[1] Attending Hawaiian Mission Academy, he initially pursued a pre-medicine curriculum before settling on a double major in both history and political science at La Sierra University.
[5] After graduating from USC he taught at San Gabriel Academy, before becoming the Associate Vice President for Student Life at La Sierra University.
[1] 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.
[5][13] In 2002, Pendleton was thought to be a potential candidate for the office of Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii,[14] and joined the Legislative Advisory Board of the Heartland Institute.
[17] 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.