Laura Thielen
Laura H. Thielen was a Democratic member of the Hawaii State Senate, representing District 25. She was first elected to the chamber in 2012. She left office on November 3, 2020. Thielen did not seek re-election in 2020.[1]
Committee assignments
2019-2020
Thielen was assigned to the following committees:
- Agriculture and Environment Committee
- Government Operations Committee, Chair
- Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee
- Senate Housing Committee
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Hawaii committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Economic Development, Tourism, and Technology |
| • Judiciary and Labor |
| • Public Safety, Intergovernmental and Military Affairs |
| • Water and Land |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Thielen served on the following committees:
| Hawaii committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Agriculture |
| • Education |
| • Judiciary and Labor |
| • Water and Land, Chair |
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Thielen served on the following committees:
| Hawaii committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Agriculture |
| • Economic Development, Government Operations and Housing |
| • Ways and Means |
Campaign themes
2012
Thielen's campaign website listed the following issues:[2]
- Zoning and Environmental Protections
- "If elected, I will stand in opposition to any effort to fast-track development and bypass zoning and environmental protections. I will alert you so you know what the Legislature is trying to do and can add your voices early, when it counts."
- Honest and Open Government
- "If elected, I will continue to be a strong advocate for open and clean government. I will support strengthening sunshine and procurement laws to make sure government uses tax revenues wisely, legally and effectively. I will strenuously fight any bills that reduce access to public information."
- Agriculture
- "If elected, I will continue to be a strong advocate for farming. I will oppose any effort to change the agricultural district into a tourism resort district. I will work to develop meaningful incentives that support increased food farming and agricultural operations that help Hawaii’s resiliency and economy."
- Small Business
- "If elected, I will strongly oppose any effort to retain the tax increase on small businesses next year. I will also oppose any other tax that unfairly impacts small businesses."
- Education
- "I support public charter schools and believe their students should receive funding equitable with all other public school students. In exchange, public charter schools should be accountable to the public and held to the same ethical and professional standards as traditional public schools."
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.
Elections
2020
- See also: Hawaii State Senate elections, 2020
Thielen did not file to run for re-election.
2016
- See also: Hawaii State Senate elections, 2016
Elections for the Hawaii State Senate took place in 2016. The primary election took place on August 13, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was June 7, 2016.
Incumbent Laura Thielen defeated Robert Nagamine in the Hawaii State Senate District 25 general election.[3]
| Hawaii State Senate, District 25 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Laura Thielen Incumbent |
67.36% | 14,212 | |
| Republican | Robert Nagamine | 32.64% | 6,886 | |
| Total Votes | 21,098 | |||
| Source: State of Hawaii - Office of Elections | ||||
Incumbent Laura Thielen ran unopposed in the Hawaii State Senate District 25 Democratic primary.[4][5]
| Hawaii State Senate, District 25 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Laura Thielen Incumbent (unopposed) | |
Robert Nagamine defeated Heather Dozier in the Hawaii State Senate District 25 Republican primary.[4][5]
| Hawaii State Senate, District 25 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Robert Nagamine |
65.02% | 1,610 | |
| Republican | Heather Dozier | 34.98% | 866 | |
| Total Votes | 2,476 | |||
This candidate ran in one of Ballotpedia's races to watch in 2016. Read more »
2012
- See also: Hawaii State Senate elections, 2012
Thielen won election in the 2012 election for Hawaii State Senate District 25. She defeated incumbent Pohai Ryan and Levani Rachel Lipton in the August 11 Democratic primary and defeated Fred Hemmings (R) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.
Thielen was a director of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources under former Republican Governor Linda Lingle (R). Thus, she was unable to run for office as a Democrat, because she had not been a member of the party in good standing for at least six months. She filed anyway and is now facing internal punishment from the Democratic Party, but her candidacy won't be challenged in court.[6][7]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Laura Thielen |
59.5% | 13,703 | |
| Republican | Fred Hemmings | 40.5% | 9,333 | |
| Total Votes | 23,036 | |||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Laura Thielen |
50% | 6,236 |
| Pohai Ryan | 38.2% | 4,769 |
| Levani Lipton | 11.8% | 1,474 |
| Total Votes | 12,479 | |
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.
2020
In 2020, the Hawaii State Legislature was in session from January 15 to July 10.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on issues related to Hawaiian interests.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
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In 2019, the Hawaii State Legislature was in session from January 16 through May 2.
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2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
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In 2018, the Hawaii State Legislature was in session from January 17 through May 3.
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2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
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In 2017, the Hawaii State Legislature was in session from January 18 through May 4. The Legislature held a special session from July 12 from July 20. The legislature held its first special session from August 28 to September 1. The legislature held its second special session from September 25 to September 26. The legislature held its third special session on November 14.
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2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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In 2016, the Hawaii State Legislature was in session from January 20 through May 5. The Legislature held a special session from July 12 from July 20.
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2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
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In 2015, the Hawaii State Legislature was in session from January 21 through May 7.
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2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
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In 2014, the Hawaii State Legislature was in session from January 15 through May 2.
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2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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In 2013, the Hawaii State Legislature was in session from January 16 to May 3.
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Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Thielen is married and has two children.[10]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for "Laura + Thielen + Hawaii + Senate"
See also
- Hawaii State Senate
- Hawaii Senate Committees
- Hawaii State Senate District 25
- Hawaii State Legislature
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Campaign website
- Profile from Open States
- Project Vote Smart profile
- Issue positions: Civil Beat profile
- Campaign Contributions: 2012, 2004
Footnotes
- ↑ Hawaii News Now, "Windward Oahu representative announces plan to run for state Senate," January 8, 2020
- ↑ Laura Thielen, "Platform," accessed September 26, 2012
- ↑ State of Hawaii, "General Election 2016 - State of Hawaii – Statewide November 8, 2016," accessed November 23, 2016
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 State of Hawaii, "2016 Candidate Report," accessed June 10, 2016
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Hawaii.gov, "Primary Election results," accessed September 12, 2016
- ↑ Star Advertiser, "Democrats won't seek to legally block Laura Thielen candidacy," June 12, 2012
- ↑ Hawaii Secretary of State, "Official 2012 General election results," accessed March 24, 2014
- ↑ Paychecks Hawaii, "PAYCHECKS HAWAII Ratings of the 2013 Hawaii State Legislature," accessed July 11, 2017
- ↑ Paychecks Hawaii, "PAYCHECKS HAWAII Ratings of the 2013 Hawaii State Legislature," accessed July 11, 2017
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Laura Thielen," accessed September 26, 2012
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Pohai Ryan (D) |
Hawaii State Senate District 25 2012–2020 |
Succeeded by Chris Lee (D) |
