William P. Kenoi (November 9, 1968 – January 26, 2021) was an American politician who served as
Mayor of Hawaii County
The Mayor of Hawaii is the chief executive officer of the County of Hawaii in the state of Hawaii. The mayor has municipal jurisdiction over the Big Island of Hawaii. The current mayor is Mitch Roth.State House and
State Senate
A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...
, a
law clerk
A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person, generally someone who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial clerks often play significant ...
, a deputy
public defender
A public defender is a lawyer appointed to represent people who otherwise cannot reasonably afford to hire a lawyer to defend themselves in a trial. Several countries provide people with public defenders, including the UK, Hungary and Singapore, ...
, and an Executive Assistant to then-mayor Harry Kim.
Waiakea High School
Waiākea High School is a public, co-educational secondary school in Hilo, Hawaii. The school's mascot is the Warrior. It is part of the Hawaii State Department of Education. The school graduated its first class in 1980, and has about 1300 studen ...
. Kenoi attended both
Hawaii Community College
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...
and
University of Hawaii at Hilo
A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...
, but then transferred to
University of Massachusetts Amherst
The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, it ...
in 1990, and graduated in 1993. Kenoi had transferred through the
National Student Exchange
The National Student Exchange (NSE) is a member-based, not-for-profit consortium of accredited colleges and universities in the United States, Canada, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands that provides study away opportunities among its m ...
program, and later became the NSE's President in his first year there.
In 1992, Kenoi worked as an intern to Senator Daniel K. Inouye, during which time Kenoi attended the
Democratic National Convention
The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
.
Career
Upon graduating, Kenoi worked as a Legislative Aide to State Representative Les Ihara, Jr. during the 1993 Legislative Session. He then occupied the same position in the State Senate during the 1995 and 1996 sessions. After graduating from the
William S. Richardson School of Law
The William S. Richardson School of Law is the professional graduate law school of the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Located in Honolulu, Hawaii, the school is named after its patriarch, former Hawaii State Supreme Court Chief Justice William S. ...
at
UH Manoa
Uh or UH may refer to: Education
* United Hospitals, medical schools in London, UK
* University of Hartford
* University of Hasselt
* University of Havana
* University of Hawai'i system
** University of Hawai'i at Manoa, its flagship university
* U ...
in 1996, Kenoi passed the
bar exam
A bar examination is an examination administered by the bar association of a jurisdiction that a lawyer must pass in order to be admitted to the bar of that jurisdiction.
Australia
Administering bar exams is the responsibility of the bar associa ...
on his first attempt and then served as a clerk for Judge Richard K. Perkins of the Eighth Division of the First Circuit. Kenoi then worked as a Deputy Public Defender, where he served in the Appellate, Family Court, Juvenile Criminal and Adult Family Court divisions, before finishing his career at the Public Defender’s Office at the Circuit Court.
Beginning in 2001, Kenoi served as an Executive Assistant to Hawaii mayor Harry Kim, where he worked to address issues including
crystal methamphetamine
Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug and less commonly as a second-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obesity. Metham ...
use, as well as homelessness and housing. He was a member of the Pacific Century Fellows class of 2003. Ige was a member of the inaugural 1997 class of the
Pacific Century Fellows
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
.
Mayor of Hawaii County (2008–2016)
Kenoi ran for mayor in 2008. Though
Lorraine Inouye
Lorraine Rodero Inouye (born June 22, 1940) is an American politician from the state of Hawaii. A member of the Democratic Party, she serves in the Hawaii State Senate, representing District 4. She is of no relation to prominent U.S. senator from ...
initially led in the
opinion poll
An opinion poll, often simply referred to as a survey or a poll (although strictly a poll is an actual election) is a human research survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions ...
s, Kenoi advanced to the general election against Angel Pilago. On November 4, 2008, Kenoi defeated Pilago by a margin of 55.6%–40.9%. At 39, Kenoi became one of the youngest mayors in Big Island history.
Kenoi was re-elected mayor on November 6, 2012, narrowly defeating former mayor Harry Kim, 49.8%–47.6% – a margin of 1,438 votes. Kenoi received praise for his efforts to unite the population of the county during his term as mayor. He spent much time in
Hilo
Hilo () is a census-designated place (CDP) and the largest settlement in Hawaii County, Hawaii, Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States, which encompasses the Hawaii (island), Island of Hawaii. The population was 44,186 according to the 2020 United ...
and worked to meet the needs of the county's rural community.
On November 1, 2016, Kenoi was found not guilty by a Hawaii Island jury on all charges related to his alleged misuse of a purchasing card issued by Hawaii County. He afterwards apologised for the scandal.
Kenoi reached his term limit after two terms, leaving office in December 2016.
Illness and death
Kenoi revealed in March 2018 that he was diagnosed with
myelofibrosis
Primary myelofibrosis (PMF) is a rare bone marrow blood cancer. It is classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a type of myeloproliferative neoplasm, a group of cancers in which there is growth of abnormal cells in the bone marrow. ...
, a
bone marrow
Bone marrow is a semi-solid tissue found within the spongy (also known as cancellous) portions of bones. In birds and mammals, bone marrow is the primary site of new blood cell production (or haematopoiesis). It is composed of hematopoietic ce ...
blood cancer
Tumors of the hematopoietic and lymphoid tissues (American English) or tumours of the haematopoietic and lymphoid tissues (British English) are tumors that affect the blood, bone marrow, lymph, and lymphatic system. Because these tissues are all ...
, in 2015 while serving his second term as mayor. The cancer began to accelerate in March 2017 and the former mayor underwent blood transfusions. Later that year, he underwent a bone marrow transplant in California, which involved chemotherapy and months of rehabilitation. He returned home in October 2017 and began feeling better until March 2018, when he reported feeling lethargic. After flying back to California, he was told his cancer had become more aggressive and that he would have only a month to live without aggressive chemotherapy.Former Big Island mayor Billy Kenoi battling life-threatening cancer /ref>
Kenoi died on January 26, 2021, at the age of 52.Billy Kenoi, former Hawaii County mayor, has died after lengthy battle with cancer /ref>