Yoshimura quits lt. gov race
to seek seat in state Senate

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By Gordon Y.K. Pang
gpang@starbulletin.com

Honolulu City Councilman Jon Yoshimura announced today he is stepping out of the crowded Democrat primary race for lieutenant governor and seeking a seat in the state Senate.

Yoshimura, 43, a lawyer with eight years on the council, said his decision was due to a variety of factors.

"It's just not my time to be LG," said Yoshimura, who will have to move two blocks from his longtime Ward Avenue condominium in order to run for the new District 12 seat.

The new Senate seat encompasses "coastal Honolulu" from Kapalama to Kapahulu and includes a large section of his Council District 6 (Chinatown-Makiki), Yoshimura said.

"I'm very familiar with the district, it's not like I'm coming into a district I didn't have any connection with," he said, noting that the term is two years. "It's important that the constituents have someone who can hit the ground running."

Earlier this year, the Hawaii Supreme Court suspended Yoshimura from practicing law for six months after he admitted lying to reporters and the staff of the Office of Disciplinary Counsel about a July 1999 traffic accident. Yoshimura initially said he did not drink before he hit a parked vehicle, but later said he had one drink before the accident.