Young was first elected to the Hawaii House of Representatives's 20th District in 1990 as a Democrat, with 54.02% of the vote to 45.98% for Republican nominee Eve Glover Anderson (incumbent Campbell Cavasso, initially a candidate,[1] did not run).
In 1994, instead of seeking re-election, she sought the Democratic nomination for Lieutenant Governor, losing to fellow Representative Mazie Hirono, who pulled 65.24% of the vote; Young's 26.29% was second, in a six-way race.
She was the unsuccessful Democratic nominee for Hawaii State Senate's 25th District in 1996 (losing by 187 votes to Republican incumbent Whitney T. Anderson), and again in 2002.
She was appointed to the Hawaii Judicial Selection Commission in 2013 by Senate President Donna Mercado Kim, and served four years as Vice-Chair.
Young died at St. Francis Hospice, in Honolulu, Hawaii, after suffering a severe stroke.