David Turner

DAVID TURNER

Mr. Turner grew up in Texas and attended the University of Texas as a Botany Major. He then moved to Florida Fort Walton Beach around 1976 and worked for civil engineering company Okaloosa Testing where he became experienced with the American Society for Testing and Materials specifications and design of concrete and asphalt.  He moved to Boulder, Colorado around 1978 and worked for a civil engineering company and then the city of Layfaette as the Building official for five years.  He attended Colorado University, and started working for himself around 1984 in multitask businesses including structure remodeling. He held a real-estate license from 1979 but never practiced as a realtor.  He built his first home in an Air Park, Colorado called Parkland estates.

In 1993 he move to Hawaii with his former wife and four children.  He then obtained his Hawaii real-estate license and has been in business ever since as a real estate broker. He built his own home where he presently resides in Hakalau, and has been intensely involved in the process of Big Island real estate and development to this day.

Prof. David L. Callies

DAVID L. CALLIES

David L. Callies is Benjamin A. Kudo professor of law at the University of Hawaii's William S. Richardson School of Law where he teaches land use, state and local government and real property, and an external examiner for the Hong Kong City University’s Department of Law. Prior to coming to Hawaii he practiced local government and land use law with the firm of Ross & Hardies of Chicago during which time he also taught as an adjunct professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s School of Architecture and Urban Planning and served as an Assistant State’s Attorney.  He is a graduate of DePauw University, the University of Michigan Law School (J.D.) and the University of Nottingham (LL.M.), and a past foreign fellow and present life member of Clare Hall, Cambridge University.  He is a 2009 recipient of a University of Hawaii Board of Regents’ Excellence in Teaching Award.

He is past chair of the Real Property and Financial Services Section of the Hawaii State Bar Association; past chair of the American Bar Association Section of State and Local Government Law and the recipient of its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006;  past chair, section of state and local government law, the American Association of Law Schools;  past chair, Academics Forum, and member of Council, Asia Pacific Forum, of the International Bar Association; a member of the American Law Institute (ALI);  a Member of the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Certified Planners (FAICP), a member of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers (ACREL)and co-editor of the annual Land Use and Environmental Law Review (with Dan Tarlock).  He is also a board member of the Rocky Mountain Land Use Institute in Denver, the Institute for Local Government Studies in Dallas, APA’s Planning & Environmental Law digest, the Holy Nativity School in Honolulu, and the Social Science Association of Honolulu. 

Among his seventeen books are Bargaining for Development: A Handbook on Development Agreements, Annexation Agreements, Land Development Conditions and Vested Rights (with Curtin and Tappendorf) (ELI, 2003); Taking Land: Compulsory Purchase and Land Use Regulation in the Asia-Pacific (with Kotaka) (U.H. Press, 2002, republished in Japanese, 2007), Property and the Public Interest (with Hylton, Mandelker and Franzese) (Lexis Law Publishing, 3d ed., 2007); Preserving Paradise:  Why Regulation Won't Work (Univ. of Hawaii Press, 1994); Regulating Paradise:  Land Use Controls In Hawaii (Univ. of Hawaii Press, 1984; 2d edition, 2010), and (with Robert Freilich and Tom Roberts), Cases and Materials on Land Use (Thomson-West, 5th ed., 2008).  His book, Land Use Controls in the United States is published in Kyoto(in Japanese) and Shanghai (in Chinese).  His latest book (with coauthors) The Role of Customary Law in Sustainable Development  was published by Cambridge University Press in 2006 and republished in paperback in 2010.  He has delivered endowed lectures at Albany Law School and at John Marshall Law School (Chicago), lectured on land issues in China, Japan and Korea,  and is a regular lecturer at the annual conferences of the American Planning Association and the American Bar Association. One of his most recent (of over 80) articles was written by request for the Asia Pacific Law Journal of Hong Kong City University for a special 2007 edition commemorating the 10^th anniversary of Hong Kong’s establishment as a special administrative region of the People’s Republic of China, entitled Takings, Physical and Regulatory and addressing the recent use of U.S. property law precedents by Hong Kong’s highest court. 

He is presently coauthoring a book on land development by agreement  and coediting books on eminent domain and on Tax Increment Financing, all for the ABA Press, and editing the second edition of a comparative study entitled Eminent Domain in Asia and Australia for LexisNexis and Nichols on Eminent Domain.



