Oshiro was first elected to the House in 2000 and took office the following January. He subsequently won re-election at two-year intervals. Oshiro came out as
gay in 2010 during the debate over
Hawaii House Bill 444, which granted
civil union rights to
same-sex couples in Hawaii. He was the main author of the bill. He subsequently faced a socially conservative primary challenger in his 2010 race for reelection, Honolulu City Councilman Gary Okino. Oshiro defeated Okino by 56 percent to 44%. In the general election held on November 2, 2010, Oshiro was reelected over Republican opponent
Sam Satoru Kong by a margin of 54.5% to 45.5%. In November 2011, Oshiro announced that he would resign from the legislature in order to become Neil Abercrombie's deputy chief of staff. His resignation became effective December 7, 2011. Per Hawaii law, Governor Abercrombie had to select Oshiro's successor as state representative from the 33rd district. He chose former state representative and majority leader Tom Okamura, who Oshiro had succeeded in January 2001. Due to poor health, Okamura had to resign just weeks after accepting the appointment. Abercrombie appointed
Heather Giugni, a Native Hawaiian filmmaker, to the seat in February 2012. After Abercrombie left office at the end of 2014, Oshiro returned to the private sector as a lawyer with Honolulu law firm Alston Hunt Floyd. In December 2022, after serving on Governor
Josh Green's transition team, Oshiro was appointed as Green's senior advisor. He now works for Capitol Consultants of Hawaii, the state's largest lobbying firm. == References ==