| Mike Gabbard | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Hawaii Senate from the 19th district |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 2006 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | January 15, 1948 Fagatogo, American Samoa |
| Political party | Democrat (2007-present) |
| Spouse(s) | Carol |
| Profession | educator, businessman |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Gerald Michael 'Mike' Gabbard (born January 15, 1948) is a Democratic member of the Hawaii Senate, representing the 19th District since 2006. He has social conservative political views and rose to prominence for his successful effort to pass an amendment to the Constitution of Hawaii in 1998 to give the state legislature "the power to reserve marriage to opposite-sex couples". He is also a businessman and musician.
Gabbard, who was born in American Samoa, is the first person of Samoan descent to serve in the Hawaii Senate.[1]
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Mike was the fourth of seven children born to Benjamin Harrison Gabbard, Jr. and Agnes Yandall Gabbard. He received his BA degree in English from Sonoma State University, and his master's degree in Adult Education with an emphasis in Community College Administration from Oregon State University. He and his wife Carol, who served from 2000 to 2004 on the Hawai’i State Board of Education, are the parents of five children and grandparents of six. They operate a small family business with several lines of natural health products. They also make and distribute Hawaiian Toffee Treasures.
Gabbard was elected to the Honolulu City Council in a nonpartisan race in 2002. In 2004, he ran unsuccessfully in a race as a Republican for the Second Congressional District of Hawaii in the United States House of Representatives. On November 7, 2006, Gabbard defeated retired Honolulu police captain George Yamamoto by a 56% to 44% margin to represent West Oahu's District # 19 in the Hawaii State Senate.
Mike and Carol's eldest daughter, Tulsi Gabbard, won a seat in the Hawai'i House of Representatives in 2002. Tulsi, at 21, was the youngest representative ever to be elected to the Hawaii State Legislature. Tulsi completed her two-year term in 2004. Since that time, she has risen to the rank of 1st Lieutenant in the Hawai'i Army National Guard, earning top awards and accolades in training and in combat while serving on two Middle East deployments (2004–2006 and 2008–2009). Additionally, she worked as a Legislative Aide to U.S. Senator Daniel Akaka in Washington D.C. Tulsi was elected as a Honolulu City Councilwoman for District 6, which encompasses the areas of Honolulu from Kalihi to Makiki on November 2, 2010.
Mike is the co-founder/chairman of Stand Up For America (SUFA), a non-profit educational organization that promotes patriotism. Mike founded and is also the co-chairman of Healthy Hawai'i Coalition (HHC), a non-profit group whose twofold purpose is to protect the environment and to improve individual and community health. HHC has been very active in schools across the state of Hawai'i teaching watershed protection. In 2007, he co-founded the Aloha Parenting Project (APP) with his wife Carol. APP is a grassroots non-profit organization that educates, supports, and helps parents raise children to become responsible, productive members of our community.
On August 30, 2007, Gabbard switched from the Republican Party of Hawaii to the Democratic Party of Hawaii. His stated reason for doing so was that he believed that he could be more effective to his constituents as part of the majority party in the State Senate, where Democrats have long had a supermajority.[2] This switch in parties has been of some controversy, including repeated complaints regarding his opposition to the Democratic Party of Hawai'i's platform, and possible actions that may impact other Democrats.
On November 2, 2010, Gabbard was re-elected for a second term in the Hawai’i State Senate after defeating Republican Aaron Bonar by a 74% to 26% margin. He is currently the Chair of the Energy & Environment Committee. He’s also a member of the Judiciary & Labor and Transportation & International Affairs committees.
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