HSTA Recommends Democrat Sharon Moriwaki For State Senate District #12

This past week, Democratic candidate for State Senate District 12 Sharon Moriwaki received the recommendation of the Hawaii State Teachers Association (HSTA), which represents 13,600 of Hawaii's teachers. President of HSTA, Corey Rosenlee, shared, "HSTA Board of Directors is recommending the candidacy of Sharon Moriwaki to its members in the 2018 election. Our members look forward to you being a strong advocate for teachers, students, and public education."

Long-time public servant and founder of Kakaako United, Moriwaki shared, "I'm honored to receive HSTA's recommendation. Public education and our teachers are at the forefront of nurturing our youth so they can compete in our global community and economy." Moriwaki continued, "As state senator, I will bring the community together to address problems and solutions that are not being represented in the senate: education and teacher issues and problems, housing for our residents, supporting kupuna in their homes as they age, and reducing crime and drug-related and homeless-related crimes in our neighborhoods."

If elected, Moriwaki will focus all of her energy on serving her constituents and the state as she recently retired last April from the Public Policy Center at UH's College of Social Sciences. She brings extensive experience to the office, having spent her entire career working on public policy, human resource development and community advocacy.

In 1986, Moriwaki was chosen by then-Governor John Waihee to be part of his first cabinet as Labor Department Deputy Director. Four years later, Waihee appointed her as his Director of Human Resources, where she instituted major personnel system reforms. Her subsequent leadership included serving as Hawaii State Judiciary’s Administrative Director of the Courts and as UH Assistant Vice President.

"I believe I can do more for the communities within my district," Moriwaki said. "It's time for us to start caring for each other, and it's time for our elected officials to truly represent us."