HILO — Former Hawaii County Mayor Harry Kim is poised to make this year’s mayoral race a lot more interesting.
Kim, who served as mayor from 2000 to 2008, said Friday he called the Clerk’s Office “to make sure I have my ducks in order,” as far as the paperwork required to file his candidacy. He’d forgotten Friday was a furlough day, he said.
Kim said he’s getting his paperwork together, but he emphasized he won’t decide for sure about running until Monday, the day before the deadline to file nomination papers for this year’s election.
“Monday, I will know,” Kim said, adding he’s still talking with family members about a decision.
If he does jump into the race, he’ll face incumbent Mayor Billy Kenoi, Council Chairman Dominic Yagong and a handful of lesser-known candidates in the Aug. 11 primary.
Even entering the race late, Kim is expected to prove a formidable foe. He’s generally regarded as a popular mayor who led the county during flush times when there was plenty of money for employees and projects. He also has a reputation as a mediator, more likely to try to work things out between opposing views than to impose his own will on others.
Kim said the state’s recent move to waive environmental assessments on geothermal exploration is one motivating factor in his consideration of returning as mayor. A 16-year civil defense director, Kim said he supports geothermal power, but he wants to ensure it’s done safely.
“Being mayor, you can bring to focus certain kinds of issues and then people can understand,” he said.
Kim, 72, had faced Yagong as a challenger in 2004, in what some called the most low-key and low-budget mayoral race in county history. Yagong lost after garnering just 27 percent of the vote to the incumbent Kim.
But Yagong, still running a low-budget campaign against Kenoi’s $333,733 in contributions as of Dec. 31, said he welcomes Kim to the race. A three-way race is likely to split the union vote between Kim and Kenoi, giving Yagong a clearer shot at the general election.
“We’ve expected Harry to run all along,” Yagong said. “I think it would be good for the future of our island to have a good selection of candidates.”
Kim said he’s known both Yagong and Kenoi for decades. In fact, he was Kenoi’s football coach when Kenoi, now 43, was eight years old, Kim said.
Kenoi said he has nothing but “love, respect, admiration and aloha” for his first coach. He said he wishes Kim the best in his deliberations, and he added Kim’s entrance into the race wouldn’t change his own campaign style.
“We’ll continue to run the campaign we’ve been running,” Kenoi said. “We continue to look forward to a spirited and positive campaign, and we’ll continue to spread our message that together we can make a positive difference in our county.”
Yagong, 52, was on the County Council during part of Kim’s eight years as mayor.
Kim said his health has no bearing on his decision-making. He’d suffered a heart attack in 2008, his second in three years, but his health is fine, he said. Nor does his upcoming decision have any bearing on the quality of the other candidates in the race.
“We have different opinions and different styles,” Kim said, “but we all care and want to make this a better place.”
