Hilo Councilwoman Sue Lee Loy Is Hoping To Move Up To The Legislature
Rep. Richard Onishi, who has represented that district for more than a decade, will retire this year.
State House Rep. Richard Onishi is retiring this fall, and longtime Hawaii County Councilwoman Sue Lee Loy moved to a rented home in Onishi’s Hilo district in April just weeks before filing to run for office there.
Hawaii County Council term limits prevent Lee Loy from running for reelection to her council seat. But she said in an interview she moved into her new home in Waiakea Uka for family reasons, not for political advantage.
She pulled nomination papers to run for the House seat in her new district on Tuesday, and officially filed to run there on Wednesday. District 2 covers much of urban Hilo, including Waiakea House Lots and Waiakea Uka.
Onishi, 70, pulled nomination papers on May 22 for the District 2 seat he now holds, but confirmed Thursday he decided not to run after all.
“I never started out running for this office for it to be a career for me,” he said. “I had been looking for someone who I would trust to represent me.”
Onishi said he worked with Lee Loy on a number of state and county projects, and he decided to “give her an opportunity.”
“I believe she will represent us admirably, and that’s why I’m ready to step down,” he said.
Onishi was first elected to the state House in 2012. Both Onishi and Lee Loy are Democrats.
When asked if she moved to a new House district to gain a political advantage by running where there is no incumbent, Lee Loy replied: “I was moving for my own mental health and what’s best for my family.”
She said Onishi only recently told her he does not plan to run this year. “Richard’s retirement really just came up,” she said.
Lee Loy, 54, has represented a County Council district since 2016 that includes Hawaiian homesteads in Keaukaha and Panaewa along with many of the Waiakea neighborhoods in House District 2.
Lee Loy listed her old address on homelands in Panaewa outside of House District 2 when she pulled papers to run for the Legislature, which prompted questions about whether she lives in House District 2 and is qualified to run there.
But Lee Loy said she lives in the district, and only listed her old Panaewa address because it is still her mailing address.
State Elections Officer Scott Nago confirmed Lee Loy is now registered to vote in House District 2, which meets the residency requirement for running for office in that district. By law only residents of the district are allowed to register to vote there.
