Is Rod Tam returning to politics?

The former legislator and Council member says a lot of people have been asking if he’ll run for office again.

Tam said he is not ready to announce anything formal but that a decision could come in a few months.

Tam spent 12 years in the Hawaii House of Representatives, eight in the state Senate and eight at Honolulu Hale.

An outspoken and controversial figure, he spent two nights in jail in late 2011 and early 2012 for stealing city funds and violating campaign spending laws.

He also was ordered to perform more than 300 hours of community service.

As Civil Beat reported at the time, if Tam stayed out of further trouble for a year his record could be wiped clean.

Tam says he has kept busy taking care of his parents, doing consulting work and building contacts in Asia. If he does run, education and the economy would be top priorities.

Tam did not say which Senate seat he would seek, but in the past he has represented downtown Honolulu, Nuuanu, Liliha, Pauoa, Alewa Heights, Papakolea and Kalihi.

Suzanne Chun Oakland currently represents some of those same neighborhoods in the Senate.