Congressman Charles Djou

Congressman Charles Djou’s parents immigrated to America from China and Thailand. He grew up in Hawaii and graduated from Punahou School in Honolulu. He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Finance and Commerce, earning degrees in Political Science and Economics, after which he earned his juris doctor from the University of Southern California Law School.

He is a Captain in the U.S. Army Reserve, 9th Regional Readiness Command. He is an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Hawaii Richardson School of Law,  UH West Oahu, and Hawaii Pacific University.

He has been an active member of the community in Honolulu, serving on the Board of Directors of the American Lung Association and in many other organizations. He became active in politics and became Vice Chairman of the Hawaii Republican Party in 1998-1999.

He became a state representative for 2000-2002, during which time he had posts as Assistant House Minority Whip and House Minority Floor Leader.  He was then elected to the non-partisan Honolulu City Council from 2003-2010, representing District 4 (Waikiki to Hawaii Kai).

He then ran for US Congress in the special election of May 2010 after Neil Abercrombie resigned to run for Governor, defeating Democrats Ed Case and Colleen Hanabusa. He represented the First Congressional District in Hawaii from 2010 to 2011, the first Republican to represent the district since Pat Saiki 20 years earlier, during which time he was a member of the House Budget Committee and the House Armed Services Committee. However, he recently lost re-election to the present congresswoman Colleen Hanabusa in the general election of November 2010.

He was voted Small Business Hawaii "Legislator of the Year" in both 2001 and 2003. In 2006 he was selected as one of the 40 most promising leaders in Hawaii under age 40 by Pacific Business News, and in 2005 was named by Honolulu Weekly as the "Best Politician" in the state.

He is currently an attorney in private practice specializing in business law, but he has not abandoned political plans.

Brian DELIMA

 

Mr. Brian J. De Lima is a 4th generation Hilo resident and graduate of Hilo High School. In high school he was integrally involved in the establishment of the State Student Council which is operating to this day. In that effort he was the first student representative to the Board of Education in 1972. Brian also helped draft the Student Bill of Rights and Responsibilities that was adopted by the Board of Education in 1974.

He attended University of Hawaii Hilo, where he was student body president in 1974. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law. He has been practicing law in Hawaii since 1983.

He has experience as a staff member for the Hawaii State Senate and House, and as clerk for the House Education Committee. In 1990 he was elected to the Hawai'i County Council and served three terms, including as Chairman before declining to run again to spend more time with family and his practice. His youngest daughter, who has special needs, attends Hilo Intermediate School.

In 2011 he was appointed by Gov. Neil Aberchrombie to the Board of Education for a two-year term.

 



Patrick Walsh

Mr. Patrick M. Walsh was born on Long Island, NY. He graduated St. Keiran's College and the Dublin Institute of Technology, Ireland, majoring in food science and management principles.

After 10 years in corporate business, he started a family-run business as a social entrepreneur in 1991. Patrick founded Estate Noni and developed over 40 value-added agricultural products from endemic plants. The State of Hawaii recognized his method of estate farming with concurrent House and Senate Bills in 2002.  He is a past-president of the Hawaiian Paradise Park owners association.

Over the past 25 years as a resident of the Big Island, Patrick has been an advocate for youth as AYSO coach and parenting with Catholic Charities Hawaii. In 1997 Patrick and his wife, Natalie, created a safe-learning environment to educate their 6 children. Their 3 eldest sons are currently enrolled in the UH system, while their 3 daughters are in their care in- "pre-college".

He ran as a candidate for the BOE in 2008, and his platform emphasized decentralization, safety within the schools and accountability.

Panos D. Prevedouros, PhD.

Panos D. Prevedouros, PhD.

Dr. Prevedouros graduated with a degree in Land Surveying Engineering from Aristotle University in Greece in 1984, and then attended Northwestern University in Illinois, earning Masters and then PhD degrees in Civil engineering in 1990.  He joined the faculty of the University Hawaii at Manoa shortly thereafter, and was appointed full professor of Civil Engineering in 2005.

He is the author of numerous technical papers, 2 engineering textbooks, and has been the principle investigator of multiple engineering research projects. He has been a technical consultant for many well-known American and foreign companies.

In addition to numerous professional accolades including the 2005 Van Wagoner Award of the Institute of Transportation Engineers, he has many local awards as well. In 2008, the Honolulu Star Bulletin selected him as “One of 10 who made a difference in Hawaii”, along with Hawaii’s President Barrack Obama and decathlon champion Brian Clay.

