Hawaii Politics and Government
Hawaii Guide
Hawaii Politics and Government
| The Executive Branch | The Municipal Government |
| The Governor | List of Hawaii Governors |
| The Lieutenant Governor | The National Politics |
| The Judicial Branch | Presidential Elections Results |
The state government of Hawaii is just like the Federal government along with certain adaptation taken up from the Hawaiian kingdom era. There are three branches of the government of Hawaii which are the executive, the legislative and the judicial.
The Executive Branch
The executive branch of the state is led by the Governor, who ensures that all the laws are properly executed in the state and is assisted by the Lieutenant Governor who is the assistant chief executive of the state and the different agencies and departments in Hawaii.
The Governor
The Governor is the only public official of the state of Hawaii elected in the state and he is the one who appoints the other officials like the administrators and the judges. He is in residence at the Washington Palace grounds and this chief executive is in charge of almost all state agencies and he lays down the goals for the state and the way to achieve it. The Governor with the help and assistance from the Lt. Governor oversees the twenty departments of the executive and the major agencies.
The Lieutenant Governor
The Lt. Governor of the state is also the Secretary of the state of Hawaii at the same time. He, like the governor administers his duties from Honolulu, the Hawaii state capital. As he is concurrently the secretary of the state, in the absence of the State Governor or upon the disabling of the duty of the governor, the Lt. Governor becomes the acting Governor.
The Legislative Branch
The Legislative Branch of the state of Hawaii is a bicameral body which has two houses, the Senate and the House of representatives. The Legislative branch governs from the Hawaii state capitol. There are a total of 76 members in the legislative body of Hawaii who are the representatives of single member district along the state. The house of Hawaii Senate which is the upper house has twenty five members who are led by the president of the Senate and the House of Representatives which is the lower house has fifty one representatives who are led by the Speaker of the house.
The Judicial Branch
The Hawaii Judiciary Branch is led by the Hawaii Supreme Court which is the State Court. This branch functions under a single administrative head, the Hawaii Supreme Court Chief Justice. The other courts are organized below the Hawaii Supreme Court, which is the court which makes binding decision for the appeals forwarded from the lower courts and responsible for carrying out the Judiciary.
The court coming just below the Supreme Court is the Intermediate Court of Appeals which reviews appeals coming from the state trial court or the agency decision. The other courts coming under the Judicial branch are Land Court, Land appeal court, Tax Appeal court, Circuit courts, family courts, district courts and the office of the Administrative Director of the Courts.
The Municipal Government
Hawaii has a unique organization of its municipal government with no incorporated city except the capital city of Honolulu. Every other municipal government is executed at the county level with the Mayor of Hawaii, Mayor of Honolulu, Mayor of Kauai, and the Mayor of Maui as the executives. The mayors of the Hawaii state are elected by the people in nonpartisan race though the officers for the federal government and the state government are indeed elected from the democratic or the Republican Party.
The Federal Government
The United States Congress has a representation from the state of Hawaii by a delegation of four members. They include the Senior United States Senator and the Junior United States Senator who are the representatives of the Hawaii's first and second congressional district. The President of the United States has appointed a number of Hawaii residents to administer and see to the working of different departments and agencies of the Federal Government.
The Prince Kuhio Federal Building nearby the Honolulu Harbor and the Aloha Tower at the state Capitol is the place from which all the federal officers of the state administer their duties locally. The office building also houses other agencies of the Federal Government like the Federal Bureau of Investigation, United States Secretary Service, and the Internal Revenue Service. It also houses the offices of the United State Attorney for the District of Hawaii and serves as the site for the federal courts.
The National Politics
The democrats are supported by the state of Hawaii in the majority of election; ten times out of the total twelve elections in which the state has participated. The exceptions were only in the years 1972 and 1984, when the state supported the Republican Party.
Presidential Elections Results
| Year | Republican | Democratic |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 26.58% 120,446 | 71.85% 325,588 |
| 2004 | 45.26% 194,191 | 54.01% 231,708 |
| 2000 | 37.46% 137,845 | 55.79% 205,286 |
| 1996 | 31.64% 113,943 | 56.93% 205,012 |
| 1992 | 36.70% 136,822 | 48.09% 179,310 |
| 1988 | 44.75%' 158,625 | 54.27% 192,364 |
