Brian Taniguchi To Retire From Legislature After 42 Years
The current state senator, a Democrat, was previously in the state House of Representatives.
One of Hawaii’s longest-serving lawmakers is ready to call it a day.
State Sen. Brian Taniguchi is telling friends, family and supporters that he will not run for re-election to his District 11 seat (Manoa, Makiki, Punchbowl, Papakolea).
“It was a combination of things,” Taniguchi explained, including the desire to travel more with his wife, Jan, and spend time with his four grandchildren. “I am planning on retiring. I figured it was about time.”
Taniguchi, 70, was first elected to the Hawaii House of Representatives in 1980, and to the Senate in 1994.
He as chairman of the Committee on Labor, Culture and the Arts; vice chair of the Committee on Energy, Economic Development, and Tourism; and is a member of the Committee on Ways and Means.
Taniguchi said his accomplishments in office include funding for his district, including for the Manoa gym and library and area schools.
He said he was not sure who might seek his seat. All 76 seats at the Legislature are up in 2022.
Taniguchi defeated Carol Fukunaga after the last reapportionment in 2012 threw them both into the same redrawn district.
