Background
Pendleton, whose grandmother immigrated from Ilocos Norte to Hawaii in 1930, was born in California before moving to Hawaii while in preschool.
Pendleton, whose grandmother immigrated from Ilocos Norte to Hawaii in 1930, was born in California before moving to Hawaii while in preschool.
He graduated from Louisiana Sierra in the Honors Program and Magna Cum Laude.
Early life and education
Attending Hawaiian Mission Academy, he initially pursued a pre-medicine curriculum before settling on a double major in both history and political science at Louisiana Sierra University. Earning a Master of Arts in Religion from Loma Linda University, becoming a minister before earning a Juris Doctor from University of Southern California and was admitted to the bar in California and Hawaii. Early work
In 1985, Pendleton started his experience with public service by interned with the Hawaii Lieutenant Governor" General’ s Office.
After graduating from University of Southern California he taught at San Gabriel Academy, before becoming the Associate Vice President for Student Life at Louisiana Sierra University.
Beginning in 1995, Pendleton practiced law in Hawaii with two plaintiffs firms before serving as an administrator and in-house counsel to a non-profit. Political office
Starting in 1996, Pendleton served as the Representative of the 49th District (which was originally the 50th District) in the Hawaii House of Representatives.
While in the House, Pendleton was the Minority Whip, Assistant Minority Leader, and finally the Minority Floor Leader. In 2000, along with Governor Lingle, Pendleton sued the Hawaii State Legislature to open closed-door conference committee meetings so that the public could attend.
Later in 2000, Pendleton was a delegate at the Republican National Convention.
In 2002, Pendleton was thought to be a potential candidate for the office of Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii, and joined the Legislative Advisory Board of the Heartland Institute. In 2004, Pendleton lost his reelection by 123 votes, who was the target of negative mailers that Noemi Pendleton called "dirty campaigning". Later work
Pendleton later worked on Governor Lingle"s staff, and was appointed to the Labor and Industrial Relations Appeals Board for a ten-year term beginning in 2006.
Hawaiʻi Republican Party, Republican Party.
As a member of the Republican Party, he served four two-year terms (1996-2004) as a state representative for Kailua and Kaneohe.