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Michelle Kidani
2012 - Present
2028
12
Michelle Kidani (Democratic Party) is a member of the Hawaii State Senate, representing District 18. She assumed office on November 6, 2012. Her current term ends on November 7, 2028.
Kidani (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Hawaii State Senate to represent District 18. She won in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Biography
Kidani earned her A.A. as a Legal Secretary from Honolulu Business College in 1969, her A.A. in Liberal Arts from Leeward Community College in 1980, her B.S. in business administration from Kennedy-Western University in 1993 and her diploma from the Hawaii Leadership Academy in 2004.
Kidani's professional experience includes working as Senior Advisor to the Honolulu City Council from 1988 to 2000, Office Manager for Waipahu Community Association from 2001 to 2002, MedQuest Administrator in Customer Service for the State of Hawaii from 2002 to 2005 and Executive Assistant to the City and County of Honolulu since 2005.
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
Kidani was assigned to the following committees:
- Senate Education Committee, Chair
- Higher Education Committee, Vice Chair
- Ways and Means Committee
2021-2022
Kidani was assigned to the following committees:
- Senate Education Committee, Chair
- Higher Education Committee, Vice-Chair
- Ways and Means Committee
2019-2020
Kidani was assigned to the following committees:
- Senate Education Committee, Chair
- Higher Education Committee, Vice Chair
- Ways and Means Committee
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Hawaii committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health |
| • Education, Chair |
| • Higher Education, Vice chair |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Kidani served on the following committees:
| Hawaii committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Commerce and Consumer Protection |
| • Education, Chair |
| • Higher Education and the Arts |
| • Transportation |
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Kidani served on the following committees:
| Hawaii committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Education, Vice Chair |
| • Human Services |
| • Tourism and Hawaiian Affairs |
| • Ways and Means, Vice Chair |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Kidani served on these committees:
| Hawaii committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Education, Vice Chair |
| • Public Safety, Government Operations, and Military Affairs, Vice Chair |
| • Ways and Means, Vice Chair |
| • Hawaiian Affairs |
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Kidani served on these committees:
| Hawaii committee assignments, 2009 |
|---|
| • Education and Housing |
| • Public Safety and Military Affairs |
| • Tourism |
| • Ways and Means |
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
2024
See also: Hawaii State Senate elections, 2024
General election
General election for Hawaii State Senate District 18
Incumbent Michelle Kidani defeated Emil Svrcina in the general election for Hawaii State Senate District 18 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Michelle Kidani (D) | 66.2 | 13,706 |
 | Emil Svrcina (R) | 33.8 | 6,986 | |
| Total votes: 20,692 | |||
 = 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 18
Incumbent Michelle Kidani advanced from the Democratic primary for Hawaii State Senate District 18 on August 10, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Michelle Kidani | 100.0 | 7,075 |
| Total votes: 7,075 | |||
| = 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 18
Emil Svrcina advanced from the Republican primary for Hawaii State Senate District 18 on August 10, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Emil Svrcina | 100.0 | 1,966 |
| Total votes: 1,966 | |||
| = 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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Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Kidani in this election.
2022
See also: Hawaii State Senate elections, 2022
General election
General election for Hawaii State Senate District 18
Incumbent Michelle Kidani defeated Mary Smart in the general election for Hawaii State Senate District 18 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Michelle Kidani (D) | 65.7 | 11,463 |
 | Mary Smart (R) | 34.3 | 5,977 | |
| Total votes: 17,440 | |||
| = 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 18
Incumbent Michelle Kidani advanced from the Democratic primary for Hawaii State Senate District 18 on August 13, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Michelle Kidani | 100.0 | 8,862 |
| Total votes: 8,862 | |||
| = 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 18
Mary Smart defeated Emil Svrcina in the Republican primary for Hawaii State Senate District 18 on August 13, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Mary Smart | 71.9 | 2,295 |
| Emil Svrcina | 28.1 | 898 | |
| Total votes: 3,193 | |||
| = 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
See also: Hawaii State Senate elections, 2018
General election
General election for Hawaii State Senate District 18
Incumbent Michelle Kidani defeated Tony Solis in the general election for Hawaii State Senate District 18 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Michelle Kidani (D) | 67.0 | 11,845 |
| Tony Solis (R) | 33.0 | 5,830 | ||
| Total votes: 17,675 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
| = 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 18
Incumbent Michelle Kidani advanced from the Democratic primary for Hawaii State Senate District 18 on August 11, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Michelle Kidani | 100.0 | 9,142 |
