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Born and raised, In a Multi cultural household in Kailua Kona, Hawaii, a young Lono Mack grew accustomed to island life, as well as the long hours his mom worked to keep a roof over their heads. After high school, Lono’s path forward was uncertain at best. But thankfully, he had parents who stuck with him, and met a mentor that showed him the knowledge of business. Through their belief and his own determination, lono got his life on track, graduated, and eventually built his own successful business. Through the lessons taught by his mentor, Lono developed his mission statement: to positively affect the lives of the people of Hawaii. That led him to public service, where he is today running as a democrat for the Hawaii House of Representatives.

Ilya Barannikov was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, during politically unstable times.  His uncle, a painter who was critical of the Communist Party, helped his family flee. His family arrived in the United States when he was seven years old. As an adult, Ilya moved across the country until finally settling and falling in love with Hawai’i several years ago. His tumultuous early life contributed to his deep desire to understand politics, history, and the philosophies that shape the way people live and work.   His parents were trained as engineers, but they had to find whatever work they could to raise a family in their new country; cleaning houses and driving taxis. Ilya became familiar with life for the less fortunate, and the experiences of immigrants. His parents divorced when he was young, and his mother was left in a new country with three children struggling to pay bills. Ilya  took it upon himself to contribute to his family's living and took any jobs he could. Growing up in public housing while surrounded by wealth led to young Ilya learning the impacts of wealth inequality.     Though Ilya excelled in studies in his youth, his family’s debts led him to leaving formal education in his early adulthood. He pursued his first career in design and building. By age 22, Ilya ran his own successful cabinetry business. When the world's economy collapsed in 2008, his business saw a reduction of work by over 90%. This led to Ilya becoming determined to find solutions so that smaller businesses would not be destroyed in the wake of larger businesses being bailed out by government funding.   After the economic collapse, Ilya spent time focusing on art and music, becoming a working artist, traveling to over sixteen countries and creating large art installations for numerous public events and private owners. He also received grants to install intricate, educational art throughout the world. When Covid hit, Ilya returned to more local work within the community, getting involved with designing low-income housing projects, solar installations and electro-chemical technology for storing energy.   Ilya currently runs a non-profit arts-based mentorship program in Hawaii called Hawaii-Fi, which is now running it’s pilot program on Hawai’i Island and aims to target young underprivileged youth and give them access to inspiring local creatives.

Patrick Pihana Branco is the current State Representative for Hawaiʻi House District 50 (Kailua and Kāne‘ohe Bay). He was born and raised in Kailua, and spent his summers at his great-great grandfather’s small farm in Kurtistown on Hawaiʻi island. Patrick graduated from the Kamehameha Schools-Kapālama and received a full scholarship to Hawaiʻi Pacific University, where he served as Student Body President. After graduating, he earned a Congressman Charles B. Rangel Fellowship that fully funded his Master’s degree from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington, D.C. While studying at SAIS, he earned fellowships at the United States Embassy in the Republic of Korea, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and in the U.S. House of Representatives. Drawn to public service, Patrick joined the U.S. Foreign Service as a commissioned Diplomat in 2012. Around the world, Patrick dedicated himself to promoting the values he grew up with in Hawaiʻi: aloha, mālama, and kuleana. He served tours in Colombia, Pakistan, the Office of the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, the Secretary of State’s Operations Center, and Venezuela.  Patrick is running for Congress to help Hawaiʻi meet this critical moment in our history. He has a plan to diversify Hawaiʻi’s economy beyond just tourism by creating good-paying jobs in clean energy and cybersecurity, and boosting federal support for Hawai’i’s farmers to reduce Hawai’i’s food supply dependence on the continent. He will also work to bring federal funding back to Hawai’i to build housing and infrastructure that will allow people born in Hawai’i to be able to afford to stay in Hawai’i. Hawai’i’s new challenges require bold new leaders. Patrick believes that if we work together in service of our communities, we can honor our past, and deliver for our future.

Self-described as “not a politician” TK was born in Kaumana, Hilo his family has had roots in the islands for generations. He founded the Facebook group, “Big Island Thieves” which led him to work closely with Hawaii Police Department, and the Prosecutor's office to help repair the bond between them and the community. He currently works for the Hawaii Community College and is seeking your vote for county council district 2.

Dr. Holeka Goro Inaba currently represents District 8 (North Kona) on the Hawaiʻi County Council. Holeka was born and raised in Kona, HI. His father, Don Inaba, comes from Hōlualoa where his ‘ohana established and ran the historic Kona Hotel for nearly a century. Kawehi Inaba, Holeka’s mother, is a long time Kona resident and founder of Mokulele Airlines, Kona’s hometown airline.  Holeka attended Ke Kula ʻo ʻEhunuikaimalino in Kona before graduating from Kamehameha Schools Kapālama High School.  He holds a B.A. in Integrated Educational Studies and Communication Studies from Chapman University. In addition, he holds a Master’s degree in Health and Strategic Communication and a Doctorate degree in Educational Leadership. Prior to serving on the Hawaiʻi County Council, Holeka served as a donor relations assistant and business and professional communication instructor at Chapman University. Outside of his work on the Council, Holeka continues to work in the education field for Kamehameha Schools and the Department of Education. He also serves as Vice President of the Board of Directors for Uluhaʻo o Hualālai and President of the Board of Directors for the West Hawaiʻi Mediation Center.  As a Native Hawaiian born and raised in Kona, Holeka is steadfast in his grassroots leadership style, advocating for honest and pono government operations.

Maurice Goulding is a creative problem solver and has worked in manufacturing in the food and beverage industry on the Big Island for 6 years as a plant Manager, a food and beverage consultant and as an Idustrial Technician. He has also been a  quality engineer at Ford Chicago Assembly Plant and the VP of Operations at a large steel warehouse that loaded 12 railcars and over 100 trucks a day. Prior to that he was a member of the international Brick Layers union for over a decade. Maurice has a degree in Industrial Technology Management from Illinois Institute of Technology and served in Rotary South Hilo for 5 years. He is now ready to put his skill set to use to help end the housing crisis, the pending food supply crisis and create true government transparency here on Hawai'i.

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