Ronald Dan Kouchi is a Democratic politician from

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 ...

, representing the 8th district in the

state Senate In the United States, the state legislature is the legislative branch in each of the 50 U.S. states. A legislature generally performs state duties for a state in the same way that the United States Congress performs national duties at ...

. He has served as the 14th President of the Hawaiʻi Senate since 2015.

Personal life

Ron Kouchi is married to Joy Naomi Tanimoto. He has two sons, Dan and Egan.

Career

Kouchi received his high school diploma from

Waimea High School Waimea High School is a public high school in Waimea on the island of Kauai in the state of Hawaii. It was established in 1881 and serves grades 9 through 12. It is the westernmost high school in the United States of America. The school mascot ...

and attended

Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. The University offers over 140 undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, education, Legal education, law, and pharmacy. Drake U ...

Des Moines Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

. He served as a lobbyist for the County of Kaua‘i at the Hawai‘i State Legislature and is a former member of the Legislative Committee of the Kaua'i Chamber of Commerce. He served for 22 years (11 terms) as a Kaua‘i County Councilman, including 12 years as Council Chair. He is a former director of the Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative (2003-2006) and the Kaua‘i Visitors Bureau. He served on the boards of the Kaua‘i Veterans Memorial Hospital and YMCA, and chaired the Wilcox Health Foundation’s capital campaign. He worked as a legislative analyst for the former Rep. Dennis Yamada in 1982, before getting appointed to the Senate (District 7) for the first time in 2010. Kouchi defeated ''John Sydney Yamane'' in the September 18 primary and Republican candidate ''David Hamman'' and Nonpartisan candidate Alfred Darling in the Hawaii State Senate elections 2010. He was elected to the Senate (District 8) in 2012. He has served as the Vice-Chair of the Committee on Agriculture, the Vice Chair of the Committee on Tourism, and the Majority Caucus Leader. He has sponsored 244 bills.Ronald D. Kouchi - Hawaii State Legislature - Open States
/ref>

Electoral History

2010 Hawaii State Senate election, District 7

2012 Hawaii State Senate election, District 8

References

External links

Ron Kouchi Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kouchi, Ron 1950s births Living people Asian American and Pacific Islander state legislators in Hawaii City council members of Asian descent Democratic Party Hawaii state senators Drake University alumni Hawaii politicians of Japanese descent Kauai County Council members Politicians from Los Angeles Presidents of the Hawaii Senate Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century members of the Hawaii State Legislature