Dr. Prevedouros principle focus has been on transportation engineering, and he has been very active in promoting rational transportation options and policy for Honolulu.  He is well known for his opposition to the proposed elevated rail system on Oahu, as being both unable to meet the stated goals of highway congestion relief, and unaffordable for the taxpayers. Dr. Prevedouros ran for Mayor of Honolulu in 2008 and again in 2010 using the slogan “Elect an Engineer, Not A politician”.

He came in third both times with 17% and then 19% of the vote (38,400).

Since 2007 his research focus has been on island sustainability, main components of which are both transportation and also energy.



Michael L. Kaleikini

Michael L. Kaleikini

Mr. Kaleikini was raised in Hau’ula, is a graduate of Kamehameha Schools and attended college in California.  He has been actively involved in the Big Island community as a member of the Hawaii Island Economic Development Board, the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Hawaii, the Hawaii Leeward Planning Commission and the Hawaii Island Chamber of Commerce.

In 1991 he was hired by Puna Geothermal Ventures as a plant operator, and since then he has worked his way up to his present position as the plant manager.

The plant has been in operation for over 17 years and was contracted to provide approximately 20% of the Big Island’s electrical needs. (A recent contract has expanded this even further.)  Operating the plant safely and efficiently while maintaining high reliability and meeting contractual obligations are goals he focuses on daily.

Councilmember Dominic Yagong

A 1977 graduate of Honoka‘a High School, Dominic Yagong exhibited leadership qualities early on as he served as Class President for several years, and finally Student Body Government President during his senior year.   He was selected as one of six “Outstanding Seniors” to graduate and was a recipient of the “I Dare You” award and the “Golden Hammer” award.

Dominic Yagong married his high school sweetheart, the former Hilda S. Honda of Kalopa, and they have been happily married for the past 33 years.   They reside in Honoka’a raising four beautiful children.

Through out his life, Yagong has served on various community organizations including, Hamakua Lions Club, Brantley Center, Salvation Army, and served as President of the Hamakua Jaycees, Mauna Kea Jaycees and the Honoka’a Elementary Association.  He also chaired the Honoka’a High School Centennial Celebration as well as the Lady of Lourdes Holy Ghost Feast Celebration.   He continues to volunteer as the sports announcer for Honoka’a High School and has done so since 1989. He is affectionately known as the “Voice of the Honoka’a Dragons.”

Yagong is currently employed by Food Pantry Ltd, and has been with them for 20 years.  He began working full time with the company in 2000 where he has served as Store Manager as well as District Manager. He has also worked in managerial positions with KTA Superstores in Waimea, as well as Malama Market in Pahoa and Oceanview.

Councilmember Yagong was first elected to the Hawaii County Council in 1996 representing Council District 1 Hamakua, North Hilo and Rural South Hilo.

He went on to serve for three consecutive terms until 2002 when he decided not to run for a fourth council term.  Then in 2006, revived and refreshed, Yagong sought his former Council District 1 seat and won outright in the primary election.  He has since won re-election bids in 2008 and 2010.

During his tenure, he served as Chairman of the Public Works and Parks and Recreation Committee, Chair the Environmental Management Committee, Vice-Chairman for the Human Service Committee and Economic Development Committee, Chairman of the Finance Committee as well as the Parks and Recreation Committee. 

After the 2010 elections, Yagong was named Vice-Chairman of the Finance Committee, as well as being selected by his colleagues to lead the Hawaii County Council as Chairperson and Presiding Officer.

Yagong is often described as the “watch dog” for Hawaii Taxpayers due to his intense and outspoken scrutiny of government spending. He has said:
“We cannot spend our way out of debt, and we must learn to live within our means”



Senator Sam Slom

Samuel Morgan (Sam) Slom

Sam is originally from Allentown, Pennsylvania, and moved to Hawaii in 1960. He has been an entrepreneur since age seven. He earned a B.A. in Economics & Government from the University of Hawaii Manoa and an LL.B. from LaSalle Law School. He completed financial management and business condition forecasting with the American Institute of Banking (AIB), and is a seminar graduate in Free Market Economics from the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE).

He was Director of the Economics Division of the Bank of Hawaii, Hawaii's largest financial institution, for 14 years prior to resuming his own business. Mr. Slom is presently a private consulting economist in Honolulu and president/owner of SMS Consultants.

He previously was Assistant Director of the private Tax Foundation of Hawaii, Inc. and is an outspoken taxpayers advocate.

