James "Jimmy" Kunane Tokioka is an American politician and was a Democratic member of the

Hawaii House of Representatives The Hawaii House of Representatives () is the lower house of the Hawaii State Legislature. Pursuant to Article III, Section 3 of the Constitution of Hawaii, amended during the 1978 Hawaii State Constitutional Convention, 1978 constit ...

from November 2006 to January 2023, most recently representing District 16. He currently serves as the director of the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism of

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

in the cabinet of Governor Josh Green.

Career

Before entering politics, Tokioka owned a restaurant. He entered politics in 1996, when we was elected to the Kauaʻi County Council. He served in that role until 2006. 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%), and won the November 7, 2006 General election with 4,280 votes (56.1%) against Republican nominee Ron Agor. In 2008 Tokioka was unopposed for both the September 20, 2008 Democratic Primary, winning with 3,203 votes, and the November 4, 2008 General election. Tokioka won the September 18, 2010 Democratic Primary with 3,569 votes (65.6%), and won the November 2, 2010 General election with 5,855 votes (71.0%) against Republican nominee Larry Fillhart. In 2012 Tokioka was unopposed for both the August 11, 2012 Democratic Primary, winning with 3,486 votes, and the November 6, 2012 General election. In 2014 Tokioka was re-elected with nearly 74% of the vote in the general election against

Steve Yoder Stephen Kent Yoder (born November 1, 1939) is an American former college basketball coach. He served as the head men's basketball coach at Ball State University from 1977 to 1982 and the University of Wisconsin–Madison from 1982 to 1992, compi ...

after getting by novice candidate Dylan Hooser with 63% of the votes compared to Hooser's showing of 30%. In early 2013, Tokioka submitted HB 293 HD1 to establish '' Flavobacterium akiainvivens'' as the state microbe of

. At the time, no other

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

s had a

microorganism A microorganism, or microbe, is an organism of microscopic scale, microscopic size, which may exist in its unicellular organism, single-celled form or as a Colony (biology)#Microbial colonies, colony of cells. The possible existence of unseen ...

as a state symbol. However, on 29 May 2013

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

officially designated ''

Saccharomyces cerevisiae ''Saccharomyces cerevisiae'' () (brewer's yeast or baker's yeast) is a species of yeast (single-celled fungal microorganisms). The species has been instrumental in winemaking, baking, and brewing since ancient times. It is believed to have be ...

'' as the official microbe of the state, making it the first in the nation. Meanwhile, the Hawaiian legislation was deferred for a year when it encountered competition from Senator

Glenn Wakai Glenn Satoru Wakai (born May 14, 1967) is an American politician and a Democratic Party (United States), Democratic member of the Hawaii Senate since November 2010 representing District 15. Wakai consecutively served in the Hawaii State Legislat ...

's SB3124 proposing ''

Aliivibrio fischeri ''Aliivibrio fischeri'' (formerly ''Vibrio fischeri'') is a Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacterium found globally in marine environments. This bacterium grows most effectively in water with a salt concentration at around 20g/L, and at temperatures ...

''. In 2015 James Tokioka was charged with

misdemeanor A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than admi ...

"Failure to file a complete and accurate candidate committee report" for finance reports filed during his 2014 campaign. He pleaded

no contest ''Nolo contendere'' () is a type of legal plea used in some jurisdictions in the United States. It is also referred to as a plea of no contest or no defense. It is a plea where the defendant neither admits nor disputes a charge, serving as an ...

to the misdemeanor charge on August 31, 2015, and was granted a deferment of his plea. 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. 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 as director of the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism in Governor Josh Green's cabinet. Gov. Green appointed Kauaʻi County Councilmember Luke Evslin to the District 16 seat on February 15, 2023.

References

External links

Official page
at the

Hawaii State Legislature The Hawaii State Legislature ( Hawaiian: Ka ‘Aha‘ōlelo kau kānāwai o ka Moku‘āina o Hawai‘i) is the bicameral state legislature of the U.S. state of Hawaii, consisting of the Hawaii State Senate (upper house with 25 senators) and t ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tokioka, James Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Democratic Party members of the Hawaii House of Representatives Hawaii politicians of Japanese descent Asian American and Pacific Islander state legislators in Hawaii 21st-century members of the Hawaii State Legislature 21st-century American politicians of Asian descent