Legislative Aide Running For City Council To Represent District 8

Brandon Elefante

Brandon Elefante, who was born and raised in Aiea, set off for college on the Mainland after graduating from Aiea High School. But it wasn’t long before he returned to the Islands, and now he is hoping to serve his hometown by running for the City Council District 8 seat (Aiea, Pearl City and Waipahu).

“We face many issues, from our economy, to homelessness and many others,” Elefante said. “I hope to bring solutions to the table to improve the quality of life for all residents.”

Elefante has spent the last four years as the legislative aide for City Councilman Breene Hari-moto, who currently represents District 8 but has announced that he has plans to run for the state Senate. As legislative aide, Elefante advised Harimoto on land use, public works and infrastructure issues.

Prior to that, he served as state Sen. Will Espero’s legislative aide and taught social justice, morality and peace at Damien High School, where he also coached varsity golf.

Elefante announced his run for City Council last month at Honolulu Hale Civic Center.

Elefante has a bachelor’s degree from St. Mary’s College in California, as well as an MBA from Chaminade University.

“The skills that I learned from MBA experience ignited my passion for working on various issues in the community,” he explained, noting that he studied formulating solutions to federal, state and county policy issues.

“From my experience with interacting with leaders in the community from the MBA program, I felt that you can do great work in government.”

One of Elefante’s major platforms is supporting the rail project, which he believes will improve transportation and revi-talize West Oahu neigh-borhoods.

“More importantly, we have an opportunity to create smart growth planning by creating sustainable infrastructure that will fit the needs of our residents,” he said. “In addition, we have to ensure that our commu nities are centered around our families by maintaining and improving our parks, roads, and reducing crime.

“Lastly, we have to be smart about managing our city resources by balancing our core services to ensure that people are getting the essential services that they need.”