He taught business for the American Institute of Banking, Japan-America Institute of Management Science (JAIMS), University of Hawaii, and as an Assistant Professor of Business and Assistant Director of Travel Industry Management at Hawaii Pacific University.

Sam has written extensively for Forbes, The Economist, Money, USA Today, U.S. News & World Report, CNN, US News, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal and Investor's Business Daily, Honolulu Advertiser, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Pacific Business News, Island Business, MidWeek, and HawaiiReporter. He M.C./produced KHVH radio's "Viewpoint”, KGMB-TV's "Voices of Concern" and  "Perspective”; editorialized on KHPR and the KHVH radio" Rick Hamada Show".

Sam is President/Executive Director of Smart Business Hawaii (Formerly Small Business Hawaii) Hawaii's most effective business advocacy organization, which has published "The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible" a free-market odyssey translated into 40 languages worldwide.

He is editor/publisher of Small Business News and the weekly SBH E-Views.

He's co-founder of the non-partisan, political action affiliate, Paychecks Hawaii.

He has numerous awards including "Fellow of the Pacific" by Hawaii Pacific University and the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii first "George Washington Leadership" award in 2003.

Since 1996 he has served as a  the Hawaii State Senate (East Oahu's 8th District, Hawaii Kai to Diamondhead).  He served as co-chair of the bipartisan Legislative Small Business Caucus, and he is presently the Senate’s current Minority leader, Minority floor leader, Minority whip, Minority conference chair and Minority policy chair. As he is now (2010) the ONLY Republican in the Hawaii State Senate, he always has a quorum for all those minority party meetings.

Sam has stated that he has always been a Conservative first, and a Republican second.



Jamie Story

Jamie Story was born and raised in Bedford, Texas and is former Miss Texas 2004. She holds a B.A. in Mathematical Economic Analysis and Sport Management from Rice University.
Before moving to Hawaii, Jamie was an education policy analyst at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a nonprofit, free-market research institute based in Austin. She previously served as an associate consultant in the Dallas office of Bain & Company, one of the top strategic management consulting firms in the world.
She became the President of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii in March 2008. Since her appointment as president, the Institute has initiated projects such as HawaiiVotes.org, and publications such as the annual Hawaii Pork Report and Hawaii Legislative Report Card.

As Hawaii's only free-market think tank, the mission of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii is to promote individual liberty, the free market and limited accountable government, with the goal of achieving a more free and prosperous Hawaii.
Through research papers, policy briefings, commentaries and conferences, the Institute seeks to educate and inform Hawaii's policymakers, news media and the general public. The Institute takes no government funding and instead relies on the contributions of hundreds of individuals, small businesses and private foundations.

linda smith

Linda Smith

Senior Policy Advisor to Hawaii  Governor Linda Lingle

Senior policy advisor Linda Smith is at the frontlines in shaping the Lingle Administration’s initiatives. With extensive experience in the public sector and a rich business background, Smith takes the leading role, with the Governor’s policy team, in developing legislation with a balanced agenda.  Smith provides Governor Lingle with perspectives on issues, bills, and initiatives covering all State functions, including health, education, public safety, economic development, and environmental protection. Assisted by her background in business, Smith co-owned and managed, with her husband, a diversified plastics manufacturing company in Kapolei from 1989 – 2003 (Pacific Allied Products, Ltd.). Smith’s strong fiscal track-record includes several prominent positions at all levels of government.  As Director of Finance for the City and County of Honolulu, she managed an annual budget of $900 million in operations and capital improvement projects and also oversaw the city’s Department of Finance. She also served under Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan as Director of Administration for the President’s Office of Management and Budget, the office that advises the President on national fiscal policy.

thom curtis, phd

Thom Curtis, Ph.D., is a professor and chair of the Department of Sociology at the University of Hawaii at Hilo where he has taught since 1995. He is also a licensed psychotherapist and certified disaster mental health specialist.

 His research and much of his teaching has focused on psychological and sociological impacts of disasters and terrorism.  Dr. Curtis recently spent two summers in Europe collecting data on radicalization of Muslim communities and has traveled to Israel four times since 2006 to conduct terrorism-related research.  Additionally, he is lead investigator on two projects regarding homegrown terrorism.   The first is the development of a database of United States citizens who have conducted radical Islamist terrorism activities.  The second is on the potential of the Native Hawaiian Sovereignty movement evolving toward a more violent approach for accomplishing its goals.