| Total votes: 9,142 | |||
| = 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 18
Tony Solis defeated Emil Svrcina in the Republican primary for Hawaii State Senate District 18 on August 11, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Tony Solis | 68.0 | 1,086 | |
| Emil Svrcina | 32.0 | 510 | |
| Total votes: 1,596 | |||
| = 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
- See also: Hawaii State Senate elections, 2014
Elections for the Hawaii State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on August 9, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 3, 2014. Incumbent Michelle Kidani was unopposed in the Democratic primary, while Dennis C.H. Kim was unopposed in the Republican primary. Kidani defeated Kim and Raymond Banda III (L) in the general election.[1][2][3]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic |  Michelle Kidani Incumbent |
57% | 10,253 | |
| Republican | Dennis C.H. Kim | 40.8% | 7,345 | |
| Libertarian | Raymond Banda III | 2.2% | 389 | |
| Total Votes | 17,987 | |||
2012
- See also: Hawaii State Senate elections, 2012
Kidani won re-election in the 2012 election for Hawaii State Senate District 18. Kidani defeated former Hawaii House Representative Michael Magaoay in the August 11 Democratic primary and defeated Rojo Herrera (R) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[4][5][6]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Michelle Kidani Incumbent |
72.3% | 14,518 | |
| Republican | Rojo Herrera | 27.7% | 5,573 | |
| Total Votes | 20,091 | |||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Michelle Kidani Incumbent |
64.6% | 7,434 |
| Michael Magaoay | 35.4% | 4,077 |
| Total Votes | 11,511 | |
2008
On November 4, 2008, Kidani won election to the Hawaii State Senate from Hawaii's 17th Senate District. Kidani ran unopposed in the election. She raised $30,290 for her campaign.[7]
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Michelle Kidani did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2022
Michelle Kidani did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
2014
Kidani's website highlighted the following campaign themes:[8]
- Funding for key areas
- "Transportation," "Public Education," "Higher Education," "Health and Human Services."
- Bullying, Cyberbullying, and Harassment
- "Bullying has gained more attention due to the increasing amount of violent and high-profile incidents, both locally and nationally. As a State legislator, Senator Kidani wanted to find solutions to help control this problem for Hawaii children and adults."
- Charter School Governance and Accountability
- "Charter schools have become a visible and important component of the education system in Hawaii. It is imperative to clarify the duties and responsibilities of the Charter School Review Panel and the local school boards to ensure that all charter schools are using state dollars effectively and transparently while still keeping their identify and meeting their educational goals."
- Student Instructional Time
- "The Legislature realized that the State of Hawaii cannot allow our students to be last in the country when it comes to instructional time. In 2010, they passed a law that would mandate that 180 instructional days be required for all public schools. However, there were some adjustments which were needed to the original Act."
- Emergency Responder's Safety
- "Senator Kidani will be introducing a new bill in 2012 that is based on a new law from the State of New York. This bill would require motorists to exercise due care when approaching an authorized emergency vehicle that is parked, stopped, or standing on the shoulder or any portion of a highway."
Note: Kidani's campaign themes did not change from 2012.
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. |
2022
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show]. |
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In 2022, the Hawaii State Legislature was in session from January 19 to May 5. |
2021
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show]. |
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In 2021, the Hawaii State Legislature was in session from January 20 to April 29.
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2020
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show]. |
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In 2020, the Hawaii State Legislature was in session from January 15 to July 10.
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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.
Kidani has four children.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
|
Candidate Hawaii State Senate District 18 |
Officeholder Hawaii State Senate District 18 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Hawaii Secretary of State, "Official primary candidate list," accessed June 6, 2014
- ↑ Hawaii Secretary of State, "Official primary election results," accessed August 25, 2014
- ↑ Hawaii Secretary of State, "Official general election results," accessed November 12, 2014
- ↑ civilbeat.com, " Unofficial 2012 Primary election candidate list," accessed March 24, 2014
- ↑ Hawaii Secretary of State, "Official 2012 Primary election results," accessed March 24, 2014
- ↑ Hawaii Secretary of State, "Official 2012 General election results," accessed March 24, 2014
- ↑ Follow The Money, "Campaign funds," accessed March 24, 2014
- ↑ Michelle Kidani, "Working for You," accessed September 26, 2012 (dead link)
- ↑ 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
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Hawaii State Senate District 18 2012-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
Hawaii State Senate District 17 2008-2012 |
Succeeded by - |
