Corie Tanida named as New Common Cause Hawaii Executive Director

Honolulu, HI – Corie Tanida, who over the last three years has led a series of successful civic engagement campaigns for Common Cause, today was named Executive Director of Common Cause Hawaii. “We’re delighted that Corie is ready to take the helm and eager to build on the good work done by Carmille Lim and our state board in leading Common Cause Hawaii,” said Jenny Flanagan, Common Cause’s vice president for state operations.

“Her leadership on the annual “Mark Yes” campaign encouraging public support for Hawaii’s Publicly Funded Elections Program and her tireless and successful advocacy persuading the legislature and every county in Hawaii to pass resolutions calling for Citizens United to be overturned have been outstanding. She’s also conducted important research on state agencies’ compliance with Sunshine Laws and organized community events such as the Public House community discussion series and film screenings of Inequality for All and Pay 2 Play. Tanida joined Common Cause Hawaii in May 2013, serving as project coordinator; she was promoted to senior organizer in January 2015.

A graduate of the University of Evansville, where she studied political science, Tanida returned to Hawaii and worked on statewide political campaigns and for the state legislature before coming to Common Cause.

“I am very honored and humbled to be selected to lead Common Cause Hawaii,” said Tanida. “While Common Cause has been successful in advocating for good government reforms in Hawaii, such as online voter registration, election day voter registration, and closing campaign finance and ethics disclosure loopholes, there’s still much to be done. I look forward to continuing to advocate for more reforms such as Vote-By-Mail, Automatic Voter Registration, and ensuring the sustainability of our Publicly Funded Elections Program and Campaign Spending Commission.”

Carmille Lim left Common Cause in July to pursue graduate studies at the University of Michigan.