In this article, Pinays in the Primary
Tyler Dos Santos-Tam looks at the promise that the 2020 election holds for the Filipino community
Current State Representative Joy San Buenaventura is hoping to make the jump from the State House to the State Senate to represent her lush, volcanic, and eclectic Puna district. Puna is the fastest growing in the State by population but also one of the poorest, which at times creates thorny challenges. San Buenaventura, however, has not been afraid to take on tough issues. An attorney by trade, San Buenaventura served as Vice Chair of the influential House Judiciary Committee and the Chair of the Human Services & Homelessness Committee.
In this role, she’s proud of her accomplishments, and hopes to showcase this to her voters. During a recent Zoom call with constituents, SanBuenaventura touted a number of bills addressing homelessness, saying, “I’m glad that we passed not only the funding to stop the chronic homelessness cycle, but also revamped how the non- violent mentally ill are treated by the courts.”
She’s also proud of working together with her colleagues, telling her constituents on Zoom, “The Big Island [delegation] has really led the State on policies, and we have done quite a bit…We are representing the Big Island really well.” In her race for the State Senate, she hopes that her voters will recognize this and take it to heart.
Although San Buenaventura was born in Manila, her mother was born in Waikapu, Maui as the daughter of a sakada plantation worker.