Ron Menor, longtime Hawaii politician, dies at 67

Longtime Hawaii politician Ron Menor has died at age 67.

Gov. Josh Green confirmed Tuesday evening that Menor died Monday.

“Late this afternoon, we were informed by Pat Menor, wife of Ron Menor, that our dear friend and former colleague passed away suddenly on Monday from an unexpected medical emergency,” Green said Tuesday in a statement.

Menor served in the Honolulu City Council and the state Senate and House of Representatives. He served in the state Legislature from 1982 to 2008 and was a City Council member from 2013 to 2021.

Sherry Menor-McNamara, president and chief executive officer of the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii, said Menor will be “sorely missed” by many.

“My cousin, Ron, was truly dedicated to public service and wanted nothing more than to make Hawaii a better place to live. He inspired my pursuit of public office because of his unwavering passion for serving others,” Menor-McNamara said in a statement. “He was someone I looked up to since I was a little kid. He will be sorely missed by his family, friends and the many people he represented so well.”

Most recently, Menor ran in the 2022 election for the City Council’s District 8 seat. He and eventual winner Council member Val Oki­moto advanced to the general election after receiving 32.4% and 34%, respectively, of the cast votes in the August primary election. Menor lost in the November general election.

Menor’s focus during his last campaign were “quality of life” issues.

He wanted to fix the city’s infrastructure, including roadways and sidewalks, and promoted traffic and pedestrian safety. He was also a proponent of more affordable housing opportunities for residents.

In an October interview with the Honolulu Star-­Advertiser’s “Spotlight Hawaii” livestream program, he added that he wanted to fill in the vacancies in the Honolulu Police Department.

He said that as an experienced politician, he’d be able to “hit the ground running” to address these issues.

As a lawmaker he represented Mililani, Waipio, Wahiawa, Waipahu and Pearl City. In the Honolulu City Council he chaired a number of committees — including the Zoning, Planning and Housing Committee and the Executive Matters and Legal Affairs Committee — and at one point also was Council chair. He had even considered a Honolulu mayoral campaign in 2020.

“Jaime and I send our love to Patty and the Menor ohana,” Green said. “We remember fondly Ron’s passionate service to the people of Hawaii over the many years he served in the Legislature and on the Honolulu City Council.”

Menor was an attorney and a former deputy attorney general for the state. He graduated from Georgetown University Law Center; the University of California, Los Angeles; and ‘Iolani School.

Menor was born in Hilo. He was a member of a number of community organizations, many in the Mililani area, including the Mililani Lions Club, the National Federation of Filipino American Associations and the West Oahu YMCA board of directors.

He married Patricia Menor, a teacher at Helemano Elementary School, and had three sons.