An aerial view of McGrew Point Pearl Harbor, Aiea, Pearl City and Pearlridge

Brandon Elefante

Democrat, State Senate

District 16, Oʻahu

Time in office:

Senate: 2022-present

News coverage of Brandon Elefante

Bio

Born in ‘Aiea, Brandon Elefante graduated from ‘Aiea High School and pursued higher education at Saint Mary’s College in California. Elefante returned to Hawai‘i to teach social justice and world religions at Damien Memorial School and earned an MBA in 2011.

From 2014 to 2022, Elefante served on the Honolulu City Council representing ‘Aiea, Pearl City and Waipahū. In 2022 he was elected to the Senate. He currently serves as chair of the Public Safety and Military Affairs Committee and as a member of the Ways and Means Committee. Elefante’s district includes ‘Aiea, Pearl City and Hālawa.

Leader Badges

Bill Activity

Of 84 bills:

3 Passed

0 Failed

81 Pending

For this session year, this legislator initiated 84 bills: 3 passed, 0 failed, and 81 are currently pending.

Alignment Meter

See all-time percentage of this legislator’s alignment with any organization based on total votes.

xx%votes: xx

Financials

This feature tracks sources of money intended to help a candidate win election.

Election

This display shows money given directly to the incumbent’s campaign committee (NOTE: The industry categories for donors come from Open Secrets, a nonpartisan research organization for campaign finance. Some contributions are “uncoded,” meaning they have not been assigned to an industry sector. As a result, the total for each sector is also an estimate).

Agriculture

Candidate Contributions

Communications & Electronics

Construction

Finance, Insurance & Real Estate

General Business

Government Agencies/Education/Other

Labor

Lawyers & Lobbyists

Transportation

Uncoded

Candidate Donations

Individuals, corporations, organizations and committees are limited to a maximum donation to candidates of $4000 for the Senate and $2000 for the house.

Total

$83.5K

53.0% higher than the average legislators

Independent Expenditures

Money from Independent Expenditure Committees (IEC) for advertising or grassroots activity targeting a candidates run for office is unlimited, but it cannot be spent in coordination with the candidate or the candidate's campaign.

Total

$372.0

31.0% lower than the average legislators

Grand Total for Elections

$83.8K

52.0% higher than the average legislators

This is a total of the money targeting this legislator's campaign(s) including direct donations to the candidate, money spent by Independent Expenditure Committees and money from political parties.

Influence

There are two categories of donations to legislators after they are elected that encourage a working relationship between the donor and the legislator. The categories are: 1-Gifts, 2-Travel.

Giver	Value	Date	Description
Taipei Economic & Cultural Office of Honolulu	$20	Dec 21, 2022	box of tea
Pacific Fleet Submarine Museum	$17	Dec 20, 2022	admission ticket
Jay Butay	$10	Dec 22, 2022	Homemade pastries
Senator Sharon Moriwaki	$8.95	Dec 21, 2022	Cookies 4.3 oz Mele Pack
Cheryl Kakazu Park	$6	Dec 28, 2022	Loaf of bread
Denis J. Dwyer	$5	Dec 7, 2022	Washington DC Capitol Christmas Ornament
Representative Sonny Ganaden	$5	Dec 19, 2022	5 turnovers
Ellen Kitamura	$3	Dec 1, 2022	Doily for a tabletop

Gifts

For gifts that are allowed, legislators must file an annual gifts disclosure statement with the Hawai'i State Ethics Commission if they or their spouse or dependent child receive from a single source one or multiple gifts and the whole aggregate value exceeds $200.