hawai'i system ** University of Hawai'i at Manoa, its flagship university * U ...
was introduced in the Hawaii House but has not advanced. In 2017, Kahele served as Vice Chair of the Education Committee, Chair of the Higher Education Committee, and member of Housing and Ways and Means Committees. On December 16, 2020, Kahele resigned from the Hawaii Senate in preparation to assume office in the United States House of Representatives.


U.S. House of Representatives


Elections


2020

In January 2019, Kahele announced his candidacy for the House of Representatives from . Incumbent Representative Tulsi Gabbard, who had run for president, announced on October 25 that she would not run for another term in Congress. Kahele won the primary election on August 8, 2020, and went on to win the general election by over 30 points.


Tenure

Kahele voted in favor of impeaching Trump for a second time following the
2021 storming of the United States Capitol On January 6, 2021, following the defeat of then-United States President, U.S. President Donald Trump in the 2020 United States presidential election, 2020 presidential election, a mob of his supporters attacked the United States Capitol, U ...
. In his first floor speech in Congress, he spoke in favor of impeaching Trump, claiming Trump had violated his oath of office by inciting a “deadly insurrection”. He also said, "our sacred oaths are hollow without accountability". From February 2021 to April 2022, he cast all 120 votes by proxy while working part-time as a commercial pilot for Hawaiian Airlines. Two weeks after this was reported, Kahele announced he was retiring from Congress to run for governor of Hawaii in the 2022 election.


Committee assignments

* Committee on Armed Services ** Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces ** Subcommittee on Readiness * Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure ** Subcommittee on Aviation ** Subcommittee on Highways and Transit


Caucus memberships

* Congressional Progressive Caucus *
Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus The Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus was formed by openly gay representatives Tammy Baldwin and Barney Frank June 4, 2008, to advance LGBT+ rights. The caucus had 165 members (164 Democrats and one Republican, Jeff Van Drew) in the 116th ...


Electoral history


Personal life

As a member of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa's Rainbow Warriors NCAA Division I Men's volleyball team, Kahele was voted "most inspirational teammate" by his team in 1997. He and his wife live with their daughters in Hilo, his lifetime home on
Hawai‘i Island Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii ) is the List of islands of the United States by area, largest island in the United States, located in the U.S. state, state of Hawaii. It is the southeasternmost of the Hawaiian Islands, a chain of High island, volcanic ...
.


See also

* List of Asian Americans and Pacific Islands Americans in the United States Congress


References


External links


Representative Kai Kahele
official U.S. House website
Kahele for Congress
campaign website * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Kahele, Kaiali'i 1974 births Living people Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Hawaii Hawaii National Guard personnel Hawaii Rainbow Warriors volleyball players Democratic Party Hawaii state senators Asian-American members of the United States House of Representatives Native Hawaiian politicians National Guard (United States) officers People from Hilo, Hawaii University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa alumni 21st-century American politicians Hawaiian Airlines people