Gary L. Hooser (born January 19, 1954) is an American politician who served as a member of the Hawaii State Senate representing

Kauaʻi Kauai, () anglicized as Kauai ( ), is geologically the second-oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands (after Niʻihau). With an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), it is the fourth-largest of these islands and the List of islands of th ...

and

Niʻihau Niihau ( Hawaiian: ), anglicized as Niihau ( ), is the westernmost main and seventh largest inhabited island in Hawaii. It is southwest of Kauaʻi across the Kaulakahi Channel. Its area is . Several intermittent playa lakes provide wetland h ...

from 2002 to 2010. He also served on the

Kauai County Kauai County ( haw, Kalana o Kauaʻi) (officially known as the County of Kauai) is a county in the U.S. state of Hawaii. It consists of the islands of Kauai, Niihau, Lehua, and Kaula. As of the 2020 Census the population was 73,298. The county ...

Council for four years before becoming a Senator. In the summer of 2010, Hooser resigned his Senate seat to run for the office of

Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii The lieutenant governor of Hawaii ( haw, Hope kiaʻāina o Hawaiʻi) is the assistant chief executive of the U.S. state of Hawaii and its various agencies and departments, as provided in the Article V, Sections 2 though 6 of the Constitution of H ...

. He was defeated on September 18, 2010 in the Democratic primary by

Brian Schatz Brian Emanuel Schatz (; born October 20, 1972) is an American educator and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Hawaii, a seat he has held since 2012. A member of the Democratic Party, Schatz served in the Hawaii House o ...

. The following year, he was appointed to lead the Hawaiʻi Office of Environmental Quality Control. He left that office in 2014 to make a successful run for a seat on the Kaua'i County Council in 2014, but he lost his seat in the 2016 election to Mason Chock. As of 2020, Hooser serves as president of the Hawaiʻi Alliance for Progressive Action advocacy group.

Background

Hooser and his wife Claudette have two children. He graduated from Radford High School. He went on to graduate from

Kauai Community College Kauai, () anglicized as Kauai ( ), is geologically the second-oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands (after Niʻihau). With an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), it is the fourth-largest of these islands and the 21st largest island ...

and the

University of Hawaiʻi – West Oʻahu The University of Hawaiʻi – West Oʻahu (UHWO) is a public college in Kapolei, Hawaii. It is part of the University of Hawaiʻi system. It offers baccalaureate degrees in liberal arts and professional studies. UHWO opened in January 1976 an ...

with a bachelor's degree in public administration.

Political career

Hooser was first elected to the Kauaʻi County Council in 1998, a position he held until 2002. Hooser was elected to the

Hawaii State Senate The Hawaii Senate is the upper house of the Hawaii State Legislature. It consists of twenty-five members elected from an equal number of constituent districts across the islands and is led by the President of the Senate, elected from the member ...

in 2002, representing the 7th Senatorial District, which includes the islands of

and

. He served as the Senate's majority leader from 2006 until 2010. Hooser was a member of the Senate Ways and Means and Energy and Environment committees and also previously co-chaired the Senate Affordable Housing Task Force. Hooser, as the

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an official, office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seek ...

in 2004, defeated former Kauaʻi Mayor

Maryanne Kusaka Maryanne Winona Kusaka (born September 11, 1935) is an American politician, educator and former Mayor of Kauai, Mayor of the County of Kaua'i. She was mayor of Kauai from 1994 to 2002. A career Republican Party (United States), Republican, Kus ...

to retain his seat. While in the Senate, Hooser introduced a bill establishing the nation's first solar hot water heating system requirement for new homes. The bill ultimately passed into law in 2010. In 2009, when the

Hawaii State Department of Education The Hawaii State Department of Education (HIDOE) is a statewide public education system in the United States. The school district can be thought of as analogous to the school districts of other cities and communities in the United States, but i ...

partially furloughed teachers due to budget constraints brought by the

Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of marked general decline, i.e. a recession, observed in national economies globally that occurred from late 2007 into 2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At ...

, Hooser spoke out against the furloughs and advocated using money from the Hawaii hurricane relief fund to prevent the loss of instructional time. Hooser supported a measure to allow

civil unions A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, created primarily as a means to provide recognition in law for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage ...

for same-sex and opposite-sex couples. Hooser resigned from his Senate seat in July 2010 in order to run for the office of Lieutenant Governor of Hawaiʻi. Hooser received endorsements in the race from a variety of organizations, including the Sierra Club of Hawaii, Hawaiʻi State Teachers Association, Unite Here! Local 5, and the Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi GLBT Caucus. Hooser lost the race to

, coming in fourth place in the Democratic primary. In February 2011, Governor

Neil Abercrombie Neil Abercrombie (born June 26, 1938) is an American politician who served as the seventh governor of Hawaii from 2010 to 2014. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Born in Buffalo, New York, Abercrombie is a graduate of Union College and th ...

appointed Hooser as director of the Hawaii Office of Environmental Quality Control, an agency within the Hawaii State Department of Health that implements Hawaii's environmental impact statement law. He left that office to run successfully on the Kaua'i County Council in 2014, but he lost his seat in the 2016 election to Mason Chock. As of 2020, Hooser serves as president of the Hawaiʻi Alliance for Progressive Action advocacy group.

References

External links

Gary L. Hooser
Kaua'i County Council
Campaign websiteOfficial BlogHonolulu Star AdvertiserFacebook
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hooser, Gary 1954 births Living people Admiral Arthur W. Radford High School alumni Democratic Party Hawaii state senators Kauai County Council members University of Hawaiʻi – West Oʻahu alumni Kauaʻi Community College alumni