Gary Hooser DEMDemocrat

Gary L. Hooser (born January 19, 1954) is an American politician who served as a member of the Hawaii State Senate representing Kauaʻi and Niʻihau from 2002 to 2010. He also served on the Kauaʻi County Council for four years before becoming a Senator. In the summer of 2010, Hooser resigned his Senate seat to run for the office of Lieutenant Governor of Hawaiʻi. He was defeated on September 18, 2010 in the Democratic primary by Brian Schatz. The following year, he was appointed to lead the Hawaiʻi Office of Environmental Quality Control. He left that office in 2014 to make a successful run for a seat on the Kaua'i County Council in 2014, but he lost his seat in the 2016 election to Mason Chock. As of 2020, Hooser serves as president of the Hawaiʻi Alliance for Progressive Action advocacy group.