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Samuel Slom
Samuel Slom (Republican Party) was a member of the Hawaii State Senate, representing District 9. He assumed office in 1996. He left office in 2016.
Slom (Republican Party) ran for election to the Hawaii State Senate to represent District 9. He lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.
Slom is a former Republican member of the Hawaii State Senate, representing District 9 from 1996 to 2016. He was defeated in the November 8, 2016, general election.
While in office, Slom was the only Republican state senator in the 25-member Hawaii senate. He joined the Hawaii State Senate in 1996. From 1996 to 2000, he served as Senate Minority Floor Leader. He then served as Minority Leader from 2000 to 2004. He also served as State Senate Minority Leader and Minority Floor Leader.
Biography
Slom earned his LLB from LaSalle Law School in 1966 and his B.A. in Government/Economics from the University of Hawaii in 1963.
Slom's professional experience includes working as Director of Economics Division for the Bank of Hawaii from 1968 to 1982, Professor at Hawaii Pacific University from 1975 to 1984, President/Executive Director of Small Business Hawaii since 198, Owner of SMS Consultants from 1982 to the present and has been owner of Convention Speakers of Hawaii since 1982.
Committee assignments
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Slom served on all 16 committees as the only Republican member. He served as vice-chair of the Economic Development and Technology Committee.
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Slom served on the following committees:
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Slom served on these committees:
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Slom served on these committees:
| Hawaii committee assignments, 2009 |
|---|
| • Economic Development and Technology |
| • Higher Education |
| • Judiciary and Government Operations |
| • Labor |
| • Tourism |
| • Transportation, International and Intergovernmental Affairs |
Issues
Emergency management
In April 2014, Slom expressed skepticism over an emergency management law that would give emergency powers during a crisis to the Hawaii Governor and four county mayors. The legislation would also authorize the use of use all services, materials and facilities owned by partnerships, corporations and small businesses, including media outlets and technology companies in the event of a natural disaster or terrorist attack. Slom was concerned about how the law would affect privacy and property rights of Hawaii residents. “My main concern is the bill gives expanded powers to the governor and mayors without checks and balances or oversight,” Slom said in an interview. “The definition of emergency powers and where they come into play is vague and overly broad.”
Slom stated further: “If the government declares you are in possession of harmful materials or are hoarding, or creating a dangerous situation, they could probably take whatever they want, including firearms, just like the government did in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005.”[1]
2014 State of the State response
In January 2014, Abercrombie gave his fourth State of the State address. Abercrombie stated that Hawaii was turning around the budget, which produced a general fund balance of $844 million in fiscal year 2013.[2] Slom responded to Abercrombie's address and disputed the Governor's numbers, including the contention that a budget surplus existed or whether the state actually turned around economically. “When taking credit for turning the economic corner, talked about improved economy, I would challenge the governor or anyone to walk down any street in Hawaii and ask the first 10 people they see if they are better off this year, or last year, compared with four years ago,” Slom said. “Everyone with few exceptions is struggling in this state, and the economy has not turned the corner, and it has gotten worse and the optimism level is at an all time low level. That’s why the governor is not getting high marks for performance from real people,” he said further.[2]
Raising the debt ceiling
In a commentary on Hawaii Reporter, State Senator Slom explained his opposition to raising the federal debt ceiling, which was under debate in July 2011.
- "My position then was that we should not raise the debt limit, which was “modest” compared to the current national debt of $14.5 trillion ($ 46,450 per citizen), because there was a limit or ceiling for a good reason. We should instead, utilize fiscal restraint."[3]
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
General election
General election for Hawaii State Senate District 9
Incumbent Stanley Chang defeated Samuel Slom in the general election for Hawaii State Senate District 9 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Stanley Chang (D) | 61.9 | 19,109 |
 | Samuel Slom (R) | 38.1 | 11,762 | |
| Total votes: 30,871 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Hawaii State Senate District 9
Incumbent Stanley Chang advanced from the Democratic primary for Hawaii State Senate District 9 on August 8, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Stanley Chang | 100.0 | 12,783 |
| Total votes: 12,783 | |||
| = 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 9
Samuel Slom advanced from the Republican primary for Hawaii State Senate District 9 on August 8, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Samuel Slom | 100.0 | 4,550 |
| Total votes: 4,550 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
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.
