Brenton Awa

Awa began his career in television news with a seven month long unpaid internship for KGMB9 News in January 2009. Awa was the CBS station's last intern prior to its merger with then NBC affiliate KHNL. Following the CBS/NBC merger, Awa landed his first paid role in television news as an associate producer, making $12 an hour. Awa went on to be promoted to video-journalist.^{[citation needed]}

In 2015, ABC affiliate KITV^[13] hired Awa as a reporter. Three years later, the station promoted Awa to morning anchor,^[14] followed by another promotion to evening anchor a year later. Awa was fired from KITV in July 2021 after allegedly "punching a newsroom door in frustration over what he said were orders to ignore fundamental journalism ethics."^[15] Awa sued the station over his firing.^[15] He then worked as a substitute teacher at Kahuku High School.^[16]

Awa was first elected to the Hawaii Senate in November 2022.^[7][17] On November 5, 2024, voters re-elected Awa to a four-year term in the Hawaii Senate.^[18] Leading up to the 2024 election, Awa notably pledged not to campaign or accept donations, in contrast to both his opponents.^[19]

In his first term, Awa promoted policies to prevent foreigners from purchasing land in Hawaii in an effort to keep local residents from being "priced out of paradise."^{[20][21][22][23][24]}

Awa brought the State and U.S. Army together to fix a decades-long water leak on Oahu's North Shore that had been causing a loss of more than one-million gallons of freshwater per month.^[25]

Awa established a first-of-its-kind, side-of-the-road public food tree project in his hometown of Kahalu'u by planting 70 ulu and mountain apple trees to feed the community.^[26][27] He would later plant a similar project in Haleʻiwa to restore the area's decimated coconut tree population.^[28]

In May 2023, after a call from producers of American Idol, and with a week's notice, Awa organized a team and hosted a homecoming concert attended by an estimated 12,000 fans of former Kahuku resident Iam Tongi, who went on to become Hawaii's first American Idol.^[29][30]

On March 8th 2023, during a virtual Kahaluu Neighborhood Board meeting, Awa said that a respected Hawaiian leader “would have been hung” for criticizing him. Awa has said he has no intention to apologize. ^[31]