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| Sen. Will Espero |
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HIS dream is to be the first American of Filipino ancestry in the US Senate. Hawaii State Senator William Espero (D-HI) is certainly on his way toward that dream.
Espero is currently serving a second term as a Hawaii state senator. He was first elected to the senate in 2002. Prior to that, Governor Ben Cayetano appointed Espero to the House as the 41st representative district of Ewa Beach.
The son of Victor Espero from Bacnotan, La Union and Paulina Calip Espero from Santiago, Ilocos Sur, Philippines, Will Espero was born in Yokosuka, Japan. His father is retired from the US Navy. His mother was a nurse.
Like many children of military parents, Espero has moved around, living on the East and West coast of the US as well as Cuba and Italy.
After his parents settled down, he attended Seattle University and graduated with a BA Business Management degree in 1982.
Shortly thereafter, he settled in the Ewa Beach district of Hawaii where he served as executive secretary of the city Neighborhood Commission, which governs the neighborhood board system from 1986 to 1994. He also sat on the ‘Ewa Neighborhood Board in 1995-99.
He began his foray into politics in 1992.
He lost his first run at a Hawaii senate seat in 1992. He ran as a Republican but switched to the Democratic Party two years after the lost.
But Espero persevered.
After being appointed to the Hawaii House of Representatives vacated by former Rep. Paul Oshiro, Espero sought for re-election at the ending term and won. He served as a representative for two more years before being elected to the state senate.
As a Hawaii senator, Espero is the Chair of Public Safety and Military Affairs committee, a member of the Commerce and Consumer Protection, Health, Joint Task Force to Conduct a Review of the State Highway Fund, and the Transportation, International and Intergovernmental Affairs committees.
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