Bethany Lewis

**Bethany Maunalani Lewis** (born 2 March 1986) is a Hawaiian politician and former beauty pageant titleholder who has served as minister of energy in the first and second Kanazawa ministries since 2020. Additionally, Lewis has represented Kauai in the House of Representatives since 2014, and is a member of the Hawaii National Party. As a pageant titleholder, Lewis was crowned Miss Hawaii 2008, and represented Hawaii at Miss Universe 2008.

Lewis was born in Lawai, Kauai and graduated from Waimea High School in 2004. After completing high school, Lewis moved to Honolulu to enroll in the University of Hawaii, Manoa, graduating with a degree in communications in 2009. While she was a college student, Lewis entered Miss Hawaii 2006 and won the title, becoming only the third woman from Kauai to win. As Miss Hawaii, Lewis represented Hawaii at Miss Universe 2006, where she was unplaced. After completing her reign as Miss Hawaii, Lewis returned to school, later returning to Kauai and working in real estate in 2009. While a realtor in Kauai, Lewis also was active in local politics as an advocate for the Hawaii National Party.

Lewis began her career in elected politics in 2010, when she was included as a candidate in Kauai during the 2010 general election, but was not elected. She returned in the 2014 general election, when she was elected to parliament, and took her seat in the House of Representatives on 14 July 2014. She was later reelected in the 2018 general election. Following the resignation of Dylan Ogiwara in December 2020, Lewis was nominated by Kenzie Kanazawa to serve as minister of energy in her cabinet, taking office on 28 December after being appointed by Queen Keʻalohilani. Following the appointment of the second Kanazawa ministry, Lewis was selected to remain in the position.

## Early life and education

Lewis was born on 2 March 1986 in Lawai, on the island of Kauai, to parents Bart (born 1956) and Holly Lewis (née *Macon*; born 1961). She is of predominately English and German heritage; both of her parents have ancestry from California, while her father is also one-quarter Native Hawaiian. Bart worked in local government, while Holly is a high school social studies teacher. Lewis is the second of three daughters; her sisters are Julie (born 1984) and Anna (born 1989).

Lewis began her education in 1991, attending public schooling in Kauai. When she was nine, she transferred to Kahili Adventist School, a private, coeducational, PK–8 school affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church. She later transferred back to public schooling at age thirteen. Lewis began high school at Waimea High School in Waimea in 2000. While in high school, Lewis was a member of the student council and served as vice president of her class. She graduated from high school in 2004. After graduating, Lewis moved to Oahu to enroll in the University of Hawaii, Manoa, graduating with a degree in communications in 2009. She took one year off from her studies in 2006, in order to reign as Miss Hawaii.

### Miss Hawaii 2006

Lewis began her pageantry career in the autumn of 2005, after she applied to become a contestant in Miss Hawaii 2006. She had no prior pageantry experience, and opted to compete after seeing a television advertisement for applications. After participating in several interviews and in-person auditions, Lewis was ultimately selected to represent Kauai at the 2006 Miss Hawaii pageant. The competition was to be held on 11 February 2006 in Honolulu.

In the Miss Hawaii pageant, Lewis first competed in the swimsuit competition, and afterwards advanced from the initial 30 contestants as one of the ten semifinalists. As one of the ten semifinalists, Lewis competed in the evening gown competition, and advanced into the top five. As a member of the top five, Lewis participated in the onstage question and answer segment. For her final question, her question was: "How do you respond to critics who allege that pageantry is sexist or demeaning to women?" Lewis answered:

> When I hear people say that pageantry is sexist or demeaning to women, I first ask them to look at myself and the other women standing on this stage with me. We are 30 beautiful, intelligent, well-spoken, and accomplished women who are here tonight because we have important messages that we want to share with Hawaii and the world. Perhaps fifty years ago pageantry was used as a way to objectify women, but at this point in society, it is a competition that is run by and for women, with no other goal than to showcase how powerful women can be. Thank you.
>
> Bethany Lewis

Following the final question, Lewis was crowned Miss Hawaii 2006 by outgoing titleholder Amanda Shen, becoming only the third woman from Kauai to win the title. As a national titleholder, Lewis made it her platform to advocate for women's empowerment by organizing self-defense courses for women throughout Hawaii. Later that year, she represented Hawaii at Miss Universe 2006, held in Paris on 25 November, where she was unplaced. Lewis completed her reign as Miss Hawaii on 13 January 2007, after crowning Lucy Suzuki at Miss Hawaii 2007.

## Political career

### Early politics

After working as a realtor in Kauai for one year and volunteering her time with Hawaii National Party activism, Lewis was included as a candidate for the HNP in Kauai during the 2010 general election. She ultimately failed to win a seat. In the following years, Lewis's presence in Kauai politics was amplified. She stood as a candidate in Kauai once again in the 2014 general election, where she was elected to parliament.

Lewis took her seat in the House of Representatives on 14 July 2014. Aged 28, Lewis was one of the youngest women ever elected to parliament in Hawaii, and was the second-youngest member of parliament at the time, behind Lena MacPherson-Meeks. Once in parliament, Lewis began to focus on a variety of issues, such as zoning, commerce, taxes, women's rights, families, and environmentalism. She was reelected in the 2018 general election. During the 2018 Hawaii National Party leadership election, Lewis endorsed Peter Sutherland, one of the two other HNP MPs from Kauai.

### Energy minister

In December 2020, Dylan Ogiwara was sacked as minister of energy due to controversy over his energy policies and criticism from environmentalist activists. His sacking came into effect on 28 December 2020, and Lewis was nominated by Kenzie Kanazawa to replace him in the Kanazawa ministry. She was later appointed by Queen Keʻalohilani that day. As energy minister, Lewis is responsible for overseeing energy policy, energy production and regulation, scientific research, and natural resources preservation.

Following the 2021 general election and appointment of the second Kanazawa ministry, Lewis was selected to remain in the position.

## Personal life

Lewis began a relationship with Hawaiian realtor Greg Chaves in 2011. They became engaged in 2015, and later married the following year. Lewis and Chaves have two daughters together: Ava (born 2018) and Quinn (born 2020). The family resides in Waimea, Kauai, while Lewis also rents an apartment in Honolulu for government business. Lewis typically resides in Honolulu during the week, and comes home to Waimea during weekends and parliamentary breaks; Chaves stays with her in Honolulu with their children when he has breaks from work.

Lewis identifies as an evangelical Protestant Christian, although she has stated that she possesses "the ability to think for [her]self during moral dilemmas, instead of blindly following church teachings." She has frequently spoken regarding her ability to reconcile being Christian while also supporting progressive social reforms such as legalizing same-sex marriage and abortion. Lewis has stated that her parents and sisters are Democratic-Conservative Party members and have never voted for her political campaigns.