| Sonny Ganaden | |
| Office: | Member of the Hawaii House of Representatives from the 30th District |
| Term Start: | November 3, 2020 |
| Predecessor: | Romeo Munoz Cachola |
| Party: | Democratic |
| Residence: | Kalihi, Hawaii[1] |
| Alma Mater: | University of California, Los Angeles (B.A.) University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (J.D.) |
| Birth Name: | Ernesto Montemayor Ganaden |
Ernesto Montemayor "Sonny" Ganaden is an American attorney and politician who has served as a member of the Hawaii House of Representatives' 30th district in 2020.
Ernesto Montemayor Ganaden[2] is a second generation Filipino American. Ganaden received his degree in Political Science and Public Policy from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).[3] In 2006, he received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa's William S. Richardson School of Law.[4]
As an attorney, Ganaden defended the rights of Native Hawaiian elders who were arrested for protesting the construction of the controversial Thirty Meter Telescope.[5] In 2013, Ganaden was the leader writer on the Native Hawaiian Justice Task Force Report,[6] which concluded that Native Hawaiians were disproportionately and unfairly overrepresented in Hawaiian prisons.[7] Ganaden has criticized the existence of private prisons and argued that in "communities where basic human needs are met, crime is rare".[8]
Ganaden was previously an instructor at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, teaching in the departments of American studies and ethnic studies.[9] Ganaden contributed an essay to Detours: A Decolonial Guide to Hawai’i, where he wrote about King Kamehameha I's impact on modern Hawaiian law.[10]
In 2018, Ganaden ran to represent District 30 in of the Hawaii House of Representatives, where he faced incumbent Romeo Munoz Cachola in the Democratic primary.[11] Cachola narrowly defeated Ganaden by a 51-vote margin.[12]
In 2020, Ganaden ran for the seat once again, defeating incumbent Cachola in the Democratic primary[13] and defeating Republican Tess Quillingking in the general election.[14] During the 2020 campaign, Ganaden spoke out against proposed austerity measures during the COVID-19 pandemic.[15]
In office, Ganaden has called for the United States Navy to be investigated for potentially misleading regulators about a fuel release into Pearl Harbor, which is part of Ganaden's district.[16] Ganaden is a member of the Progressive Legislative Caucus, a coalition of left-wing members of the Hawaii Legislature.[17]