Samuel Morgan Slom (born April 13, 1942) is an American politician and a former member of the

Hawaii Senate The Hawaii Senate 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 of the Senate, elected from the membe ...

, where he represented the 9th District (which included Hawaii Kai, Aina Haina, Kahala and Diamond Head on the island of Oahu) from 1996 to 2016. Between 2010 and 2016, Slom was the sole Republican member of the Hawaii Senate. He is a native of

Allentown Allentown may refer to several places in the United States and topics related to them: * Allentown, California, now called Toadtown, California *Allentown, Georgia, a town in Wilkinson County *Allentown, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Taz ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

Career

Slom formerly served as chief

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this field there are ...

for the

Bank of Hawaii The Bank of Hawaii Corporation ( haw, Panakō o Hawaii; abbreviated BOH) is a regional commercial bank headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii. It is Hawaii's second oldest bank and its largest locally owned bank in that the majority of the voting st ...

. From 1983 until 2014, Slom served as the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese f ...

and

executive director Executive director is commonly the title of the chief executive officer of a non-profit organization, government agency or international organization. The title is widely used in North American and European not-for-profit organizations, thoug ...

of Smart Business Hawaii, a

chamber of commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ...

that said it was more small business-oriented than the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii. In 1996, Slom challenged incumbent Democrat Donna R. Ikeda to represent the 8th district in the Senate of Hawaii.Hawaii Results
. ''Honolulu Star-Bulletin''. November 6, 1996. Slom won the election, defeating Ikeda, 12,191 votes to 7,312. The

Honolulu Star-Bulletin The ''Honolulu Star-Bulletin'' was a daily newspaper based in Honolulu, Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. At the time publication ceased on June 6, 2010, it was the second largest daily newspaper in the state of Hawaii (after the ''Honolu ...

called the election a "huge election night upset". Following the retirement of Senator Fred Hemmings, Slom became the sole Republican in the 25-member Senate between 2010 and 2017. Slom served on all sixteen Senate standing committees. He had to depend on a

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

colleague to second every motion that he made on the Senate floor (otherwise, the motion dies for lack of a second).

Lynn Finnegan Lynn G. Berbano Finnegan (born October 3, 1970), was a Republican member of the Hawaii House of Representatives, representing the state's 32nd district from 2003 to 2011. The district includes the Lower Pearlridge, Aiea, Halawa, Hickam, Pear ...

, an outgoing Republican 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 constitutional convention, the House of Representatives consi ...

who ran unsuccessfully for

Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii The lieutenant governor of Hawaii ( haw, Hope kiaʻāina o Hawaiʻi) 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 ...

, described Slom's challenge as communicating with Republican constituents across the state who will pressure Democratic lawmakers to consider alternative proposals on some issues. Former Honolulu City Councilman Stanley Chang defeated Slom in the 2016 elections, which made the Senate of Hawaii the only legislative chamber in the United States with a single party holding all seats. Slom received 47% of the vote.

Early life and education

Slom was raised in a

Reform Jewish Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its ethical aspects to its ceremonial ones, and belief in a continuous sear ...

family and received an LL.B from La Salle Law School in 1966 and a BA in Government/Economics from the University of Hawaii in 1963.

Political experience and activities

Slom held the following positions in the Hawaii State Senate: *Senate Minority Leader, Hawaii State Senate, 2010–2017 *Minority Floor Leader, Hawaii State Senate, 1996–2017 *Vice Chairman, Senate Committee for Economic Development and Technology

Former legislative committees and subcommittees

Slom was a member of the following committees: *Agriculture, Member *Commerce and Consumer Protection, Member *Economic Development and Technology, Vice Chair *Education, Member *Energy and Environment, Member *Hawaiian Affairs, Member *Health, Member *Higher Education, Member *Human Services, Member *Judiciary and Labor, Member *Public Safety and Military Affairs, Member *Technology and the Arts, Member *Tourism and Government Operations, Member *Transportation and International Affairs, Member *Water and Land, Member *Ways and Means, Member Slom was a member of the following subcommittee: *Joint House and Senate Committee for Hawaii Health Connector Oversight, Member

References

External links

Hawaii Senate Minority official website (archived from 2016) Hawaii State Legislature - Senator Sam Slom
official government site (archived from 2015) {{DEFAULTSORT:Slom, Sam 1942 births 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American politicians Republican Party Hawaii state senators Hawaii lawyers Jewish American state legislators in Hawaii Living people Politicians from Allentown, Pennsylvania