Beth Fukumoto
Beth Fukumoto was born and raised in Hawaii. She has lived most of her life in Mililani, where she attended Hanalani Schools before transferring to Hawaii Baptist Academy. She graduated with honors from the University of Hawaii at Manoa with a bachelor’s degree in American studies and a minor in Sociology.
After returning from graduate school at Georgetown University, she worked at the Hawaii State Legislature, first in the House Minority Research Office and then as Rep. Gene Ward’s chief-of-staff.
Beth’s desire to run for office came from her experience at the legislature. She witnessed first-hand that many of the people currently in office don’t have the willingness or drive to fix the problems we face. Beth believes that new minds and fresh perspectives are needed to make Hawaii prosper.
This need for new ideas was most recently highlighted in the legislature’s handling of the budget during the 2010 session. When legislators, including the House Finance Chair, said that the State budget could not be balanced for the 2010 session without raising taxes, Beth, along with the House Republican Caucus, looked at the numbers and disproved that claim with a six-year financial plan that showed exactly how the Legislature could end school furloughs and close the budget gap without raising taxes and without significant impacts to Hawaii’s vulnerable populations.
Because Beth also believes that the Legislature needs to be more open and honest about the budgeting process, she also developed an interactive online spreadsheet that allowed users to look at a variety of choices the Legislature was using to balance the State Budget and make their own budget choices with real numbers. In his Honolulu Advertiser blog, Deputy Editorial Editor Stephen Downes, described the spreadsheet as “totally awesome,” and reports were received of high school and college classes using the spreadsheet to create their own budgets for learning purposes.
Beth’s work on the State Budget is just one example of the many ways new minds and fresh perspectives can move our State forward, even get more young people involved in government. Right now, Hawaii’s job market and educational systems are stagnant, and we cannot expect to move anything forward if our leaders in the Legislature remain the same. It’s time for something different. It’s time to give the next generation a chance. It’s time to elect Beth Fukumoto.
Beth’s Family
Beth’s father, Kenneth Fukumoto, is 3rd generation Japanese. He grew up in Kalihi with his brother and sister, Clarence and Catherine, and graduated from Farrington High School. He recently retired from the Post Office after 46 years of service. Beth’s grandparents, Akira & Matsuyo Fukumoto, ran their family’s neighborhood grocery store in Kalihi for years until Akira started working for Nishimoto Trading Co. where he eventually retired.
Beth’s mother, Maureen Fukumoto, was born and raised in New York with seven brothers and sisters where her father, John Dowd, was the leader of the RCIA union, Local 11 in New York City. She moved to Hawaii in 1974 and started a nursery in Maile. After getting married and having children, Maureen obtained her real estate license and has been practicing for 23 years. Maureen is the owner and operator of Help-U-Sell Realty Pro, located in Waipio Gentry near Costco.
Beth has two sisters, Sheryl Omori and Sarah Fukumoto, and one brother, Jay Fukumoto. Sheryl resides in Hilo with her husband and family and is currently staying home to home school her children. Jay works for the Post Office and resides in Washington State with his wife and son. Sarah is a 2006 graduate of Mililani High School and is currently double-majoring in psychology and speech at UH Manoa.
