Harry Kim (born 1939) is an American politician who was the

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.Korean-American Korean Americans are Americans of Korean ancestry (mostly from South Korea). In 2015, the Korean-American community constituted about 0.56% of the United States population, or about 1.82 million people, and was the fifth-largest Asian Americans ...

immigrants, the youngest of eight children. He was raised in ‘Ola‘a in what was then the

Territory of Hawaii The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory ( Hawaiian: ''Panalāʻau o Hawaiʻi'') was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from April 30, 1900, until August 21, 1959, when most of its territory, excluding ...

(now

Keaau, Hawaii Keaau (also written as Keaau) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Hawaii County, Hawaii. located in the District of Puna. The population was 1,195 at the time of the 2020 census. The population decreased by 12.1% from 2,253 at the time of the ...

). They resided in a one-bedroom house with no electricity or running water. He and his siblings would often work for the family business and perform other chores to the point where he was surprised when he learned of a typical weekend. He attended Ola'a School and

Hilo High School Hilo High School is a Public school (government funded), public, Coeducation, co-educational high school of the Hawaii State Department of Education, and serves grades nine through twelve. Established in 1906, its first class graduated in 1909. ...

. He then attended the

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 ...

and graduated from Southern Oregon State University. He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

as a medic and was a teacher and coach. Kim served for 16 years as County Director of Civil Defense. As Director, Kim would go on the radio and would update the residents of Hawai'i.

First tenure as Mayor

Kim announced his candidacy for the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

nomination for mayor in 2000. After defeating Democrat turned Republican State Representative Harvey Tajiri in the primary Kim won the general election with 50% of the vote. His opponents, Democratic candidate Fred Holschuh and

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...

candidate Keiko Bonk received 30 and 20 percent, respectively. In 2004, Kim ran for a second term, easily winning reelection. While Kim first ran for mayor as a

, he considers himself nonpartisan. Until he ran for mayor, his only visible political activity had been backing Democratic mayor Lorraine Inouye. In 2006, prominent Democrats including former Governor

Ben Cayetano Benjamin Jerome Cayetano (born November 14, 1939) is an American politician and author who served as the fifth governor of the State of Hawaii from 1994 to 2002. He is the first Filipino American to serve as a state governor in the United State ...

, then-U.S. Representatives

Neil Abercrombie Neil Abercrombie (born June 26, 1938) is an American politician who served as the seventh governor of Hawaii from 2010 to 2014. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Born in Buffalo, New York, Abercrombie is a graduate of Union College and the ...

and party chairman Mike McCartney encouraged Kim to run for governor against

Linda Lingle Linda Lingle (''née'' Cutter; June 4, 1953) is an American politician, who was the sixth governor of Hawaii from 2002 until 2010. She was the first Republican governor of Hawaii since 1962. Lingle was also the state's first female and first Je ...

. On July 22, 2006, shortly before the filing deadline, he removed his name from consideration. During his first eight years in office, Kim advocated, among other initiatives, recycling projects and the creation of a new County office complex in the place of the defunct Kaikoo Mall.

Hawaii mayoral election, 2012

In 2012, Kim ran for mayor once more against his successor, Billy Kenoi. Kim lost by 1,438 votes, earning 49% to Kenoi's 51%.

Return to the Mayor's office

In the wake of Kenoi's alleged misuse of a purchasing card issued by Hawaii County, Kim said on Thursday, March 3, 2016, that he had decided to run again, this time on a campaign to restore trust in government. He was elected mayor in primary voting on August 13, 2016, when he received more than 50% of the votes cast in a field of 13 candidates, thereby avoiding a runoff election in November. In keeping with a commitment he had made in every campaign to accept no more than a $10 donation from any individual, Kim spent a total of $21,931 in 2016, for a per-vote cost of $1.06. His nearest competitor spent $220,289, for a per-vote cost of $22.11. Kim lost his race for a fourth term as mayor in August, 2020, and his term ended in early December. Former Hawaii County Prosecutor Mitch Roth defeated Ikaika Marzo to succeed Kim as County Mayor. On June 5, 2018, Hawaii County officials confirmed that a home Kim owned in

Vacationland Hawaii Kapoho, Hawaii, is a now-uninhabited unincorporated area in Puna district, Hawaii County, Hawaii, located near the eastern tip of the island of Hawaii, in the easternmost subaerial end of the graben overlying Kīlauea's east rift zone. Originally ...

was claimed by the lava flow from the

2018 lower Puna eruption The 2018 lower Puna eruption was a volcanic event on the island of Hawaiʻi, on Kīlauea volcano's East Rift Zone that began on May 3, 2018. It is related to the larger eruption of Kīlauea that began on January 3, 1983, though some volcanolog ...

Kīlauea Kīlauea ( , ) is an active shield volcano in the Hawaiian Islands. Located along the southeastern shore of the Big Island of Hawaii, the volcano is between 210,000 and 280,000 years old and emerged above sea level about 100,000 years ago. Hi ...

References

External links

Video interview with Harry Kim
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Harry 1939 births Living people American mayors of Korean descent American politicians of Korean descent Asian-American people in Hawaii politics Hawaii Republicans Mayors of Hawaii County People from Hilo, Hawaii Southern Oregon University alumni