My roots run deep on the Windward side. For seven generations, my family has called this place home. I was born and raised in Kailua and Kāne‘ohe, and attended Keolu Elementary for grades K-2, Ben Parker Elementary and King Intermediate before graduating from St. Louis School. I went on to become the first Native Hawaiian in my family to graduate from college, and obtained my degree in law from the University of Hawai‘i.

My father, son, and me on the Bay with a picture of my grandfather Joe Wally, who ran the glass bottom boat in Kāneʻohe Bay.

My parents - Adrian, a construction worker, and Marilyn Keohokalole, a nurse - worked hard and sacrificed to make sure my brothers and I had a roof over our heads and a solid education. I am proud to be the eldest son of a working-class Kāne‘ohe family. They continue to live in my childhood home. Their values are my values. 

My father and mother.

My wife, Ku‘ulani Keohokalole (Miyashiro), is also a Kāne‘ohe native and a proud alum of Castle High School. Together we have three children, ages 11, 8, and 5.

Early on, my wife and I made a difficult decision to move to Brooklyn, New York, where she pursued a Master’s degree in educational policy and I worked for a New York law office. Leaving Hawai‘i was not easy; all our family and the life we knew were here. But like many young people in Hawai‘i, it was our opportunity to make a better life. When we knew our son was on the way, we immediately decided to move back Kāne‘ohe to be around family and to raise him as a keiki ‘o ka ‘āina – a child from our own hometown.

Let's work together to maintain the great Windward side that we know and love. I humbly ask for your continued support.