Kai Kahele

Kai Kahele
Member of the Hawaii Senate from the 1st district
Incumbent
Assumed office February 17, 2016
Preceded by	Gil Kahele
Personal details
Born	1973 or 1974 (age 49–50)
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic
Residence	Hilo, Hawaii
Profession	Civilian pilot at Hawaiian Airlines
Website	kaikahele.com
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	Hawaii Air National Guard United States Air Force
Awards	Air Medal Armed Forces Reserve Medal Combat Readiness Medal Commendation Medal Meritorious Service Medal National Defense Service Medal

Kaiali‘i Kahele is an American politician and son of Gil Kahele. He is a member of the Hawaii Senate from the 1st district, serving since 2016. Kahele has sponsored 203 bills. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He currently works for Hawaiian Airlines as a civilian pilot.

He is currently running for Hawaii's 2nd congressional district in 2020 against incumbent Democratic U.S. Representative and 2020 presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard, the daughter of state senator Mike Gabbard (a Democrat and former Republican).

Early life and education

From his legislative website:

"Senator Kahele is a Native Hawaiian whose family comes from the small fishing village of Miloli‘i in South Kona. A product of Hawai‘i's public school system, he graduated from Hilo High School, attended Hawai‘i Community College, the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo, and earned his degree in education from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa in 1998." As a member of the University of Hawaii 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 Hawaii Island.

Career

Kahele is a military and civilian pilot. He is a commissioned officer in the Hawaii Air National Guard, United States Air Force, where he continues to serve as a Major with the 201st Air Operations Group. During Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, Major Kahele logged over 2,000 hours of military flight time and commanded dozens of combat missions. Kahele is the recipient of numerous awards including the Meritorious Service Medal, the Air Force Commendation Medal, the Air Medal for combat missions flown in Afghanistan, the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal, Hawaii State Active Duty Medal and the Combat Readiness Medal. He also flies as a civilian pilot for Hawaiian Airlines. Kahele has also served as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Hawaii at Hilo.

Career as State Senator

Kahele was appointed on 16 February 2016 to the position of State Senator for Hawaii District 1 following the death of his father, Gil Kahele, who held the seat at the time of his death. 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. Kahele won the 2018 general election by a wide margin. In the 2019 Senate, Kahele serves as the Majority Floor Leader and is chairman of the Senate Committee on Water and Land. He is also 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 Senator Kahele class president of the Council of State Governments West (CSG). Senator Kahele will represent the WLA and all alumni as an executive committee member of CSG West.

Kahele's most prominent political activity is associated with governance of Maunakea.

Kahele has vowed to reform the UH system, 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.

Senator Kahale 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. 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.

Kahele has a 23% lifetime rating from the American Conservative Union, which is below the average 25% rating for Hawaiian Democrats.

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.

U.S. House election

In January 2019, Kahele announced he would run in the 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Hawaii for Hawaii's 2nd congressional district against incumbent Tulsi Gabbard, who is currently running for President, but if Gabbard doesn't win the Democratic nomination, she could still run for re-election since the filing deadline for Hawaii's primaries is not until June.