Lena MacPherson-Meeks

**Lena Louise MacPherson-Meeks** (born 15 June 1987) is a Hawaiian politician who has served as deputy chairperson of the Democratic-Conservative Party since 2015 and as a member of the House of Representatives for Oahu since 2014. A member of the fourth-generation of the political MacPherson family, MacPherson-Meeks is the daughter of Abigail MacPherson, sister of Louis MacPherson-Meeks, and great-granddaughter of Michael MacPherson and Louise MacPherson.

Born in Honolulu to Abigail MacPherson and her husband John Meeks, MacPherson-Meeks attended school at La Pietra, graduating in 2005. After graduating, she received a bachelor's degree in political science from Yale University in 2009. MacPherson-Meeks then received a Rhodes Scholarship to study at The Queen's College of the University of Oxford in England, receiving a master's degree in international political economy in 2011. After completing her education, MacPherson-Meeks returned to Hawaii and began working as a conservative commentator and activist. She launched her own web series *The MacPherson Report*, where she commented on political issues within Hawaii and advocated for conservative policies. The web series also featured notable conservative figures within Hawaii as guests, including members of her family.

MacPherson-Meeks entered elected politics in 2014, when she was elected to the House of Representatives for the Democratic-Conservative Party in the 2014 general election. Following her election, MacPherson-Meeks made a number of highly publicized comments which were categorized as racist and xenophobic, although she refused to apologize for the comments and stated that she stood by them. In 2015, MacPherson-Meeks was appointed, along with her brother, as deputy chairpeople for the Democratic-Conservative Party by party chairperson John Unglert.

Ideologically, MacPherson-Meeks has been placed on the right-wing of the political spectrum, and has been identified as a national conservative, nationalist, and right-wing populist. She believes that immigration is the primary barrier to progress in Hawaii, and has advocated for a complete ban on immigrants arriving in Hawaii from Asia, which she has called an "epidemic." Her comments on immigration and specifically Asian immigrants from countries like China and the Philippines have garnered controversy, and she has been labeled as both racist and xenophobic by critics, although she denies these accusations. Despite her status as a controversial figure, she has also been noted as one of the most powerful women in Hawaiian politics, and some have theorized her as being potentially a future party chairperson or prime minister.

## Family background

The MacPherson lineage can be tracked back to Robert MacPherson (Scottish Gaelic: *Raibeart Mac a' Phearsain*), who was born in Elgin, Scotland in 1585, and worked as a fisherman. The family remained in the Scottish Highlands for the ensuing two centuries, before Robert's seventh-great-grandson David MacPherson (Scottish Gaelic: *Daibhidh Mac a' Phearsain*) emigrated from Elgin to British America with his family in 1734. After arriving in the continent, the family settled in the Province of North Carolina, in the city of Fayetteville. Like many other Scottish Highlanders in the Americas, the family stayed within Scottish communities in the Americas. In the 1850s, the family migrated westward amidst the California Gold Rush, where they ultimately settled in the newly established town of Weaverville. After Hawaii came until Californian control in the 1890s, the family left to settle in the region, becoming some of the earliest Californian settlers in Hawaii.

Through her great-grandmother Louise MacPherson (née *Clarkson*), MacPherson-Meeks is descended from the early English settlers in the northeastern United States. Her Clarkson ancestry can be traced back to George Clarkson, born in Warwickshire, England in 1623, who left England for Massachusetts in 1640, aged 17. After arriving in Massachusetts, he settled in Boston and began working as a cooper. His eldest son John Clarkson, born in 1647, went on to become a highly educated lawyer and magistrate in colonial New England, earning the family wealth and prestige. Subsequent generations of the family went on to achieve similar levels of wealth and prestige in New England high society, including several generations of Ivy League graduates. In 1905, Louise's parents relocated to Hawaii in order to expand their business ventures, where she was eventually born and raised.

On her paternal side, MacPherson-Meeks's ancestry originates from England, France, and Germany. Her English ancestry can be traced back to Martin Meeks, born in Gloucestershire in 1734, who later immigrated to British America in the 1750s, settling in the Colony of Virginia. Her Franco-German ancestry originates in the city of Strasbourg in Alsace, a territory that has been passed between France and Germany several times throughout history. In the 1880s, her great-great grandparents Wilhelm and Gisela Schütz, left Strasbourg for North America, settling in New York City at first, before leaving for Indiana in 1898. Their daughter Maria Schutz Friedrich, born in 1903 in Indiana, later moved to Hawaii with her husband Heinrich Friedrich, also from Strasbourg, in 1924.

