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Russell Kokubun
Russell Kokubun (b. May 15, 1948) is the former Hawaii Commissioner of Agriculture. He was appointed by Gov. Neil Abercrombie in December 2010, and remained in the position until his resignation effective December 2013.[1][2] He was succeeded by his former deputy, Scott Enright, on January 1, 2014.[3]
Kokubun previously served in the Hawaii State Senate, representing District 2 from 2000-2010.[4]
Biography
Kokubun was a Councilmember for the Hawaii County Council from 1984 to 1988. He was also Chair of the Hawaii County Council from 1984 to 1992. In 1992 he was a candidate for Hawaii County Mayor. He was appointed to Executive Assistant to the Mayor for the County of Hawaii from 1995 to 1997. He was then appointed to be Deputy Planning Director in June of 1997 and he served in that position until 2000.
Kokubun was a Farm Laborer for Kamuela from 1974 to 1975. Kokubun worked as an Operator for Hydroponic Greenhouse in Keaau from 1975 to 1978. He also was manager of Hilo Natural Foods Store from 1975 to 1978. He then worked as an Accountant for Volcano Art Center from 1980 to 1981. He has also worked as a farm owner/operator from 1978 to 1988. From 1992 to 1995 he was a Project Manager for Hilo Main Street Program for Hilo Downtown Improvement Association.
Education
- BBA, Business administration, Southern Methodist University (1971)
Political career
Hawaii Commissioner of Agriculture (2010-2013)
Kokubun served as Hawaii Commissioner of Agriculture beginning in December 2010 and retired from office at the end of 2013.[2]
Hawaii State Senate (2000-2010)
Kokubun served in the Hawaii State Senate from 2000-2010, representing District 2.[5]
Senate Committee assignments
2009-2010
- Committee on Energy and Environment, Hawaii Senate
- Committee on Higher Education, Hawaii Senate
- Committee on Water, Land, Agriculture and Hawaiian Affairs, Hawaii Senate
- Committee on Ways and Means, Hawaii Senate
Elections
2010
- See also: Hawaii State Senate elections, 2010
Kokubun won re-election to the 2nd District seat in 2010. Kokubun defeated Timothy Waugh in the September 18 primary. The general election took place on November 2, 2010. Kokubun defeated Michael Hale (R) in the general election.[6]
| Hawaii State Senate, District 2 2010 General election results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
 Russell Kokubun (D)
|
13,432 | 69.5% | ||
| Michael Hale (R) | 4,381 | 22.7% | ||
2006
On November 7, 2006, Kokubun was re-elected to the Hawaii State Senate from Hawaii's 2nd Senate District. Kokubun ran unopposed in the general election. He raised $21,350 for his campaign.[7]
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
Hawaii Grassroot Institute
The Grassroot Institute issued its 2010 Legislative Score Card that tallied the votes of Hawaii legislators and graded their votes based on the Institute's values of individual liberty, free markets, and limited government.[8] The Institute observed state legislators' votes on issues involving taxes, spending, scope of government, business climate and raids on special funds. Kokubun received a total score of 5%. Here are the scores Kokubun received based on specific categories.
| 2010 Hawaii Senate Legislative Scorecard | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taxes | Business climate | Spending | Individual liberty | Raids | Scope of government | |||
| 0% | 0% | 0% | 67% | 0% | 0% | |||
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Kokubun and his wife, Anne, have two children.
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Russell + Kokubun + Hawaii + Agriculture"
See also
External links
- Chairperson's Office
- Hawaii Department of Agriculture
- Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign Contributions: 2008, 2006, 2004, 2002
- Kokubun's twitter
Footnotes
- ↑ The Star-Advertiser, "Agriculture director Kokubun retiring," November 30, 2013
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Civil Beat, "Abercrombie Agriculture Director Leaving, Will Help Hanabusa Campaign," November 11, 2014
- ↑ Governor of Hawaii Neil Abercrombie, "Press Releases: Governor Names Scott Enright Board of Agriculture Chair," December 26, 2014
- ↑ Honolulu Star Advertiser, "Senate replacement appointed for Kokubun seat," January 11, 2011
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Russell S. Kokubun's biography," accessed July 25, 2012
- ↑ Hawaii Secretary of State, "Official 2010 General election results," accessed December 13, 2013
- ↑ District 2 Hawaii Senate candidate funds, 2006
- ↑ Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, "2010 Legislative Score Card," accessed May 7, 2021
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by ' |
Hawaii Commissioner of Agriculture 2011-2013 |
Succeeded by Scott Enright |
| Preceded by ' |
Hawaii State Senate - District 2 2000–2010 |
Succeeded by Gilbert Kahele (D) |
| ||||||||||||||
