Kai Kahele

Kaialiʻi Kahele (born March 28, 1974) is an American politician, educator, and commercial pilot serving as the U.S. Representative for Hawaii's 2nd congressional district since 2021. From 2016 to 2020, he served in the Hawaii Senate from the 1st district. Kahele is a member of the Democratic Party,[1][2] and the son of Hawaii Senate member Gil Kahele.

Kai Kahele
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Hawaii's 2nd district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2021
Preceded by	Tulsi Gabbard
Member of the Hawaii Senate from the 1st district
In office February 17, 2016 – December 16, 2020
Preceded by	Gil Kahele
Succeeded by	TBD
Personal details
Born	March 28, 1974 Miloli'i, Hawaiʻi, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Maria Fe Day
Children	3
Education	University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (BA)
Website	House website
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Air Force
Years of service	2001–present
Rank	Lieutenant Colonel
Unit	Hawaii Air National Guard
Battles/wars	Iraq War War in Afghanistan War on Terror
Awards	Air Medal Armed Forces Reserve Medal Combat Readiness Medal Commendation Medal Meritorious Service Medal National Defense Service Medal

In January 2019, Kahele announced he would challenge Tulsi Gabbard in Hawaii's 2nd congressional district in 2020, however Gabbard dropped out of the race to focus on her campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. Kahele won the Democratic nomination on August 8, 2020.[3] He won the general election, and became the second Native Hawaiian to serve as a voting member of Congress since Hawaii achieved statehood.[4]

Early life and education

Kahele is a Native Hawaiian whose family comes from the small fishing village of Miloliʻi in South Kona, where he was born on March 28, 1974.[5][6] He graduated from Hilo High School and attended Hawaiʻi Community College and the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo before earning a Bachelor of Arts in education from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in 1998.[7]

As a member of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa's Rainbow Warriors NCAA Division I Mens Volleyball Team, he was voted "Most Inspirational Teammate" by his team in 1997. He and his wife live with their daughters in Hilo, Kahele's lifetime home on Hawai‘i Island.[8]

Career

Military service

Kahele is a military and civilian pilot. He is a commissioned officer in the Hawaii Air National Guard, 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 combat missions. Kahele is the recipient of numerous awards including the Meritorious Service Medal, the Commendation Medal, 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.[9] He has previously been named both Pacific Air Forces Guard Officer of the Year and Hawaiʻi Air National Guard Officer of the Year.

He also flies as a civilian pilot for Hawaiian Airlines.[10] Kahele has served as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo.

Hawaii State Senate

Kahele was appointed to the 1st district of the Hawaii Senate on February 16, 2016, following the death of his father, Gil Kahele. Kahele defeated Dennis "Fresh" Onishi in the August 2016 Democratic Primary 57% to 35% and then defeated Libertarian Kimberly Arianoff in the general election in November 2016.[11] Kahele 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 (CSG) West. Kahele will represent the WLA and all alumni as an executive committee member of CSG West.[12]

Kahele has vowed to reform the University of Hawaii system, declaring that the "system is broken".[13] He introduced SB 1161 in 2017 to freeze tuition until 2027. The bill did not advance.[14] Kahele introduced SB 2329 in 2018 calling for reduction in tuition at UH campuses.[15] The bill has been criticized for reducing the university's ability to manage its finances.[16]

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 are Banyan Drive redevelopment and funding for rat lungworm disease research.[17] HB 2014 for $1M in research funding related to rat lungworm disease at UH Hilo was introduced in the Hawaii House but has not advanced.[18]

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.[19]

U.S. House of Representatives

2020

In January 2019, Kahele announced he would run for a seat in the House of Representatives from Hawaii's 2nd congressional district. Incumbent Representative Tulsi Gabbard, who had run for president, announced on October 25, that she would not run for another term in Congress.[20][21] Kahele won the primary election on August 8, 2020,[22] and went on to win the general election.[4]

Tenure

Unlike his Democratic predecessor Tulsi Gabbard, who voted 'present' during the first impeachment of Donald Trump, Kahele voted in favour of impeaching Trump for a second time following the January 6 insurrection at the United States Capitol. In his first floor speech in Congress, Kahele spoke in favour of impeaching the president as Trump had violated his oath of office by inciting a “deadly insurrection”. He also said "our sacred oaths are hollow without accountability".[23]

