Hawaiʻi County Councilmember Sue Lee Loy has been cleared by the state elections office to run for state House District 2, which includes Hilo, Keaʻau, Kurtistown and Volcano.
Lee Loy’s candidacy for House District 2 was challenged by six petitioners, three of whom are her sisters-in-law, alleging Lee Loy still lived in a separate district – House District 3.
State Elections Officer Scott Nago ruled Monday that Lee Loy’s candidacy conforms to the law, which does not require her to live in the district but that she be a qualified voter of that district.
Lee Loy said the entire situation prompted her to request that her residential address be kept confidential.
“I appreciate the decision and now I can focus on reaching out to the constituency and sharing my message about things I wanted to do at the legislature,” Lee Loy said.
“A valuable lesson I’ve learned was definitely a provision in our Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes that provides individuals the opportunity to keep their addresses confidential if they meet those criteria, and need their residential addresses kept confidential.”
Lee Loy, who has served since 2016 as a councilmember for Hilo, Keaukaha, Panaʻewa and Lower Puna cannot seek re-election there because of term limits.
