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ONLINE REGISTRATION IS CLOSED. Email Tricia Fetui at tfetui@cochawaii.org for more information.
Register to attend the Vote 2020 Chamber's Mayoral Forum to hear from candidates about solutions to the issues that face Honolulu. Due to COVID-19, the forum, which will be moderated by Dr. John Hart, will be held virtually and you can watch the forum live remotely.
Candidates participating in the forum include:
- Keith Amemiya
- Rick Blangiardi
- John Carroll
- Colleen Hanabusa
- Mufi Hannemann
- Choon James
- Kymberly Pine
Keith Amemiya
Keith Amemiya served Oahu as a business executive, nonprofit leader and lawyer over the last 30 years. He is running for political office for the first time to serve as our Mayor of Honolulu.
Amemiya previously served as the Executive Director of the Hawaii High School Athletics Association for 12 years. Most recently, Keith was the Senior Vice President of Island Holdings. He also served as the University of Hawaii Board of Regents as Executive Administrator and Secretary and a civil litigation attorney. He has served on many community boards, including the Honolulu Police Commission and the Hawaii State Board of Education.
Rick Blangiardi
Rick Blangiardi is a former media executive who is well-known as being the longtime General Manager of Hawaii News Now. Prior to returning to Hawaii, he led TV stations in New York, Seattle, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. He also served as President of Telemundo, the country's second-largest Hispanic network. Rick served in the U.S. Navy Reserve for six years and early in his career, was an Associate Head Football Coach and Defensive Coordinator at the University of Hawaii.
Rick has been widely recognized for his leadership in and contributions to the non-profit community. Previously, he was the President of the Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of America, Aloha Council; Chair of the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii; President of the Na Koa UH Football Booster Club; and has served on the boards of the American Red Cross, Hawaii Food Bank, Public Schools of Hawaii Foundation, YMCA, and many others. He holds an MEd from the University of Hawaii and a BS from Springfield College.
John Carroll
Upon arrival to the Islands on a football scholarship in 1949, John Carroll obtained a Teaching Certificate while completing his Bachelor of Education and Master's degrees. Education, along with a thirst for knowledge, paved a path that included service during the Korean War in the U.S. Army, Air Force service as a fighter pilot, Law School, contributing author of the Hawaii Uniform Code of Military Justice, a 32-year retirement from Hawaiian Airlines, the establishment of multiple still operating organizations and law practices, and a 36-year successful retirement as a Colonel after serving as Hawaii Joint Forces Judge Advocate General for the Army and Air National Guards. The experience gained while a Hawaii House Representative and Senator has instilled a passion for spreading awareness, implementing change, and demanding reform for the betterment of the State of Hawaii and, especially, the City and County of Honolulu.
Colleen Hanabusa
Colleen Hanabusa is the fourth generation of her family from Waianae. She attended Waianae Elementary School and graduated from the William S. Richardson School of Law. She has served in the Hawaii State Legislature and the United States Congress. She is the first woman President of the Hawaii State Senate, the first woman to lead either Chamber in the Hawaii State Legislature.
From 1993-2009, she was recognized as one of the Best Lawyers in America in the area of Labor and Employment Law and also has been one of Martindale Hubble AV rated attorneys. She has returned to the practice law. Ms. Hanabusa also serves as a Board member for the Hawaii Gas Company, as well as Honolulu Authority of Rapid Transportation.
Mufi Hannemann
Mufi Hannemann is the President and CEO of the Hawaii Lodging & Tourism Association, the state's largest private sector tourism organization, where he has demonstrated extraordinary leadership in advocating and promoting the state's number one industry. In his role, he has also overseen the annual Visitor Industry Charity Walk, a fundraiser that supports hundreds of local nonprofit organizations.
Prior to his role at HLTA, he was elected mayor of the City and County of Honolulu, in 2004 and was re-elected to a second term in 2008. As mayor, Hannemann and his team amassed a remarkable record of accomplishment in achieving an 80% approval rating while in office.
Honors graduate from Iolani Schools and Harvard University, and Fulbright Scholar at Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand.
Choon James
Choon James has been a successful small businesswoman for over 30 years. She has been testifying before the Honolulu City Council for over 12 years about fiscal prudence, good governance, sustainable communities, food security, ethics commission, and so on. She has consistently stated that the taxpayers and residents are not money trees- small businesses cannot be the automatic go-to for higher taxes and higher fees.
Choon wants to stop Rail at Middle Street as portions of the route will be in the Honolulu Sea Level Rise Inundation Zone. She also wants to place a property tax cap on owner-occupant of 20 years or more to help stabilize the housing situation.
Choon has been an activist since she was a teenager in Singapore. She's been a decades-old activist for good governance, fiscal prudence, clean environment, land-use, and social justice at City Hall. Choon is also a farmer, writer, Free Speech Olelo Media Producer and real estate volunteer counselor. She has served on numerous boards such as hospital, community associations, college alumni associations, land-use, international women organizations as President or board member.
Kym Pine
Kym Pine is currently in her second four-year term as a member of the Honolulu City Council and the Chair of the City Council's Committee on Business Economic Development and Tourism. She previously served as Chair of the Committee on Zoning and Housing, where she created policies which resulted in more than 1,000 affordable housing units without using taxpayer money.
Prior to her service on the Honolulu City Council, Kym served four terms in the Hawaii State House of Representatives serving the communities of Ewa Beach, Iroquois Point, and Puuloa. From 2010-2012, her colleagues selected her as the House Minority Floor Leader. Pine holds an English degree from the University of California at Berkeley
Moderator:
John P. Hart, Ph.D.
Professor
Hawaii Pacific University
Dr. Hart is a professor in the Communications Department of the College of Liberal Arts at Hawaii Pacific University. He has served as a political commentator on many local media outlets and is also a former debate coach, having coached national championship teams.
In partnership with:
Date and Time
Thursday Jun 25, 2020
10:00 AM - 12:00 PM HST
Thursday, June 25, 2020
10:00 - 12:00 PM HST
Location
Zoom Webinar
Register for log in information
Fees/Admission
Complimentary for members, non-members: $35
Online Registration Closes on Wednesday, June 24, 2020 at 5:00 PM
Contact Information
Tricia Fetui, Sr. Director of Events
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