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Brandon Elefante
2022 - Present
2028
2
Brandon Elefante (Democratic Party) is a member of the Hawaii State Senate, representing District 16. He assumed office on November 8, 2022. His current term ends on November 7, 2028.
Elefante (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Hawaii State Senate to represent District 16. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Biography
Brandon Elefante earned a B.S. in economics and business administration from Saint Mary's College of California in 2008 and an M.B.A. from Chaminade University of Hawaii in 2011. Elfante's career experience includes working as a high school teacher, a high school coach, and a staff assistant to Hawaii State Senator Will Espero. He served as the chair of the Large Cities Council of the National League of Cities.[1][2]
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Committee assignments
Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.
2023-2024
Elefante was assigned to the following committees:
- Judiciary Committee
- Public Safety and Military Affairs Committee, Vice Chair
- Labor, Culture and the Arts Committee (decommissioned)
- Water and Land Committee, Vice Chair
Elections
2024
See also: Hawaii State Senate elections, 2024
General election
General election for Hawaii State Senate District 16
Incumbent Brandon Elefante defeated Patricia Beekman in the general election for Hawaii State Senate District 16 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Brandon Elefante (D) | 73.6 | 16,454 |
 | Patricia Beekman (R)  | 26.4 | 5,906 | |
| Total votes: 22,360 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Hawaii State Senate District 16
Incumbent Brandon Elefante advanced from the Democratic primary for Hawaii State Senate District 16 on August 10, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Brandon Elefante | 100.0 | 8,959 |
| Total votes: 8,959 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Hawaii State Senate District 16
Patricia Beekman advanced from the Republican primary for Hawaii State Senate District 16 on August 10, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Patricia Beekman | 100.0 | 1,690 |
| Total votes: 1,690 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Nonpartisan primary election
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Elefante in this election.
2022
See also: Hawaii State Senate elections, 2022
General election
General election for Hawaii State Senate District 16
Brandon Elefante defeated Patricia Beekman in the general election for Hawaii State Senate District 16 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Brandon Elefante (D) | 74.0 | 14,478 |
| Patricia Beekman (R) | 26.0 | 5,090 | |
| Total votes: 19,568 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Hawaii State Senate District 16
Brandon Elefante defeated incumbent Bennette Misalucha in the Democratic primary for Hawaii State Senate District 16 on August 13, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Brandon Elefante | 70.7 | 9,630 |
 | Bennette Misalucha | 29.3 | 3,987 | |
| Total votes: 13,617 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Hawaii State Senate District 16
Patricia Beekman advanced from the Republican primary for Hawaii State Senate District 16 on August 13, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Patricia Beekman | 100.0 | 2,149 |
| Total votes: 2,149 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2018
General election
Incumbent Brandon Elefante defeated Kelly Puamailani Kitashima in the general election for Honolulu City Council District 8 on November 6, 2018.
General election
General election for Honolulu City Council District 8
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Brandon Elefante (Nonpartisan) | 54.9 | 14,413 |
 | Kelly Puamailani Kitashima (Nonpartisan) | 45.1 | 11,858 | |
| Total votes: 26,271 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2014
Honolulu, Hawaii held city council elections on November 4, 2014. A primary election took place on August 9, 2014. Because one candidate received a majority of the votes in the District 8 primary, its general election was called off. Brandon Elefante defeated Baybee Hufana-Ablan, Russ Grunch and Brysen Poulton.[3][4]
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Brandon Elefante* |
47.7% | 11,520 | ||
| Baybee Hufana-Ablan | 13.6% | 3,275 | ||
| Russ Grunch | 5.8% | 1,411 | ||
| Brysen Poulton | 7.1% | 1,724 | ||
| Blank or Over Votes | 25.8% | 6,235 | ||
| Total Votes | 24,165 | |||
| Source: Hawaii Secretary of State - 2014 Primary Results |
||||
*Note: Because Brandon Elefante received more votes than the combined votes of his opponents, he was declared the winner outright.
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Brandon Elefante did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2022
Brandon Elefante did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
2018
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Brandon Elefante completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Elefante's responses.
What would be your top three priorities, if elected?
1) multi-modal transportation 2) affordable housing 3) public safety
What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?
Affordable Housing Climate Change and Resiliency Public Safety Parks Multimodal Transportation
What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?
Honesty, integrity, ability to work with anyone, collaboration, experience, and seeking realistic solutions.
What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?
Responding to constituent concerns in a timely manner Understanding public policy and how it impacts communities Bringing people together to find workable solutions Keeping your independent voice Remembering that just because something is difficult, doesn't mean you shouldn't do it--this means that some solutions do take a long time Counting your blessing and being grateful everyday
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
2014
Elefante addressed the following issues in a meeting with Civil Beat, a local Honolulu newspaper, on August 1, 2014:[5]
Urban Housing
- Excerpt: "The City Council has the responsibility to implement policies that encourage the creation of more affordable housing and opportunities for low to moderate-income people. Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) presents an opportunity to encourage more affordable housing in close proximity to the rail stations. With TOD, we can enhance and revitalize older neighborhoods into vibrant economic destinations. In December 2013, the City Council unanimously adopted Resolution 13-274 which urges the city administration to develop an affordable housing policy in TOD special districts by looking at a feasible mix of market rate housing, moderate-income workforce housing, and other options."
Traffic
- Excerpt: "The Honolulu Rail Transit project is the best option that we have and will provide transportation for thousands of families. Council District 8 will also have five rail transit stations and transit-oriented development (TOD) areas. I support TOD and smart growth principles because it will help spur the revitalization efforts of older neighborhoods to allow for mixed uses and encourage more housing opportunities along the rail line. Most notably, I am fully committed to making sure that the project is built on time and on budget."
City Revenues
- Excerpt: "[...] this is arguably the biggest issue facing Honolulu as we look to the future. Inflation increases operating costs and increasing revenues is necessary just to keep pace. Yes, the city needs to continue to look at innovative ways to increase revenue streams, whether it be through user fees, advertising on our city buses, or even revisiting the idea increasing the county fuel tax. While it pains me to say this, at this point, nothing should be off the table."
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Hawaii scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2024
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show]. |
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In 2024, the Hawaii State Legislature was in session from January 17 to May 3. |
2023
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show]. |
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In 2023, the Hawaii State Legislature was in session from January 18 to May 4. |
See also
2024 Elections
External links
|
Candidate Hawaii State Senate District 16 |
Officeholder Hawaii State Senate District 16 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Brandon Elefante," accessed December 30, 2022
- ↑ Brandon Elefante for State Senate District 16, "About," accessed December 30, 2022
- ↑ Hawaii Secretary of State, "Official candidate list," accessed June 19, 2014
- ↑ Honolulu Civil Beat, "Honolulu City Council: Three Districts Will Have Run-offs in November," August 9, 2014
- ↑ Civil Beat, "Candidate Q&A," August 1, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Bennette Misalucha (D) |
Hawaii State Senate District 16 2022-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
Honolulu City Council District 8 2014-2022 |
Succeeded by - |
