The Mayor of Hawaiʻi is the

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of the County of Hawaiʻi in the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

. The mayor has municipal jurisdiction over the Big Island of Hawaiʻi. The current mayor is Kimo Alameda. The Mayor of Hawaiʻi County is the successor of the Royal Governors of Hawaiʻi Island of the

Kingdom of Hawaiʻi The Hawaiian Kingdom, also known as the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi ( Hawaiian: ɛ ɐwˈpuni həˈvɐjʔi, was an archipelagic country from 1795 to 1893, which eventually encompassed all of the inhabited Hawaiian Islands. It was established in 1795 w ...

. As of 2004, the mayor is officially a nonpartisan position, and appear on the ballot without a party affiliation. The managing director takes over as mayor in the event of a mayor's death or resignation.

History

Hawaii County began electing a mayor in 1968 when the present form of charter government was instituted. For most of the 20th century elected members of the Board of Supervisors, precursor to the Hawaii County Council, chose the chairman, and that chairman was essentially the chief operating officer of Hawaii County. That changed in 1964 a year after Act 73 of the 1963 Legislature which enabled counties to draft their own charters. Former Honolulu deputy County Corporation Counsel Shunichi Kimura was elected the last County Chairman in 1964 and the County elected its first mayor in 1968. Bruce McCall (1976), Megumi Kon (1984) and Larry Tanimoto (1990) all filled out the last few months of their predecessor's terms, in the case of Tanimoto, for Bernard Akana, who died of cancer less than two years into his term. Lorraine Inouye then won a special election to serve out Akana's last two years.

Past Mayors

Notes

# Shunichi Kimura resigned to become a circuit court judge. He was replaced by his managing director, Bruce McCall. # Herbert Matayoshi resigned to run for a seat on the

Hawaii Senate The Hawaii State Senate ( Hawaiian: Ka ‘Aha Kenekoa) is the upper house of the Hawaii State Legislature. It consists of twenty-five members elected from an equal number of constituent districts across the islands and is led by the President ...

. He was replaced by his managing director, Megumi Kon. #

Bernard Akana Bernard K. Akana (1920 or 1921 – April 12, 1990) was an American engineer and politician. He served as the Mayor of Hawaii County from 1988 until his death on April 12, 1990. Akana worked for the Hawaii Electric Light Company as a design plann ...

died of cancer while in office. He was replaced by his managing director,

Larry Tanimoto Larry Sunao Tanimoto (January 5, 1945 – February 27, 2025) was an American administrator and politician. Tanimoto became the Mayor of Hawaii County in 1990 following the death of Mayor Bernard Akana. Tanimoto became the managing director ...

. # As of the 2004 elections, mayoral candidates are officially listed on the ballot without party affiliation. # Kimo Alameda is a registered

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

but identifies as a 'conservative.'

References

{{reflist * Lists of mayors of places in Hawaii