Vol. 103 No. 1
The student-run newspaper of McKinley High School
Established in 1920
Underdog Defeats Political Giant Kim Coco Iwamoto Offers New Vision to McKinley High School Community by Dominic Niyo
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n Aug. 10, Hawaii’s primary election for the 25th State House District, covering Ala Moana, Kaka’ako, Downtown Honolulu, and McKinley High School, resulted in a historic upset. Kim Coco Iwamoto unseated incumbent House Speaker Scott Saiki, who has been serving in the state legislature for three decades. According to an analysis by Our Hawai’i, this marks the first time a house speaker has been defeated in a Democratic primary in U.S. history. “[Scott Saiki] was endorsed by the governor, the lieutenant governor, our U.S. senator, our mayor, and the Honolulu prosecutor,” Iwamoto said. “I thank my campaign volunteers and small-dollar donors that made this win possible.” Iwamoto, who previously ran in 2020 and 2022 but lost by a margin of 160 votes, or two percent each time, secured a decisive victory this year with a five percent lead, translating to about 250 votes. With no remaining competitors in the general election, Iwamoto is set to become the first transgender woman elected to Hawaii’s legislature. In response to her victory, on Aug. 29, The Pinion hosted a town hall with Iwamoto, led by Dominic Niyo at W123. The event was attended by Pinion journalists and Kyle Gaynor’s Participation in Democracy class, where she discussed her campaign initiatives. “[The interview] was a valuable experience for my students to engage directly with a [politician] and see their policy discussions in real time,” Gaynor said. “It took some time for them to understand the significance, but it later became an important teaching tool for grasping the broader context of democracy and civic engagement.” See IWAMOTO p. 6 Photo by Alex Tijerina.
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