Fukumoto now a Democrat after unanimous vote

Former Republican Rep. Beth Fukumoto was accepted into the Democratic Party on Saturday with the unanimous vote of the Oahu County Executive Committee.

The vote came after weeks of meetings between Fukumoto and members of the party, including state Chairman Tim Vandeveer, members of the county’s executive committee and the Democratic Party’s LGBT caucus.

Fukumoto, who represents Mililani, said she spoke with members “about our mutual goals, passions and how we can work together to make a better life for the people of Hawaii,” in a news release announcing the vote.

“I got involved in politics with the goal of making Hawaii more affordable for local families, and I’m looking forward to doing that work with the Democratic Party of Hawaii,” Fukumoto said.

Fukumoto left the Republican Party earlier this year amid growing tensions over her criticism of President Donald Trump. In February, she was ousted as minority leader by her Republican colleagues in the House of Representatives.

Some in the Democratic Party had complained that the party has been too lenient in accepting former Republicans. But Vandeveer suggested that the process had been fair.

“I firmly believed that our party should hold Rep. Fukumoto to no stricter an ideological standard than anyone else with a ‘D’ behind their name that currently sits in the big square building,” Vandeveer said in a news release. “While I agree with the notion that we should seek to elect better Democrats and not just more Democrats, I also understand that we are a ‘big tent’ party that is welcoming of many different ideas and viewpoints. This is the balance that confronts us.”

Democrat Marilyn Lee, a former member of the House who was defeated by Fukumoto in past elections, initially said she would appeal the decision to the Democratic Party’s State Central Committee. But she had changed her mind, citing the complexity of the appeals process and the unlikelihood that the appeal would be successful.

With Fukumoto’s departure, there are now only five Republicans left in the House and there are none in the Senate.