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Hawaii NewsWhatever Happened To

After City Hall stint, Harris returned to science, academics

STAR-ADVERTISER / FEB. 1, 2005
Then- Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris spoke about his career in public service as he neared the end of his term in office.

Question: Whatever happened to former Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris?

Answer: Harris continues to live in Honolulu and keeps a low profile.

The three-term mayor, who served from July 1994 to January 2005, lectures on occasion outside Hawaii.

Harris, a marine biologist who worked as a Sea Grant extension agent at the University of Hawaii, serves on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Sea Grant Advisory Board.

Last year, Harris gave a presentation on climate change issues at a Sea Grant event in New Orleans, according to a local Sea Grant official.

Harris, who received his graduate training in environmental science specializing in urban ecosystems, consults for governments and non-governmental organizations on issues related to sustainable urban development, according to his biography on the National Sea Grant website. He also is on the Adaptation to Climate Change Panel of the National Academy of Science, the website says.

The website says he has served as visiting senior faculty at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden, as a member of the Sustainability Roundtable for the National Academy of Sciences and as Distinguished Irving Professor in the School of Architecture and Planning at Ball State University in Indiana.

Harris did not respond to a request for an interview.

A neighbor of Harris’ said the former mayor is quiet and keeps to himself. He is sometimes seen working on his expansive Kalihi Valley property, the neighbor said.

Harris, 60, was divorced from his wife, Ramona, in 2008.

His political career includes his election as a delegate from Kauai to the 1978 state Constitutional Convention, a two-year term on the Kauai County Council and 10 years as executive assistant, deputy managing director and managing director of the city.

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This update was written by Leila Fujimori. You can write to us at What Ever Happened To …, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-210, Honolulu 96813; call 529-4747; or e-mail cityeditors@staradvertiser.com.

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