## Early life and education

MacPherson-Meeks was born on 15 June 1987 in Honolulu to parents John Meeks (born 1958) and Abigail MacPherson (born 1961). John worked in advertising, while Abigail is a politician and member of the MacPherson family in Hawaiian politics. Abigail is the eldest child of Robert MacPherson (born 1938), who is the eldest child of Michael (1916–1978) and Louise MacPherson (née *Clarkson*; 1916–2015), two former prime ministers of Hawaii. While her mother and great-grandparents are all public figures in Hawaii who have been involved in politics, her grandfather remained out of the public eye for most of his life and never pursued politics; this has led some to mistakenly identify Abigail as the daughter of Michael and Louise MacPherson, and Lena as their granddaughter.

MacPherson-Meeks was raised in an affluent family. At the time of her birth, the family resided in Washington Place in Honolulu, the traditional residence of the Hawaiian prime minister; Louise was serving as prime minister at the time, and Abigail had opted to reside in the prime ministerial residence since the death of Michael in 1978. After her great-grandmother retired from politics in 1988, MacPherson-Meeks and her family began residing in the Kahala neighborhood of Honolulu in a six-bedroom estate that is currently valued at $7.6 million. She is the younger of two children; her elder brother is Louis MacPherson-Meeks (born 1984), who is also a Hawaiian politician and public figure.

### Education

MacPherson-Meeks began her education in 1992, attending Punahou School, a private, coeducational, K–12 school in Honolulu. When she was 12, she transferred to La Pietra, a private, all-girls, 6–12 school, as her family believed that she would better excel in an all-female community. While in school, MacPherson-Meeks was not political but displayed some left-wing viewpoints, which MacPherson-Meeks went on to describe as "youth rebellion." She began high school at La Pietra in 2001, where she was an honors student who was a member of the swimming and diving team. MacPherson-Meeks has reported being bullied in school due to her family's position within Hawaiian politics. She ultimately graduated in 2005.

After graduating from high school, MacPherson-Meeks moved to New Haven in New Anglia to enroll as an international student at Yale University. While at Yale, MacPherson-Meeks was a member of Davenport College and joined the Kappa Alpha Theta (ΚΑΘ) sorority. During her senior year, she was elected to serve as chapter president of her sorority, and has continued to remain active in her national sorority even after graduating. MacPherson-Meeks went on to graduate with a degree in political science in 2009. After graduating, she received a Rhodes Scholarship to study at The Queen's College of the University of Oxford in England, receiving a master's degree in international political economy in 2011.

## Political career

### *The MacPherson Report*

After graduating with her master's degree in 2011, MacPherson-Meeks returned to Hawaii. At first, she was hired by the Democratic-Conservative Party as a policy consultant, but she later left the position within six months. In February 2012, she launched *The MacPherson Report*, a daily political web series hosted by MacPherson-Meeks. The series aired through Facebook and YouTube, and featured MacPherson-Meeks discussing current political issues and debates in Hawaiian politics. The show frequently invited guests to be interviewed by MacPherson-Meeks, including conservative politicians and other members of the MacPherson family.

By the summer of 2012, *The MacPherson Report* was receiving about 70,000 views per daily episode, with the Hawaiian media dubbing it "the official mouthpiece of the DCP." MacPherson-Meeks was also criticized for spreading misinformation and propaganda about a variety of political issues, mainly to further conservative viewpoints. Due to the web series and MacPherson-Meeks's presence on various social media platforms, by 2013, she was ranked as the most visible and recognizable member of the Democratic-Conservative Party by Hawaiian voters, more than any elected official for the party and the party chairperson John Unglert. In June 2014, she announced that she would be suspending the web series in order to enter elected politics on her own.

### Parliamentary career

MacPherson-Meeks began her career in elected politics in 2014, when she was included on the Oahu party list for the Democratic-Conservative Party in the 2014 general election. The announcement that MacPherson-Meeks would be included on the party list along with her brother Louis MacPherson-Meeks was controversial, with many critics alleging that they were inexperienced and solely received their spots on the list due to nepotism. Both John Unglert and their mother Abigail MacPherson denounced the critics, stating that they were both "highly qualified" and that criticism only emerged because of their political beliefs. MacPherson-Meeks was ultimately elected to parliament, and took her seat on 14 July 2014.

After becoming a member of parliament, MacPherson-Meeks received the title Baby of the House, being the youngest sitting member of parliament, aged 27. She additionally became the youngest woman ever elected to parliament in Hawaiian history. She focused her legislating primarily on issues regarding national security and immigration, leading to commentators stating that she would be a likely choice for minister of the interior should the DCP return to the government.

