Posted on: Friday, December 20, 2002

Engineer likely next to lead state Republicans

By Lynda Arakawa
Advertiser Capitol Bureau

Hawai'i engineer Brennon Morioka is expected to be the next chairman of the state Republican Party.

Morioka yesterday said he most likely will succeed Micah Kane, who was recently named director of the state Department of Hawaiian Homelands. He said he would be the interim chairman and executive director until May, and probably will run for the chairmanship at the next state GOP convention.

Morioka, 33, has been selected the Young Engineer of the Year by the Hawai'i Society of Professional Engineers. He put engineering on hold to serve as the GOP's finance director in January.

"I think it's just a good opportunity right now to be a part of the types of change that we think the new governor can make, and there still is a need for a strong party," Morioka said. "We're still at the point we want to be a two-party system so there's still a lot of work for us to do."

Morioka, who was born and raised in Hawai'i, is a graduate of Iolani School and received his doctorate in engineering from the University of Hawai'i-Manoa.