Josh Green (politician)
Joshua B. Green (born February 11, 1970) is an American politician and physician serving as the 14th Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii since 2018. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the Hawaii State Senator from the 3rd district from 2009 to 2018 and Hawaii State Representative for the 6th district from 2005 to 2009. Early life and education. Born in Kingston, New York, Green was raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Green earned his bachelor's degree from Swarthmore College and his MD from Pennsylvania State University. Career. Green was elected to the Hawaii State House of Representatives  on November 2, 2004, and served two terms before being elected to the Hawaii State Senate in 2008, where he chaired the Committees on Health and Human Services and served as the Majority Floor Leader. Green championed the initiative to create an insurance mandate for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, and the legislation known as "Luke's Law" went into effect on January 1, 2016. In 2018, he fought to establish a legal safeguard so that parents with disabilities would no longer have their children taken away from them because of their disabilities. He also led the charge in raising  the legal age to obtain tobacco products and electronic cigarettes from 18 to 21, making Hawaii the first state to do so. In addition to his work in the State Legislature, Green is also an emergency department physician at Kohala Hospital on Hawaii Island. Green won the Democratic primary as his party's nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii and was the running mate of incumbent Democratic Governor David Ige. They both won the general election on November 6, 2018. Ige tasked Green with addressing the chronic homeless crisis in Hawaii, calling on him to use his background as a  physician to address the complex issues such as mental illness and addiction which affect the homeless at high rates in Hawaii. On March 3, 2020, Ige appointed Green as the administration’s liaison between the state and healthcare community as it pertains to COVID-19 preparedness and response. On September 11, 2020, Josh Green was diagnosed with COVID-19. He subsequently quarantined himself at home apart from his family for two weeks. A poll conducted in April 2021 by Hawaii News Now found that Green had a 63% approval rating with only 17% of voters disapproving of his work as Lieutenant Governor , while Governor Ige held an approval rating of just 22%. Such a difference between the approval rating of a Governor and their Lieutenant Governor is highly unusual. Some analysts attributed this gap to Green's visibility throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and background as an emergency room doctor. Personal life. Green is Jewish. In 2006 Green married Jaime Ushiroda. They have two children, Maia and Sam. Green came to Hawaii to serve in the National Health Service Corps as a physician for the Big Island. He has remained a physician in Hawaii’s rural emergency departments while serving in public office