Gov. Ige appoints Jon Yoshimura as replacement for former Sen. Will Espero

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Gov. David Ige appointed Jon Yoshimura to the seat previously held by former Sen. Will Espero on Monday.

Yoshimura will be representing District 19 until a new senator is elected into office in the November general election.

Before his new senator position, Yoshimura was in the renewable energy sector, directed communications for the late Sen. Daniel Akaka, and was a reporter at a local tv news station.

"Jon has the knowledge and skills to ably represent the people of this district until the new senator is elected in November. I'm pleased that he was willing to take on this responsibility," said Gov. Ige.

Gov. Ige was required by law to fill the vacant senate seat by picking from a list of three nominees submitted by the Democratic party of Oahu.

Yoshimura got his bachelors degree in journalism from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and later earned his J.D. from the William S. Richardson School of Law.

"I'm humbled by the appointment and I'd like to thank Governor Ige and Ewa party officials for this opportunity to serve," Yoshimura said, in a statement. "I will use my experience as a former city councilmember and concentrate on constituent service during my time in office."