Stanley Chang defeated incumbent Samuel Slom in the Hawaii State Senate District 9 general election.[4]
| Hawaii State Senate, District 9 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Stanley Chang |
52.85% | 13,433 | |
| Republican | Samuel Slom Incumbent | 47.15% | 11,985 | |
| Total Votes | 25,418 | |||
| Source: State of Hawaii - Office of Elections | ||||
Stanley Chang defeated Michael Bennett and Richard Kim in the Hawaii State Senate District 9 Democratic primary.[5][6]
| Hawaii State Senate, District 9 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Stanley Chang |
74.26% | 7,950 | |
| Democratic | Michael Bennett | 20.84% | 2,231 | |
| Democratic | Richard Kim | 4.89% | 524 | |
| Total Votes | 10,705 | |||
Incumbent Samuel Slom ran unopposed in the Hawaii State Senate District 9 Republican primary.[5][6]
| Hawaii State Senate, District 9 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican | Samuel Slom Incumbent (unopposed) | |
This candidate ran in one of Ballotpedia's races to watch in 2016. Read more »
2012
- See also: Hawaii State Senate elections, 2012
Slom won re-election in the 2012 election for Hawaii State Senate District 9. Slom ran unopposed in the August 11 Republican primary and defeated Kurt Lajala (D) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[7][8][9]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Samuel Slom Incumbent |
60.2% | 14,934 | |
| Democratic | Kurt Lajala | 39.8% | 9,888 | |
| Total Votes | 24,822 | |||
2010
- See also: Hawaii State Senate elections, 2010
Slom won re-election to the 8th District seat in 2010. He had no primary opposition in the September 18 primary. Slom defeated Larry Price (D) in the general election on November 2, 2010.[10]
| Hawaii State Senate, District 8 2010 General election results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Samuel Slom (D)
|
12,318 | 55.4% | ||
| Larry Price (R) | 7,711 | 34.7% | ||
2006
On November 7, 2006, Slom was re-elected to the Hawaii State Senate from Hawaii's 8th Senate District. Slom ran unopposed in the general election. He raised $10,739 for his campaign.[11]
Campaign themes
2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Samuel Slom did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
2012
Slom's campaign website listed the following issues:[12]
- "2nd Amendment: Concealed Carry / Open Carry - YES"
- "Decreasing Personal Income Tax - YES"
- "Definition of Marriage – Man & Woman only - YES"
- "Education – Decentralized School Boards - YES"
- "Alternative Energy (Solar/Wind/Geothermal) – Voluntary Incentives - YES"
- "Legalize Gambling - NO"
- "Medical Marijuana For Severely Ill - YES"
- "Unicameral Legislature - YES"
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.
2016
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.
- Legislators' votes on bills related to social issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2015, the Hawaii State Legislature was in session from January 21 through May 7.
|
2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2014, the Hawaii State Legislature was in session from January 15 through May 2.
|
2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2013, the Hawaii State Legislature was in session from January 16 to May 3.
|
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.[15] The Institute observed state legislators' votes on issues involving taxes, spending, scope of government, business climate and raids on special funds. Slom received a total score of 98%. Here are the scores Slom received based on specific categories.
| 2010 Hawaii Senate Legislative Scorecard | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taxes | Business climate | Spending | Individual liberty | Raids | Scope of government | |||
| 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 75% | |||
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Slom is divorced and has four children, Sam, Sid, Spencer, and Stuart.[16]
See also
2020 Elections
External links
- Sam Slom's personal website
- Profile from Open States
- Legislative profile on Vote Smart
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Slom YouTube channel
- Campaign Contributions: 2012, 2010, 2008, 2006, 2004, 2002, 2000
Footnotes
- ↑ WatchDog.org, "Law would give Hawaii gov’t unprecedented emergency powers," April 14, 2014
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 WatchDog.org, "Minority leaders dispute governor’s claims that Hawaii is on solid financial ground," January 23, 2014
- ↑ Hawaii Reporter, "Just Say 'No' to Raising the Debt Ceiling," July 8, 2011
- ↑ State of Hawaii, "General Election 2016 - State of Hawaii – Statewide November 8, 2016," accessed November 23, 2016
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 State of Hawaii, "2016 Candidate Report," accessed June 10, 2016
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Hawaii.gov, "Primary Election results," accessed September 12, 2016
- ↑ 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
- ↑ Hawaii Secretary of State, "Official 2010 General election results," accessed December 13, 2013
- ↑ Follow The Money, "Campaign funds," accessed March 24, 2014
- ↑ Sam Slom, "Issues," September 16, 2012
- ↑ 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
- ↑ Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, "2010 Legislative Score Card," accessed May 7, 2021
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Samuel Slom," accessed September 16, 2012
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Les Ihara, Jr. (D) |
Hawaii State Senate District 9 2012-2016 |
Succeeded by Stanley Chang (D) |
| Preceded by - |
Hawaii State Senate District 8 1996–2012 |
Succeeded by Ronald Kouchi (D) |
