James Tokioka
Member of the Hawaii House of Representatives
from the 15th district
In office
November 8, 2006 – January 2, 2023
Preceded byEzra Kanoho
Succeeded byLuke Evslin
Personal details
NationalityAmerican
Political partyDemocratic

James "Jimmy" Kunane Tokioka[1] is an American politician and was a Democratic member of the Hawaii House of Representatives from November 2006 to January 2023 representing District 15.[2]

Career

Before entering politics Tokioka owned a restaurant.[3] He entered politics in 1996, when we was elected to the Kauaʻi County Council. He served in that role until 2006.[3]

When Democratic Representative Ezra Kanoho retired in 2006 and left the District 15 seat open, Tokioka won the September 26, 2006 Democratic Primary with 2,965 votes (53.4%),[4] and won the November 7, 2006 General election with 4,280 votes (56.1%) against Republican nominee Ron Agor.[5] In 2008 Tokioka was unopposed for both the September 20, 2008 Democratic Primary, winning with 3,203 votes,[6] and the November 4, 2008 General election.[7] Tokioka won the September 18, 2010 Democratic Primary with 3,569 votes (65.6%),[8] and won the November 2, 2010 General election with 5,855 votes (71.0%) against Republican nominee Larry Fillhart.[9] In 2012 Tokioka was unopposed for both the August 11, 2012 Democratic Primary, winning with 3,486 votes,[10] and the November 6, 2012 General election.[11] In 2014 Tokioka was re-elected with nearly 74% of the vote in the general election against Steve Yoder after getting by novice candidate Dylan Hooser with 63% of the votes compared to Hooser's showing of 30%.[12]

In early 2013, Tokioka submitted HB 293 HD1 to establish Flavobacterium akiainvivens as the state microbe of Hawaiʻi.[13] At the time, no other U.S. states had a microorganism as a state symbol.[13] However, on 29 May 2013 Oregon officially designated Saccharomyces cerevisiae as the official microbe of the state,[14] making it the first in the nation.[15] Meanwhile, the Hawaiian legislation was deferred for a year when it encountered competition from Senator Glenn Wakai's SB3124 proposing Aliivibrio fischeri.[16]

In 2015 James Tokioka was charged with misdemeanor "Failure to file a complete and accurate candidate committee report" for finance reports filed during his 2014 campaign. He pleaded no contest to the misdemeanor charge in lieu of a felony on August 31, 2015, and was granted a deferment of his plea[17] Tokioka concealed $27,489 in campaign contributions for nineteen days after filing false campaign finance reports during the 2014 primaries in order to win re-election.[18][19][20] The details of the official investigation reveal James Tokioka would have received a felony charge if he didn't make a plea deal.[21][22]

Tokioka was reelected to a two-year term in the 2022 Hawaiʻi House of Representatives election, but resigned on January 2, 2023 to accept an appointment in Governor Josh Green's cabinet.[23] Gov. Green appointed Kauaʻi County Councilmember Luke Evslin to the District 16 seat on February 15, 2023.[24]

References

  1. ↑ "Representative James Kunane Tokioka". Honolulu, Hawaii: Hawaii State Legislature. Retrieved December 2, 2013.
  2. ↑ "James Kunane Tokioka's Biography". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved December 2, 2013.
  3. 1 2 "2020 Election: James Kunane Tokioka". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. 2020-07-18. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
  4. ↑ "Primary Election 2006 - State of Hawaii - Statewide September 26, 2006" (PDF). Honolulu, Hawaii: Hawaii Office of Elections. p. 3. Retrieved December 2, 2013.
  5. ↑ "General Election 2006 - State of Hawaii - Statewide November 7, 2006" (PDF). Honolulu, Hawaii: Hawaii Office of Elections. p. 2. Retrieved December 2, 2013.
  6. ↑ "Primary Election 2008 - State of Hawaii - Statewide September 20, 2008" (PDF). Honolulu, Hawaii: Hawaii Office of Elections. p. 2. Retrieved December 2, 2013.
  7. ↑ "General Election - State of Hawaii - Statewide November 4, 2008" (PDF). Honolulu, Hawaii: Hawaii Office of Elections. p. 1. Retrieved December 2, 2013.
  8. ↑ "Primary Election 2010 - State of Hawaii - Statewide September 18, 2010" (PDF). Honolulu, Hawaii: Hawaii Office of Elections. p. 3. Retrieved December 2, 2013.
  9. ↑ "General Election - State of Hawaii - Statewide November 2, 2010" (PDF). Honolulu, Hawaii: Hawaii Office of Elections. p. 2. Retrieved December 2, 2013.
  10. ↑ "Primary Election 2012 - State of Hawaii - Statewide August 11, 2012" (PDF). Honolulu, Hawaii: Hawaii Office of Elections. p. 3. Retrieved December 2, 2013.
  11. ↑ "Hawaii General 2012 - State of Hawaii - Statewide November 6, 2012" (PDF). Honolulu, Hawaii: Hawaii Office of Elections. p. 2. Retrieved December 2, 2013.
  12. ↑ Hawaii.gov Office of Elections
  13. 1 2 "Hawaiian Bat and Microbe Take Center Stage at State Legislature". Hawaii Reporter. Hawaii Reporter Inc. March 7, 2013. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  14. ↑ Johnson, Mark; Dembrow, Michael; McLane, Mike; Vega Pedersen, Jessica; Whisnant, Gene; Williamson, Jennifer; Hansell, Bill; Thomsen, Chuck (29 May 2013). "House Concurrent Resolution 12". Oregon Legislature Bill Tracker - Your Government - The Oregonian. Portland, Oregon: Oregon Live LLC. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  15. ↑ Gaston, Christian (23 May 2013). "Oregon is first in nation with official state microbe: brewer's yeast". The Oregonian. Oregon Live LLC. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  16. ↑ Cave, James (3 April 2014). "Hawaii, Other States Calling Dibs On Official State Bacteria". Huffington Post. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  17. ↑ "Tokioka agrees to plea deal". 2015-09-04. Archived from the original on 4 September 2015. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
  18. ↑ "Tokioka to Apologize, Pay $1,000 for Hawaii Campaign Spending…". civilbeat.com. 26 August 2015.
  19. ↑ Daysog, Rick (24 April 2015). "EXCLUSIVE: Attorney general's office asked to investigate lawmakers". hawaiinewsnow.com.
  20. ↑ "Kauai lawmaker pleads no contest for failing to file campaign report". khon2.com. 26 August 2015.
  21. ↑ "Disappeared News: Report reveals details of AG investigation of State Representative James Tokioka on alleged campaign spending law violations". www.disappearednews.com.
  22. ↑ "Tokioka Report (Redacted)". Scribd.
  23. ↑ Dayton, Kevin (December 29, 2022). "Green Appoints Two Veteran Lawmakers To Transportation, Human Resources Jobs". Honolulu Civil Beat. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  24. ↑ Lovell, Blaze (February 15, 2023). "Hawaii Health Advocate And Kauai Councilman Appointed To House". Honolulu Civil Beat. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
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