Name Will Espero Role Politician | Children William Sean Religion Catholic | |
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Alma mater Seattle University (BS, 1982) Residence Ewa Beach, Hawaii, United States | ||
Dispensing sense and sensimilla with senator will espero
Will Espero (born November 6, 1960) is an American politician who has served as a state senator for the 19th district of the State of Hawaiʻi since 2002. He is a member of the Democratic Party.
Contents
- Dispensing sense and sensimilla with senator will espero
- INSIGHTS ON PBS HAWAII State Senate District 19 Oahu Charter Amendment 15
- Early life and education
- Political career
- US House of Representatives 2014 election
- References
INSIGHTS ON PBS HAWAI‘I: State Senate District 19 / O‘ahu Charter Amendment 15
Early life and education
Born on November 6, 1960, at a United States naval base in Yokosuka, Japan, Espero is the son of Victor and Paulina Espero. Originally from Bacnotan, La Union, Philippines, Victor served in the United States Navy for 21 years while his wife, Paulina, originally from Santiago, Ilocus Sur, Philippines, retires as a licensed practical nurse. As entrepreneurs, Victor and Paulina also operated a restaurant, catering service, and carehomes.
Growing up in a military family, Espero lived in Vallejo, California, Jacksonville, Florida, Athens, Georgia, Norfolk, Virginia, Oak Harbor, Washington, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Naples, Italy, and Yokosuka, Japan.
Espero attended Seattle University where he received his Bachelor of Science in Business Management in 1982. Later that year, he moved to Hawaiʻi and established a home. He worked in the finance and banking industry, property management, local home development, and the Coalition for a Drug Free Hawaiʻi. A few years later in 1987, he entered politics, working with former mayor Frank Fasi and his administration as the Executive Secretary of the City and County of Honolulu Neighborhood Commission.
Political career
From 1987 to 1994, Will Espero was an appointee of Mayor Frank Fasi. He was the executive secretary of the Neighborhood Commission in charge of Oahu's Neighborhood Boards.
In December 1999, Espero was appointed to the Hawaiʻi State House of Representatives by Governor Ben Cayetano to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of then-representative Paul Oshiro. In 2002, he ran a successful campaign and was elected into the Hawaiʻi State Senate. He represented District 20, which stretched from lower Waipahu to ʻEwa Beach, where Espero resides. After the reapportionment of Hawaiʻi's districts, Espero became the senator for District 19 which now includes 'Ewa Beach, Ocean Pointe, 'Ewa by Gentry, Iroquois Point, and a portion of 'Ewa Villages.
Espero is currently the Vice President of the Hawaiʻi Senate. He formerly served as the Majority Floor Leader and Chairman of the Committee on Public Safety, Intergovernmental and Military Affairs (PGM). He was a member of both the Committees on Transportation and International Affairs (TIA) and Ways and Means (WAM).
U.S. House of Representatives 2014 election
On Sunday, July 21, 2013, Espero announced his candidacy campaign for the 1st Congressional District of Hawaiʻi, the seat current Hawaiʻi U.S. Representative Colleen Hanabusa will be vacating to run against Hawaiʻi U.S. Senator Brian Schatz.