New PUC Chair Hermina Morita
By Henry Curtis
Hermina M. Morita was born on Moloka`i September 2, 1954, raised on Lana`i and lives on Kaua`i. She graduated from Kamehameha Schools, and briefly attended both the University of Hawaii and George Washington University. Mina was elected to the State House in 1997, representing Hanalei, Anahola, Kealia, Kapaa and Waipouli. She is married to Lance Laney and has two children Misha and Mindy and several grandchildren.
Mina Morita in her own words: “I was born and raised on Lanai where my father was the game warden and my mother was a pineapple field worker. Since the seventh grade I boarded at Kamehameha returning home in the summers to work in the pineapple fields like many other Lanai kids. Soon after graduating from Kamehameha, I attended the University of Hawai‘i briefly and then was offered a job to work in Washington, D.C., with U.S. Sen. Hiram L. Fong.
Returning to Hawai‘i after the senator’s retirement in the mid-1970s I moved to Kaua‘i. My first job on Kaua‘i was in the group sales office at Princeville. Prior to being elected as a State Representative, I also worked in hotel management as a reservations and front desk manager and for over a decade in construction. I was also the manager of Kong Lung Store and the business manager for the Kilauea Point Natural History Association. My husband and I raised our two daughters in Hanalei Valley where we have lived for over 30 years and now have three granddaughters. Prior to being elected to the state House, I served on the Kaua‘i County Planning Commission and the Kaua‘i County Police Commission. I was elected to the state House in 1996 and have served seven terms.
Since my second term in office, I have been the Chair of the Committee on Energy and Environmental Protection. There is no doubt that Hawai‘i’s economy is over-reliant on the visitor industry and we must diversify our economy to become more sustainable. A fundamental change to support economic diversification is stable and predictable energy pricing. So for more than a decade I have been working to move Hawai‘i toward the development of local, renewable, and clean energy resources in my capacity as Chair of EEP. It has not been an easy task to develop the political will, attempting to keep electricity rates and gasoline prices reasonable and changing business models.
I believe many people now understand how vulnerable Hawai‘i is to fuel and food supply disruption and volatile pricing can reek havoc when paying for Hawai‘i’s energy and food needs.
These are issues that directly affect a family’s household budget or a business’ operating budget. However, by addressing these serious issues strategically Hawai‘i opens the door for economic development and opportunities. We export over $8 billion out of state to meet our energy and food needs. By developing local energy resources and farming in Hawai‘i we can recapture what we now send out of state to stay and be reinvested in Hawai‘i. Working on energy and food security is one of the most important ways to revitalize Hawai‘i’s economy to stabilize and “grow” sustainable communities.
I have a strong and proud record as a public servant. I try to practice the Hawai‘i values that identifies us as a special state and which we all share to make stronger families, a better work environment and sustainable communities: aloha (to practice compassion and love), kuleana (take responsibility for one’s actions), and malama pono (to do what is right and just).”
