David Pendleton

This article is about a Filipino American politician. For the Cheyenne Anglican saint, see David Pendleton Oakerhater.

David Alexander Pendleton^[5] (born February 2, 1967) is a former Minority Floor Leader of the Hawaii House of Representatives,^[2] from 1998 until 2002.^[10] As a member of the Republican Party, he served four two-year terms (1996-2004) as a state representative for Kailua and Kaneohe.^[2]

David Pendleton
Member of the Hawaii House of Representatives from the 49th[1] district
In office 1996[2]–2004[2]
Succeeded by	Pono Chong[1]
Personal details
Born	David Alexander Pendleton[3][4] (1967-02-02) February 2, 1967 (age 58)[5] Glendale, California[2]
Nationality	American
Political party	Republican[6]
Spouse	Noemi[2][7][8]
Children	Four[2]
Alma mater	La Sierra University Loma Linda University University of Southern California Marine Corps Command and Staff College[2]
Occupation	Minister[2] Lawyer[2] Teacher[2] University administrator[2] Administrative law judge[9]
Nickname	"Kawika"[5]

Biography

Early life and education

Pendleton, whose grandmother immigrated from Ilocos Norte to Hawaii in 1930,^[6] was born in California before moving to Hawaii while in preschool.^[2] Attending Hawaiian Mission Academy, he initially pursued a pre-medicine curriculum before settling on a double major in both history and political science at La Sierra University.^[2] He graduated from La Sierra in the Honors Program and magna cum laude.^[5] Earning a Master of Arts in Religion from Loma Linda University, becoming a minister before earning a Juris Doctor from USC and was admitted to the bar in California and Hawaii.^[2][5]

Early work

In 1985, Pendleton started his experience with public service by interning with the Hawaii Lieutenant Governor's Office.^[5] After graduating from USC he taught at San Gabriel Academy, before becoming the Associate Vice President for Student Life at La Sierra University.^[5] Beginning in 1995, Pendleton practiced law in Hawaii with two plaintiffs' firms before serving as an administrator and in-house counsel to a non-profit.^[2][5] He was a member of the 1998 class of the Pacific Century Fellows.^[11]

Political office

Starting in 1996, Pendleton served as the Representative of the 49th District (which was originally the 50th District) in the Hawaii House of Representatives;^[5] while in the House, Pendleton was the Minority Whip, Assistant Minority Leader, and finally the Minority Floor Leader.^[2]

In 2000, along with Governor Lingle, Pendleton sued the Hawaii State Legislature to open closed-door conference committee meetings so that the public could attend.^[12] Later in 2000, Pendleton was a delegate at the Republican National Convention.^[5][13] In 2002, Pendleton was thought to be a potential candidate for the office of Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii,^[14] and joined the Legislative Advisory Board of the Heartland Institute.^[15] In 2004, Pendleton lost his reelection by 123 votes,^[1][16] after being the target of negative mailers that Noemi Pendleton called "dirty campaigning".^[17]

Later work

Pendleton later worked on Governor Lingle's staff, and was appointed to the Labor and Industrial Relations Appeals Board for a ten-year term beginning in 2006.^{[2][9][18][19]} Despite formally being a Seventh-day-Adventist minister, Pendleton converted to Catholicism in 2008.^[20]

See also

• List of Asian American jurists