UHPA, which represents nearly 4,000 faculty on all 10 University of Hawaii campuses statewide, recently endorsed the following three state legislators:
- Rep. Jessica Wooley, who represents House District 47 (Laie, Hauula, Punaluu, Kahana, Kaaawa, Waikane, Kahaluu, Ahuimanu, and Kaneohe) and is a member of the House Committee on Higher Education. She also serves on the House Committees for Culture & the Arts, Education, Hawaiian Affairs, Health, and Human Services. Rep. Wooley has served as a state legislator since 2009.
- Rep. Karl Rhoads, who represents House District 28 (Palama, Chinatown, Downtown, Lower Makiki, Sheridan). Rep. Rhoads currently serves as Chair of the House Committee on Labor and Public Employment and Vice-Chair of the House Committee on Judiciary. He has been a state legislator since 2006, and UHPA previously named him “Freshman Legislator of the Year” in 2007
- Sen. Clayton Hee, who represents Senate District 23 (Kahuku, Laie, Kaaawa, Kaneohe), and currently serves as Chair of the Senate Judiciary and Labor Committee. Sen. Hee is also a member of the Senate Hawaiian Affairs Committee. He has served in the Hawaii State Senate since 1984, and represented Molokai, Lanai, and West Maui as a State Representative from 1982 to 1984.
UHPA’s Board of Directors endorsed these candidates because of their consistent support for faculty, over the years. All three have been strong advocates of defending faculty rights especially regarding health care by introducing and supporting bills to address the challenges facing the Employer-Union Trust Fund (EUTF).
