Ryan I. Yamane (born October 24, 1969) 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 consists ...
from November 2004 to January 2023 representing District 37.
Yamane was reelected to a two-year term in the
2022 Hawaiʻi House of Representatives election, but resigned on January 3, 2023 to accept an appointment in
Governor Josh Green's cabinet. Gov. Green appointed
Trish La Chica to the District 37 seat on February 15, 2023.
Education
Yamane earned his
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...
in
psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between ...
, his
MSW, and his
Master of Business Administration
A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accoun ...
from the
University of Hawaiʻi.
Elections
*2002 Yamane attempted to challenge incumbent Republican Representative
Guy Ontai for the District 35 seat, but lost the four-way September 21, 2002 Democratic Primary.
*2004 Yamane and Representative Ontai were both unopposed for their September 18, 2004 primaries, setting up a rematch; Yamane won the November 2, 2004 General election against Ontai.
*2008 Yamane was unopposed for both the September 20, 2008 Democratic Primary, winning with 4,036 votes, and the November 4, 2008 General election.
*2010 Yamane was unopposed for the September 18, 2010 Democratic Primary, winning with 4,493 votes, and won the November 2, 2010 General election with 5,092 votes (54.8%) against Republican nominee Beth Fukumoto.
*2012 Yamane was unopposed for the August 11, 2012 Democratic Primary, winning with 5,510 votes, and won the November 6, 2012 General election with 8,660 votes (75.1%) 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 Emil Svrcina.
Controversy
As Chair of the House Health, Human Services, and Homelessness Committee he was in charge of amending House Bill 1570. A law that would attempt to rein in tobacco products aimed at young children and teens. His critics have stated that the amendments were "posion pill" amendments meant to "Tank the bill and make sure it never passes." Ryan Yamane has said that the amendments and his decisions around the bill were in no way influenced by the thousands he received in donations from big tobacco companies and corporate lobbyists.
References
External links
Official pageat the
Hawaii State Legislature
*
1969 births
Living people
21st-century American legislators
Democratic Party members of the Hawaii House of Representatives
Politicians from Honolulu
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa alumni
Hawaii politicians of Japanese descent
Asian American and Pacific Islander state legislators in Hawaii
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