Fevella’s win gives Republicans a state Senate caucus of 1

Kurt Fevella, the newly elected Republican senator from Ewa, won’t have the benefit of senior leadership teaching him how to wrestle earmarks into the state budget or how to navigate the arcane procedural rules of floor sessions when the Legislature convenes in January.

Instead, Fevella will be the Senate leadership.

As the state’s only GOP senator, the longtime community activist and school custodian will serve as the Senate’s minority leader and GOP floor leader, and will sit on as many as 15 committees. If he wants, he may propose new procedural rules for his caucus, which are sure to be adopted.

“The good news is you don’t get out-voted and you don’t get ousted by any of your caucus members because there are none,” said former Sen. Sam Slom, who was the only Republican member of the Senate from 2010 to 2016, when he was defeated by Democrat Stanley Chang.

Fevella’s narrow triumph Tuesday night over Democrat Matt LoPresti, who spent the past four years in the state House of Representatives, was one of the few victories for Hawaii’s Republican Party. Fevella’s election also ended Hawaii’s short reign as the only state with an entirely Democratic Senate.

In the state House, Republicans were able to maintain a total of five seats out of 51, with incumbents Bob McDermott, Cynthia Thielen, Lauren Matsumoto and Gene Ward winning re-election. Newcomer Val Okimoto beat Democratic opponent Marilyn Lee to fill the open seat representing Mililani and Waipio Acres.

Fevella doesn’t have experience in the Legislature, but spent more than a decade on the Ewa Neighborhood Board and has a long track record of civic engagement. He’s fought for improvements to public schools and parks, and said he wants to continue this advocacy in the Legislature.

He said his top priorities are securing funding to improve the cafeteria at Ilima Intermediate School and supporting the creation of a girls athletic locker room at James Campbell High School, noting that it’s an issue of gender equality. The high school, which opened in the 1960s, has never had a girls locker room. The boys have a locker room.

Fevella said that he wants to serve on every Senate committee he can, and he’s not worried about being the only Republican.

“I don’t feel that because I’m a Republican, I’m alone,” he said. “I think we are an ohana here in Hawaii and in the state Capitol and I want to take it as that, as we’re one big family. At the end of the day, we can agree to disagree, but at the end of the day, we’re still family.”

Still, it will be challenging to advance legislation or secure funding in a Legislature controlled by Democrats. Slom, who served in the Senate for two decades, said he was able to get a number of bills passed, but his focus was being a check on Democrats and an independent voice in the Legislature.

“For two years we were the only state in the union that had only one minority member,” said Slom. “The people were not served because you’ve got to have a check and balance, you’ve got to have another voice.”

Slom was known for his advocacy for fiscal conservatism and government transparency and, while Democrats may have not always credited him, his sharp watch on government finances, such as the proliferation of special funds, likely influenced policy. Slom said being the only Republican is a lot more work and it’s key to hire a good staff.

While Fevella won’t have the benefit of other Republican senators bringing him into the fold, Slom said that can also be a benefit.

“The Democratic monopoly and majority, they take over and they help you, but they also exact a price for that. The price is that they want you to vote the way they do and they really stifle independent thought,” said Slom. “That is why the last two years, there was hardly any public debate on major issues and major cost items.”

Slom said he was excited about Fevella’s win. “I wish there were more,” he said, “but one is a good number.”