He served as a legislator during the last years of the Legislature of the Kingdom of Hawaii and became a member of the Hui Aloha ʻĀina (Hawaiian Patriotic League), founded after the overthrow of the monarchy to protest attempts of annexation to the United States.

He married Mary Nahakuelua (1832–1922) on Niihau in March 1867, and settled in Honolulu on the island of Oahu after the marriage.

[4][5] In July 1891, Pua with other legislators and dignitaries accompanied the queen on her customary royal tour of the island of Kauai.

[8] This session was characterized by a series of resolutions of want of confidence ousting a number of Queen Liliʻuokalani's appointed cabinet ministers, debates over the passage of the controversial lottery and opium bills and also attempts to replace the unpopular Bayonet Constitution by means of a constitutional convention.

During this period, the de facto government, which was composed largely of residents of American and European ancestry, sought to annex the islands to the United States against the wish of the Native Hawaiians who wanted to remain an independent nation and for the monarchy to continue.