Les Seichi Ihara Jr. (born April 19, 1951) is an American politician. He has served as a Democratic member of the

Hawaii Senate The Hawaii State Senate ( Hawaiian: Ka ‘Aha Kenekoa) is the upper house of the Hawaii State Legislature. It consists of twenty-five members elected from an equal number of constituent districts across the islands and is led by the President ...

since November 6, 2012, representing District 10. Ihara served consecutively from 1994 until 2012 in the District 9 and District 10 seats, having served consecutively in 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 ...

from 1986 until 1994 in 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 ...

Education

Ihara attended

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

and earned his BA in

liberal studies Liberal arts education () is a traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the fine arts. ''Liberal arts education'' can refer to st ...

from the

University of Hawaii A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

Elections

*1986 Ihara was initially elected the Hawaii House of Representatives in the November 4, 1986 General election. *1988 Ihara was re-elected in the November 8, 1988 General election. *1990 Ihara was re-elected in the November 6, 1990 General election. *1992 Ihara won the House District 19 September 19, 1992 Democratic Primary with 2,583 votes (67.7%), and won the November 3, 1992 General election with 5,971 votes (69.1%) against

Libertarian Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...

candidate Merrielea Dolle. *1994 Ihara won the Senate District 10 September 17, 1994 Democratic Primary with 4,637 votes (65.2%), and the November 8, 1994 General election with 8,032 votes (59.5%) against Republican nominee Steve Colt. *1998 Ihara was unopposed for the September 19, 1998 Democratic Primary, winning with 2,362 votes, and won the November 3, 1998 General election with 9,241 votes (67.8%) against Republican nominee Darrel Gardner. *2002 Redistricted to District 9, and with Democratic Senator

Matt Matsunaga Matt may refer to: *Matt (name), people with the given name ''Matt'' or Matthew, meaning "gift from God", or the surname Matt *In British English, of a surface: having a non-glossy finish, see gloss (material appearance) *Matt, Switzerland, a mu ...

running for

Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii The lieutenant governor of Hawaii () is the assistant chief executive of the U.S. state of Hawaii and its various agencies and departments, as provided in the Article V, Sections 2 though 6 of the Constitution of Hawaii. Elected by popular suff ...

, Ihara was unopposed for the September 21, 2002 Democratic Primary, winning with 6,264 votes, and won the November 5, 2002 General election with 11,328 votes (61.1%) against Republican nominee Gladys Hayes. *2006 Ihara won the September 26, 2006 Democratic Primary with 6,666 votes (55.7%); his Republican opponent from 2002, Gladys Hayes won her primary, also, setting up a rematch. Ihara won the November 7, 2006 General election with 11,599 votes (72.3%) against Hayes. *2010 Ihara won the September 18, 2010 Democratic Primary with 7,841 votes (66.4%), and won the November 2, 2010 General election with 11,058 votes (64.7%) against Republican nominee Lisa Shorba. *2012 Redistricted back to District 10, and with Democratic Senator

Brian Taniguchi Brian Tetsuji Taniguchi (born November 7, 1951, in Honolulu, Hawaii) is an American politician and a former Democratic member of the Hawaii Senate from January 16, 2013, to January 16, 2023, representing District 10. Taniguchi served consecutive ...

redistricted to District 11, Ihara was unopposed for the August 11, 2012 Democratic Primary, winning with 8,595 votes, and won the November 6, 2012 General election with 13,703 votes (69.0%) against Republican nominee Eric Marshall, who had run for the seat in 2010.

Affiliations

As of February 2025, he serves on the board of directors at the

Kettering Foundation The Kettering Foundation is a US-based non-partisan research foundation founded in 1927 by Charles F. Kettering that works to inspire and connect individuals and organizations to advance thriving and inclusive democracies around the globe. Th ...

, an American

non-partisan Nonpartisanship, also known as nonpartisanism, is a lack of affiliation with a political party and a lack of political bias. While an ''Oxford English Dictionary'' definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., ...

research foundation.

References

External links

Official page
at the

Campaign site
* 1951 births Living people George Washington University alumni Democratic Party Hawaii state senators Democratic Party members of the Hawaii House of Representatives Politicians from Honolulu University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa alumni Hawaii politicians of Japanese descent 21st-century members of the Hawaii State Legislature 20th-century American politicians of Asian descent 21st-century American politicians of Asian descent {{Hawaii-politician-stub