Dr. Curtis has published dozens of articles detailing his research on disasters and terrorism.  He has been invited to present his findings at numerous conferences in the United States, Europe and Israel including the International Institute for Counter Terrorism, the American Psychological Association, the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, the American Counseling Association, the International Academy of Linguistics, Behavioral and Social Sciences, the University of South Dakota Disaster Mental Health Institute, the International Social Sciences Research Conference, and Rocky Mountain Disaster Mental Health Institute.

councilman John Santangelo

John L Santangelo

 John was born in New London, CT but spent most of his childhood in the Pacific Northwest graduating from Columbia High School in Richland WA.  In 1964 John enlisted in the US Navy and after basic and specialty training was stationed at Barbers Point working in Aviation Electronics for communications and navigations. 

While serving in the Navy, John met and married Dorene Davis whose family of many generations is from Maui.

After his Navy service, he graduated from the Honolulu Institute of Electronics and began a civilian career in electronics:  He joined SONY and eventually became their Service Manager for the State, then with Transworld Communications Honolulu where they initiated the first on-demand movie systems in Hawaii’s hotel industry, then with his own business Doron Electronics in Waipahu.

In the 70’s, they escaped crowded Oahu to raise their family on the Big Island, and they had 2 children Shon and Noelani. Recognizing the opportunities, they started Na’alehu Appliance Repair and also the Na’alehu Fruit Stand, which became a focal point of the Ka’u community.

John became very active in the community:  he served as 3 time president of the Na’alehu Community Club, District Chair of the Hawaii County Economic Opportunity Council, Chairman of the Vulcan Booster Scholarship program, School Board Member and Finance Chair of St Joseph High School, President of the Puna Federal Credit Union, treasurer and president of the Na’alehu Elementary and Intermediate School PTA, President of T Ball and Midget Major Baseball Club, and active in the Ka’u Lions Club, Special Olympics, Headstart Hawaii Island, Kilauea Masonic Lodge, Mountain View School SCBM, Portuguese and Japanese Chambers, a volunteer for many charitable organizations and active  in Prison Ministry.

While at a public forum concerning the closure of the Pahala Sugar plantation, and was observed by Walter Moe (our first Conservative Forum President) The people were being instructed on how to get handouts.  This did not set well for community minded John who believed in personal responsibility and hand ups. 

Walter convinced him to run for County Council District 6, which he did successfully, serving one term. He also served on the Hawaii County Charter Review Commission 1999-2000, the Ka’u Rural Health Task Force and as a representative to the White House Conference on Aging. 

Dorene tragically passed away and John moved to Waimea, opened a sod farm business and became Operations Manager of Island Utilities Service, and  became a partner in Tropical Fish Ponds Hawaii aquaculture.

He now lives in Kona and is Vice President/Development for Waiamea Water Service. Last May he married his wife Susan, whom he knew as a legislative aide to Hawaii County Councilman Joe Reynolds. The family now includes 2 stepsons, their families and 5 grandchildren.

He is continues to be passionate about God, family, country and community.

Ted Hong

Ted Hong was born and raised in Wahiawa, Oahu, the son of Tany S. Hong, who was the Administrative Judge for the District Court in Honolulu and State Attorney General during the administration of Democratic Governor George Ariyoshi
Ted attended Leilehua High School, then the University of Hawaii Manoa earning a BA degree in Political Science and a Doctor of Jurisprudence from the UH William S. Richardson School of Law. He was a Senator in the Student Senate and later became Vice President of the Associated Students of the University of Hawaii. He helped organize the first Student Union at the Law School and was appointed as the student representative to the Law School’s Faculty Committee.

Ted has lived in Hilo since 1991. He has been married for 22 years to Terri Lum and they have two children, Katharine (15) and Noah (12).

Ted is very active in our community, serving as the Chairman for the Boy Scout Makahiki, District Chair for Boy Scouts of America for Puna, Kau and Hilo, and the Cubmaster for the Hilo Hongwanji Cub Scout Pack 23. He is a member of the Rotary Club of South Hilo, the Hilo Intermediate School SCC, the Kaumana Elementary School’s Safety and Audit Committees, advisor to Hilo High School’s Mock Trial Team when they took the State Championship in 1993 and a Volunteer Judge, YMCA Teen Court, Hilo, Hawaii.