Committee assignments

• Committee on Armed Services

Caucus memberships

• Congressional Progressive Caucus [24]

Electoral history

2020 Hawaii 2nd congressional district Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kai Kahele	98,675	76.50
	Democratic	Brian Evans	12,061	9.35
	Democratic	Brenda Lee	10,512	8.15
	Democratic	Noelle Famera	7,736	6.00
Total votes			128,984	100.0%

Hawaii's 2nd congressional district, 2020[25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kai Kahele	171,517	63.01
	Republican	Joe Akana	84,027	30.87
	Libertarian	Michelle Rose Tippens	6,785	2.49
	Aloha ʻĀina	Jonathan Hoomanawanui	6,453	2.37
	Nonpartisan	Ron Burrus	2,659	0.98
	American Shopping	John Giuffre	661	0.24
Total votes			272,192	100.0
	Democratic hold

References

1. "Kaiali'i Kahele". Hawaii Legislature. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
2. "Kaiali'i Kahele". Ballotpedia. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
3. "Democrats Kai Kahele and Ed Case cruising to general election for Congress". Star Advertiser. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
4. "Kai Kahele wins Hawaii House seat vacated by Tulsi Gabbard". NBC News. Retrieved 2020-11-06.
5. "Confident Kahele faces experienced, novice challengers in District 1". Hawaii Tribune-Herald. July 25, 2016.
6. O'Kane, Caitlin (6 November 2020). "A record-breaking 6 Native Americans were elected to Congress on Tuesday". WINK NEWS. CBS News. Retrieved 15 December 2020. Kahele, who served as a state senator in Hawaii, is of Native Hawaiian ancestry and his family comes from the small fishing village of Miloli’i in South Kona.
7. "Meet Kai". Kai Kahele. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
8. "Legislative Members". www.capitol.hawaii.gov. Retrieved 2018-04-16.
9. "Awards & Decorations". Kai Kahele. 2019-03-26. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
10. "In His Father's Footsteps". MidWeek. 2019-06-04. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
11. "Kaiali'i Kahele – Ballotpedia". Retrieved 2018-04-16.
12. Senate, Hawaiʻi State (December 5, 2018). "Senator Kaiali'i Kahele Elected Class President of the 2018 Western Legislative Academy". hawaiistatesenate. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
13. "System Is Broken". hilo.hawaii.edu. Retrieved 2018-04-16.
14. "SB 1161 - Hawaii 2017 Regular Session". Open States. Retrieved 2018-04-16.
15. "Measure Status". www.capitol.hawaii.gov. Retrieved 2018-04-16.
16. Mendoza, Jim. "Lawmakers take up proposal to put UH tuition hikes on ice". Retrieved 2018-04-16.
17. "East Hawaii lawmakers outline legislative priorities - West Hawaii Today". West Hawaii Today. Retrieved 2018-04-16.
18. "HB 2104 - Hawaii 2018 Regular Session". Open States. Retrieved 2018-04-16.
19. "Kai Kahele Resigns From Hawaii State Senate". Honolulu Civil Beat. Retrieved 2020-12-16.
20. Cocke, Sophie (January 21, 2019). "Hawaii state Sen. Kai Kahele officially announces 2020 bid for Congress". Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
21. Tulsi Gabbard [@TulsiGabbard] (October 24, 2019). "I'm fully committed to my offer to serve you, the people of Hawaii & America, as your President & Commander-in-Chief. So I will not be seeking reelection to Congress in 2020. I humbly ask for your support for my candidacy for President of the United States tulsi.to/mahalo" (Tweet). Retrieved October 28, 2019 – via Twitter.
22. Nam, Rafael (August 9, 2020). "Democrat Kai Kahele wins Hawaii primary to replace Tulsi Gabbard". TheHill.
23. HNN Staff (January 13, 2021). "Both of Hawaii's US representatives voted in favor of Trump's impeachment". Hawaii News Now. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
24. "Caucus Membrs". US House of Representatives. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
25. "GENERAL ELECTION 2020 - State of Hawaii – Statewide November 3, 2020 **FINAL SUMMARY REPORT**" (PDF). Hawaii Board of Elections. 2020-11-19. Retrieved 2020-11-22.

External links

• Representative Kai Kahele official U.S. House website
• Kahele for Congress campaign website

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Profile at Vote Smart
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
• Appearances on C-SPAN