| 1984 | 55.10% 185,050 | 43.82% 147,154 |
| 1980 | 42.90% 130,112 | 44.80% 135,879 |
| 1976 | 48.06% 140,003 | 50.59% 147,375 |
| 1972 | 62.48% 168,865 | 37.52% 101,409 |
| 1968 | 38.70% 91,425 | 59.83% 141,324 |
| 1964 | 21.24%' 44,022 | 78.76% 163,249 |
| 1960 | 49.97% 92,295 | 50.03% 92,410 |
List of Hawaii Governors
Governors of Hawaii Territory
| # | Governor | Took office | Left office | Appointed by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sanford B. Dole | June 14, 1900 | November 23, 1903 | William McKinley |
| 2 | George R. Carter | November 23, 1903 | August 15, 1907 | Theodore Roosevelt |
| 3 | Walter F. Frear | August 15, 1907 | November 30, 1913 | Theodore Roosevelt |
| 4 | Lucius E. Pinkham | November 30, 1913 | June 22, 1918 | Woodrow Wilson |
| 5 | Charles J. McCarthy | June 22, 1918 | July 5, 1921 | Woodrow Wilson |
| 6 | Wallace R. Farrington | July 5, 1921 | July 6, 1929 | Warren G. Harding |
| 7 | Lawrence M. Judd | July 6, 1929 | March 2, 1934 | Herbert Hoover |
| 8 | Joseph Poindexter | March 2, 1934 | August 24, 1942 | Franklin D. Roosevelt |
| 9 | Ingram Stainback | August 24, 1942 | May 8, 1951 | Franklin D. Roosevelt |
| 10 | Oren E. Long | May 8, 1951 | February 28, 1953 | Harry S. Truman |
| 11 | Samuel Wilder King | February 28, 1953 | July 26, 1957 | Dwight D. Eisenhower |
| 12 | William F. Quinn | August 29, 1957 | August 21, 1959 | Dwight D. Eisenhower |
Governors of the State of Hawaii
| # | Governor | Took office | Left office | Party | Lt. Governor | Terms | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | William F. Quinn | August 21, 1959 | December 3, 1962 | Republican | James Kealoha | 1 | |
| 2 | John A. Burns | December 3, 1962 | December 2, 1974 | Democratic | William S. Richardson | 3 | |
| Thomas Gill | |||||||
| George Ariyoshi | |||||||
| 3 | George Ariyoshi | December 2, 1974 | December 1, 1986 | Democratic | Nelson Doi | 3 | |
| Jean King | |||||||
| John D. Waihee III | |||||||
| 4 | John D. Waihee III | December 1, 1986 | December 5, 1994 | Democratic | Ben Cayetano | 2 | |
| 5 | Ben Cayetano | December 5, 1994 | December 2, 2002 | Democratic | Mazie Hirono | 2 | |
| 6 | Linda Lingle | December 2, 2002 | Incumbent | Republican | James "Duke" R. Aiona Jr. | 2 | |
Other High Offices Held
| Name | Gubernatorial term | Other offices held |
|---|---|---|
| Sanford B. Dole | 1900–1903 | President of Hawaii |
| Lawrence M. Judd | 1929–1934 | Governor of American Samoa |
| Oren E. Long | 1951–1953 | U.S. Senator |
| Samuel Wilder King | 1953–1957 | Territorial Delegate |
| John A. Burns | 1962–1974 | Territorial Delegate |
Living Former Governors
| Name | Gubernatorial term | Date of birth |
|---|---|---|
| George Ariyoshi | 1974–1986 | March 12, 1926 (1926-03-12) (age 84) |
| John D. Waihee III | 1986–1994 | May 19, 1946 (1946-05-19) (age 64) |
| Ben Cayetano | 1994–2002 | November 14, 1939 (1939-11-14) (age 70) |
List of United States Senators from Hawaii
Class I
| # | Senator | Took Office | Left Office | Party | Residence | Background | Congress | Term | Electoral History |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hiram Fong | August 21, 1959 | January 3, 1977 | Republican | Kahaluu | Speaker of the Hawaii Territorial House of Representatives | 86 | 1 | Elected |
| 87 | |||||||||
| 88 | |||||||||
| 89 | 2 | Re-elected in 1964 | |||||||
| 90 | |||||||||
| 91 | |||||||||
| 92 | 3 | Re-elected in 1970 Retired |
|||||||
| 93 | |||||||||
| 94 | |||||||||
| 2 | Spark Matsunaga | January 3, 1977 | April 15, 1990 | Democratic | Kukuiula | U.S. Representative (HI-2) | 95 | 4 | Elected in 1976 |
| 96 | |||||||||
| 97 | |||||||||
| 98 | 5 | Re-elected in 1982 | |||||||
| 99 | |||||||||
| 100 | |||||||||
101 |
6 | Re-elected in 1988 Died |
|||||||
| Vacant | April 15, 1990 | May 16, 1990 | Vacant | ||||||
| 3 | Daniel Akaka | May 16, 1990 | Incumbent | Democratic | Honolulu | U.S. Representative (HI-2) | Appointed Elected in 1990 special election |
||
| 102 | |||||||||
| 103 | |||||||||
| 104 | 7 | Re-elected in 1994 | |||||||
| 105 | |||||||||
| 106 | |||||||||
| 107 | 8 | Re-elected in 2000 | |||||||
| 108 | |||||||||
| 109 | |||||||||
| 110 | 9 | Re-elected in 2006 | |||||||
| 111 | |||||||||
Class III
| # | Senator | Took Office | Left Office | Party | Residence | Background | Congress | Term | Electoral History |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oren E. Long | August 21, 1959 | January 3, 1963 | Democratic | Honolulu | Territorial Governor of Hawaii | 86 | 1 | Elected in 1959 Retired |
| 87 | |||||||||
| 2 | Daniel Inouye | January 3, 1963 | Incumbent | Democratic | Honolulu | U.S. Representative At-large | 88 | 2 | Elected in 1962 |
| 89 | |||||||||
| 90 | |||||||||
| 91 | 3 | Re-elected in 1968 | |||||||
| 92 | |||||||||
| 93 | |||||||||
| 94 | 4 | Re-elected in 1974 | |||||||
| 95 | |||||||||
| 96 | |||||||||
| 97 | 5 | Re-elected in 1980 | |||||||
| 98 | |||||||||
| 99 | |||||||||
| 100 | 6 | Re-elected in 1986 | |||||||
| 101 | |||||||||
| 102 | |||||||||
| 103 | 7 | Re-elected in 1992 | |||||||
| 104 | |||||||||
| 105 | |||||||||
| 106 | 8 | Re-elected in 1998 | |||||||
| 107 | |||||||||
| 108 | |||||||||
| 109 | 9 | Re-elected in 2004 | |||||||
| 110 | |||||||||
| 111 |