Mr. Hong served under Honolulu Democratic Mayor Eileen Anderson as deputy prosecuting attorney for the City and County of Honolulu  from 1983 to 1988; then under Republican (formerly Democratic) Mayor Frank Fasi as deputy corporation counsel from 1988 to 1991.
>From 1993 to 2000 he served as assistant corporation counsel and corporation counsel for Big Island Democratic Mayor Stephen Yamashiro.
 
Mr. Hong served in Republican Governor Linda Lingle’s administration as the Chief Negotiator for the State of Hawaii, responsible for coordinating and negotiating all collective bargaining agreements with the public sector employee unions.
 
He is a former Regent for the University of Hawaii, representing East Hawaii and he has been an invited lecturer at the University of Hawaii at Hilo for several years.

Mr. Hong is presently in private law practice in Hilo concentrating in employment and workplace law and civil litigation. He is an experienced litigator and was lead counsel in more than twenty jury trials in State and Federal Court, and  has represented clients before the appellate courts of the State of Hawaii and the Federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

He recently ran unsuccessfully as the Republican candidate for State Senate District 1 (Hilo- Hamakua) in 2008.

Senator John CArroll

John Carroll first came to Hawaii as a merchant seaman in 1948 after graduating from high school, and became a student at the University of Hawaii in 1949. He played football under coach Tom Kaulukukui, and earned a BA in Education and a teaching credential, and did graduate work in Far Eastern Studies. He joined the army in 1952 and served in the Korean War. He later changed services to the Air force, eventually becoming a fighter pilot in the F-102 Delta Dagger, and attended the Air Command and Staff College and the Air War College. While serving, he attended St. Mary’s University College of Law in San Antonio, earning a Doctor of Jurisprudence Degree and transferred to the Texas Air National Guard. After returning home to Hawaii, he transferred to the Hawaii Air National Guard and became the Joint Staff Judge Advocate for both the Army and the Air National Guard.  He retired from the USAF/ANG with the rank of Colonel in 1985.

In the private sector, Mr. Carroll was a commercial pilot with Hawaiian Airlines until 1989, a member of the pilot's union for 30+ years, and was the founding Chairman of the Board of Hawaii Aviation Contract Services, the company which provides pilots to Japan Airlines (JAL) and Japan Air Charter, JAL’s subsidiary. They currently employ 150 pilots.

Mr. Carroll entered politics, running unsuccessfully as a Republican for US House of Representatives, but then successfully for the Hawaii State House of Representatives serving four terms in the state house 1970-78, and then one term in the Hawaii State Senate. As a State Senator Carroll authored several bills including the State's Code of Military Justice, for which he received the Air Force Commendation Medal. He also was elected Hawaii State Republican Party Chairman 1980-82.

Mr. Carroll continues to practice law since 1965, with offices on the Big Island and in Honolulu. Together with attorney Christopher Dias, he filed a federal lawsuit challenging the Jones Act as unconstitutional, which was rejected in December 2009 by District Judge David Ezra.

Mr. Carroll has family on 4 Hawaiian Islands, 11 grand children and 5 great-grand-children, all of whom have Hawaiian blood. He is currently seeking the Republican nomination for Governor of the State of Hawaii.

Thomas Burnett, Ph.D.

Dr. Burnett was born in Germany as an American Citizen, the son of the military occupation mayor of Nuremberg during the American occupation. He grew up and attended school in Texas, receiving a Ph.D. in Earth Science from the University of Texas in Austin.

He joined the Marine Corps in 1966 and is a Vietnam War veteran.  After leaving the Marines, he joined the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.   While there, duties included serving as a training officer and as a forensic investigator.  After retiring from the sheriff’s department, he moved to Hawaii in 1997.

He is a certified Hawaii State firearms instructor, a Utah State Concealed Carry Weapons instructor, lifetime member of the National Rifle Association and NRA certified firearms instructor and range safety officer, and a Department of Civilian Marksmanship - USA Shooting (Olympic) riflery coach.

Dr. Burnett is also a Major in the Civil Air Patrol, a member of the Optical Society of America, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Association of Forensic Scientists, the National Sheriff’s Association, and the Law Enforcement Alliance of America.

 He is a lifetime member of the International Police Association, the Texas State Rifle Association, and the Second Amendment Foundation.

Representative Harvey Tajiri

Harvey S. Tajiri is a retired Hilo businessman after being a small business owner for more than two decades. He is a graduate of Hilo High School and earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa. He served in the Army 1968–70. He and his wife, Helene, live in Hilo. They have a daughter and a son.