In January 2015, MacPherson-Meeks was appointed by Unglert to serve as deputy party chairperson along with her brother, joining the office that was already held by her mother. Party rules state that the party leader may appoint any number of deputy chairpeople they desire, with no need for these deputy positions to be elected. The decision was controversial, with critics stating that the MacPherson family was attempting to recreate a MacPherson monopoly over the party as it was in the 1970s and 1980s.

## Controversies

### Racism and xenophobia

MacPherson-Meeks has been accused of racism and xenophobia on numerous occasions, primarily due to her various comments regarding immigrants, primarily those from Asian countries such as China and the Philippines.

In a 2012 segment of *The MacPherson Report* about Filipino immigration to Hawaii, MacPherson-Meeks compared Filipino immigrants to "cockroaches." She stated: "These people are like cockroaches. When you find a cockroach, you try to kill it, but it's never dead. It's the same thing with these people. We pass immigration reform bills, but they're still here." The comment was instantly criticized for being racist, xenophobic, and potentially dangerous to Filipino-Hawaiians. MacPherson-Meeks later clarified her statement by saying she "never meant to incite hatred or violence against Filipinos," but that her point "was valid."

During her maiden speech in the House of Representatives in 2014, MacPherson-Meeks stated that her primary goal in parliament was to "find a solution to the immigration problem, and repel these people back to where they came from," adding that they should "go back to Beijing, back to Manila, back to Chingchong [sic], and fix their own countries before ruining ours." When the comment was criticized as being racist, especially for MacPherson-Meeks using the name of Chinese city that does not exist using stereotypically Chinese sounds, MacPherson-Meeks clarified that the comment was meant to be a critique of "the corrupt authoritarian governments of China and the Philippines."

MacPherson-Meeks has made numerous other comments considered to be racist or xenophobic throughout her career. In 2018, she countered the allegations by stating they were part of a "political smear campaign" meant to discredit her policies and ignore the "obvious faults with our open-door policy towards Asian immigrants."

### Transphobia

In 2018, during a debate in parliament regarding transgender rights, MacPherson-Meeks was accused of transphobia after publishing a statement that repeatedly referred to transgender individuals as "transvestites" or "transexuals," both terms being considered archaic or offensive, in addition to calling their requests for equal rights "a ridiculous showing of liberal pleas for a godless society." After receiving backlash for the statement, MacPherson-Meeks responded by stating she had "no apologies" and that transgender rights were an issue she would "not compromise on."

During a 2019 parliamentary debate, MacPherson-Meeks repeatedly referred to openly male-to-female transgender politician Asia Cho using masculine pronouns, and at one point referred to her as "Mr. Cho." Her comments led to an official censure from Speaker Cristine Hyodo Larson, which restricted her right to participate for the remainder of the debate. She was later called a "transphobic shit of a person" by Green Party chairperson Ann Johnson, in addition to being criticized by Kenzie Kanazawa and Cho herself.

## Personal life

### Relationships and family

Being a public figure since her young adulthood, MacPherson-Meeks's romantic relationships have been subjected to media attention and public scrutiny. In 2012, she was in a relationship with former *The Bachelorette Hawaii* runner-up Chase Jenner. The couple became engaged in May 2014, although their engagement was called off two months afterwards when Jenner was reportedly unfaithful.

MacPherson-Meeks began a relationship with former *Big Brother Hawaii* contestant Ethan Peterson in June 2015. They became engaged in January 2017, and later married in April 2018. Following their marriage, Peterson revealed that he would legally change his name to Ethan MacPherson-Meeks, citing his "immense respect" for MacPherson-Meeks's family and Louise MacPherson. Peterson's Instagram post which included his announcement was met with ridicule from social media users.

MacPherson-Meeks and Peterson own three homes; their primary residence in Honolulu, a beach house in Kauai, and an apartment in New York City. Their total real estate acquisitions amount to $12.5 million. They have one child together: Louisa (born 2021).

### Religion

MacPherson-Meeks is a Christian, and has identified herself as one on numerous times throughout her career. Her mother was raised as an evangelical Protestant Christian, while her father was raised as an Episcopalian. Following their marriage, her father converted to evangelical Protestant Christianity, and MacPherson-Meeks was raised within the religion. MacPherson-Meeks's great-grandfather Michael MacPherson had been a born-again Christian, which influenced the family's religious beliefs immensely.

In a 2014 interview, MacPherson-Meeks stated that her religious beliefs were a "major force" in shaping her religious beliefs, such as her opposition to social reforms such as the legalization of same-sex marriage, abortion, and marijuana usage, which she views as "anti-Christian." In 2016, MacPherson-Meeks confirmed that she had not always been religious, and at a time in her youth did not "follow religious teachings closely." She became "reacquainted" with religion around the age of 22, when she began attending church and allowing her religious beliefs to shape her outlooks on life.