Kenneth Daniel Gallegos Miyagishima (born May 15, 1963) is an American businessman and politician serving as the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

Las Cruces, New Mexico Las Cruces (; "the crosses") is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New Mexico and the seat of Doña Ana County. As of the 2020 census the population was 111,385. Las Cruces is the largest city in both Doña Ana County and southern Ne ...

. Miyagishima took office in 2007.

Early life and education

Miyagishima was born in

Biloxi, Mississippi Biloxi ( ; ) is a city in and one of two county seats of Harrison County, Mississippi, United States (the other being the adjacent city of Gulfport). The 2010 United States Census recorded the population as 44,054 and in 2019 the estimated popu ...

. He is of both Mexican and

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

descent. He has lived in

since 1971. He attended public schools and in 1985 graduated from

New Mexico State University New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public land-grant research university based primarily in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest public institution of higher education in New Mexico and one of the state's ...

with degrees in finance and real estate.

Career

In 1984, Miyagishima began his insurance and financial services business while still in college. In 1992, he became New Mexico's first American of Japanese descent to be elected to public office. From 1998 through 2000, he was voted "Best County Commissioner" in a local newspaper readers' poll. In 2002, he received the Commander's Award for Public Service from the

United States Department of the Army The United States Department of the Army (DA) is one of the three military departments within the Department of Defense of the U.S. The Department of the Army is the federal government agency within which the United States Army (U.S.) is or ...

. Miyagishima won re-election to the city council in 2005. Miyagishima is the first American of Japanese and Mexican descent to be elected mayor of Las Cruces. He is also the second person in Doña Ana County to have been elected both chairman of the Doña Ana County Commission and mayor of Las Cruces. In August 2013, Miyagishima unsuccessfully applied to become

Doña Ana County Don (; ; pt, Dom, links=no ; all from Latin ', roughly 'Lord'), abbreviated as D., is an honorific prefix primarily used in Spain and Hispanic America, and with different connotations also in Italy, Portugal and its former colonies, and Croatia ...

Manager. In 2019, Miyagishima was re-elected to his fourth term as mayor of Las Cruces. In the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Miyagishima was one of several mayors to pledge support for Michael Bloomberg. After Bloomberg dropped out of the race, Miyagishima endorsed Joe Biden.

Personal life

Ken is married to Rosario Miyagishima (née Rodriguez), and they have four children.

References

External links

Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce Forum October 2, 2007
speech on YouTube
Obama likely to roll through New Mexico ahead of Super Tuesday
''The New Mexican'', January 27, 2008, endorsement of Barack Obama 1963 births Living people Mayors of Las Cruces, New Mexico American mayors of Japanese descent American politicians of Japanese descent American politicians of Mexican descent Hispanic and Latino American mayors County commissioners in New Mexico New Mexico Democrats People from Biloxi, Mississippi People from Las Cruces, New Mexico People from Doña Ana County, New Mexico New Mexico State University alumni Hispanic and Latino American people in New Mexico politics Asian-American city council members New Mexico city council members {{NewMexico-mayor-stub