He served on the Hawai‘i County Council as council chair and Finance Committee chair and was a member of the Hawai‘i State House of Representatives for 10 years. In 1995 he served as Hawai‘i County legislative lobbyist.

A strong advocate for improving community services and facilities and an active volunteer, Tajiri was founder and president of the UH Hilo Athletics Boosters Cub; president of the Kanoelehua Industrial Association, M&S Exchange Club and Maui’ historic Palace Theater; and founder and president of non-profit community support organization Hui Ka Ua.

He has served as coach or booster for several area athletic programs and as a board member of the American Cancer Society, Hawai‘i Island YMCA, Boys and Girls Club of Hilo, Hilo Hospital Advisory Committee, Hawai‘i Island Veterans Memorial and Boy Scouts-Pukahi District.

He was appointed to the University of Hawaii Board of Regents in 2008 and served until his resignation in February 2010. He has also taught an upper-division course at UH-Hilo in political science.

Robert Duerr

Robert Duerr, a former registered investment advisor with the SEC with 35 years of investment analysis skills,  is preparing an upcoming finance self-help book proposal, including chapters on

• ·      History of Money from Caesar’s Gold Aureus to the Dollar
• ·      The Disaster Timeline Recipe for Collapse
• ·      Be Prepared 101: a trend analysis from gold to organic compost
• ·      How local economies prosper in a world of rolling panics

Robert Duerr graduated from Bowdoin College in Brunswick Maine with a political science and philosophy degree, and attended Adelphi University for a masters in Waldorf education. Mr. Duerr, an Eagle Scout, owned his first business at age 12, and has run small businesses, been involved with banking, venture capital, real estate development and organic agriculture. He received a commendation from President Ronald Reagan for his work in forestry.

He is an award winning writer and film maker, and has produced award winning films for NASA and the Space Shuttle, The Department of the Treasury, World Healing in Hawaii and top music entertainers such as AC/DC and Tim McGraw. His film script "No Money Down" won the Santa Fe Comedy Scriptwriting award and is a satirical look at real estate foreclosure in Hawaii. He is currently working with Hakalau's Island Planet One Productions to release the feature animation "Strange Frame” and the launch of a sustainable community film industry on Hawaii Island.

 He is a leading Hawaii outdoor writer and member of Outdoor Writers of America Association having written for such magazines as Surfing, Paddling, Cousteau Society, Outdoor Life, and for 18 years Hawaii Fishing News.

He has volunteered with many Hawaii community groups including independent schools, serving as President of the school board of St. Joseph Schools, and as President of Malamalama school, both during periods of financial crises.



Alton Okinaka. Ph.D.

Dr. Okinaka., Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Hawaii-Hilo

Dr. Okinaka  was born and raised in Honolulu, and has lived in Hilo since 1987.

He has Bachelors degrees in Sociology and Mathematics from the University of Hawaii, and Masters and Doctorate degrees in Sociology from Indiana University.

He has served at the University of Hawaii Hilo as Chair of the Department of Sociology, Department of Teacher Education, and the Social Sciences Division,  as Director of Institutional Research,  as Director of the Social Sciences Training and Research Laboratory  and he is presently an Associate Professor of Sociology specializing in social psychology, the sociology of education, race and ethnic relations, and in mathematical modeling.



Edward Gutteling, M.D.

Dr. Gutteling was born in England, emigrated to the US at age 3 and became a naturalized American citizen at age 14.
He has Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Physics, as well as a Master's in Physical Oceanography.

He is a graduate of the University of Hawaii School of Medicine, a fellow of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgery, and has been in private practice  in Hilo since 1992 specializing in sports medicine and general orthopedic surgery.

He is the official team orthopedic surgeon for the University of Hawaii-Hilo Vulcan athletes, and a former clinical assistant professor of Orthopedic Surgery at the University of Hawaii Manoa.

He has served as chairman of Hilo Medical Center Department of Surgical Specialists, as a school board member of St. Joseph School, and as a board member of the Pacific Tsunami Museum.

Dr Gutteling was responsible for recruiting the first Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation physicians to the Hilo community, as well as many orthopedic surgeons, unfortunately none of whom have stayed.
He himself is one of the last endangered orthopedic surgeons left on the Big Island.
He founded the Hilo Urgent Care Center in 2004 and Urgent Care Keeau in 2008.