Shawn Richey
Elections and appointments
Personal
Contact
Shawn Richey (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Hawaii House of Representatives to represent District 49. He lost in the Democratic primary on August 13, 2022.
Richey completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Shawn Richey was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. Richey's professional experience includes working in public administration. He served in the U.S. Army from 2008 to 2014. Richey earned a bachelor's degree from Portland State University in 2013.[1]
Richey has been affiliated with New Hope Winward, Papahana Kuaola, and Hope Center Ministries.[1]
Elections
2022
See also: Hawaii House of Representatives elections, 2022
General election
Democratic primary election
Republican primary election
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Shawn Richey completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Richey's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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Husband, Father, Veteran and local boy from Aiea, I am a product of Oahu and my generation. I am a leader, innovator and problem solver who has had a successful career in public service that I am ready to put toward making things better for our community. I am running on and promoting the idea that we can do better in our local politics when we put the voice and needs of local people first. My platform at www.voteshawnrichey.com includes my voluntary supplement to my oath of office called my PEOPLE FIRST Pledge and my "We Can" page breaks down how I will invest in our communities to make them more sustainable and resilient. my "Do Better" page goes through the Hawai'i Democrat Party platform with a PEOPLE FIRST lens to see how we can do better in legislature to improve the lives of local people. The top down, centralized approach of the last couple decades isn't working anymore and it is time for new leaders who will champion a fair distribution of power that is accessible to the people to make our lives and the lives of future generations better.
- My roots and values are deeply engrained in this place and they will allow me to respectfully and honorably challenge the existing system to make improvements in how the government listens to and benefits the people.
- As a millennial, veteran and head of household I represent the next generation of leaders who can see what needs to be changed and how to go about doing it. I will lead the call for responsible distribution and decentralization of existing power structures will allow for more competition and efficiency.
- I am a public servant and have a track record of dedication and sacrifice to making things better. I am a humble leader who would rather see the success of others over clout, power or money for myself.
Ethics, Education, Economy, Agriculture, Independent Media, Constitutional Literacy, Financial Literacy, Wellness, Malama ‘Aina, Cultural Restoration and Preservation, Civil Rights and Bodily Autonomy, Equality of Opportunity, Blockchain (decentralized networks), Technology, Free Community Healtchare, and innovation in Public Private (citizen) Partnerships.
Clayton Sorayama, he was my first club basketball coach. He gave so much to help a community in need through the lessons and discipline of basketball. He became a mentor and showed me what service was and how that sacrifice could impact the lives of others.
Follow me on social media and You Tube. I have a unique and balanced perspective that is missing from the majority of political conversations today.
Problem solving, solution oriented leadership that stays on issues instead of party politics. Someone who is rooted in the community in a way that they can relate to the general working and voting public they will serve. It is important to know where their principles and values are rooted.
I am extremely good at deductive reasoning as a means of problem solving and have a very appropriately sized ego. I am willing to humble myself, admit and own my decisions and focus on improvement instead of blame. I am also a very good speaker and writer with strong foundations in local culture, my family and my faith. I am also extremely action oriented and will look to provide efforts for improvement in multiple areas while in office.
To invest in the communities they serve, to be a representative of the people in their district not just in legislature but in navigating local politics, events and opportunities in their area. I believe it is core to have regular town halls or meetings and other transparent feedback mechanisms to ensure they are in touch with the voice of the people and are bringing that to the people's house. I think they also have a responsibility to own and admit to any special interest influences, especially fundraisers or contributions.
A bold leader who is not afraid to talk with people and be accountable to address their concerns. I will not be able to give them all the answers they want but I will be transparent in where we are in the conversations and why.
The tragic events of 9/11, I was 11 years old.
Secular: Plato's The Republic
Faith Based: The Bible
Both contain important lessons, allegories and frameworks for our society and reality. Each has challenged me to look at things different and to be a better person. Dance Monkey, my kids are obsessed with that song.
Self love. Growing up white in Hawai'i there was a certain amount of prejudice that I internalized as white guilt. That has also been popularized in society and has caused me to have a certain amount of self resentment. Growing up and having kids I addressed this within myself and learned to love and accept myself as I am. I no longer feel that guilt and realize that is something I can not change. It is more important for me to be a loving, good person than to focus on things that are out of my control. I now have a healthy and loving relationship with myself, although I still struggle from time to time with self worth, which is why I focus so much on serving my family and others as I find worth in my commitments and actions to help them.
The three branches of Government are based on a series of checks and balances. I believe the best relationship is one where legislature and the governor challenge each other to do better for the people while each keeping the other accountable under the law and their responsibilities as public trustees.
Affordable housing, education reform, pension reform and diversification of the economy.
The benefits include; allowing the body to spend more time on each bill., continuity as the bill will not drastically change from body to body, simplification for the public as they only have to track one set of bills.
The drawbacks include; Less checks and balances, harder to follow so many bills including repeat bills, less perspectives on bills.
Yes, I think that it is important to have a background of public service, whether military, community, government or politics it is important to understand the pace and mechanisms that make local government go when you are coming into office to try and change/benefit it.
Of course, working in committees it is important for legislators to have a relationship that promotes the free exchange of ideas in problem solving the needs of the people. That relationship shouldn't be based on having the same ideas but on having the same commitment to benefit the people they serve.
Planned and purposeful non-partisan redistricting that is transparent and maximizes population input.
Health, Human Services, & Homelessness; Education; Higher Education & Technology; Government Reform; and Economic Development
As a Democrat veteran, family man and man of faith I model myself after the great Daniel K. Inouye
I am interested to see where this journey takes me and I will grow with the ideas and culture I create within the authority of the position I am running for.
The sad stories of people asking for help from local government only to get passed around until they give up. The stories of apathy and questions about why I am running when they believe that nothing can change.
Any jokes my kids tell me to try and get me to laugh. I also appreciate puns and memes as vehicles for humor.
Checks and balances must always exist and I believe it is appropriate and reasonable for the legislative body to be charged with keeping the Governor's emergency powers in check during a prolonged emergency like we saw from 2020 to 2022.
I believe that it is necessary to step into the middle and have real conversations for change, this action requires you to compromise by leaving the confines and safety of your personal beliefs.
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.
See also
External links
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on July 1, 2022
Leadership
Speaker of the House:Nadine Nakamura
Majority Leader:Sean Quinlan
Minority Leader:Lauren Matsumoto
Representatives
Democratic Party (42)
Republican Party (9)