Mincing no words about his past and the city’s future, former City Councilman Jon Yoshimura formally declared his candidacy Friday for the vacated City Council District 6 seat he once held.
Yoshimura, 53, made the announcement Friday amid dozens of supporters at Chinatown’s Smith-Beretania Park, a project developed while he was on the Council from 1994 to 2002.
The seat became open Thursday when Tulsi Gabbard resigned about 20 months into her four-year term after winning the Democratic primary for Hawaii’s 2nd Congressional District. The timing of her resignation allows the city to save the city about $150,000 by holding the election for her successor in conjunction with the Nov. 6 general election rather than through a separate, mail-in special election.
While other high-profile political figures are considering running to replace Gabbard, Yoshimura is the first to commit publicly. The candidate filing period is Aug. 22-31.
Yoshimura cited his experience and familiarity with the district as the main reasons District 6 voters should consider him.
"This is a race for a two-year term, so we don’t have any time electing someone to have on-the-job training," Yoshimura said.
In 2002, barred from seeking a third Council term because of term limits, Yoshimura announced he would run for lieutenant governor, but then chose to run for the state Senate’s 12th District seat. Republican Gordon Trimble defeated him, 5,717 votes to 4,127.
Months earlier, in April 2002, Yoshimura was suspended from practicing law for six months for lying to the Office of Disciplinary Counsel about drinking before a 1999 hit-and-run traffic accident involving a parked car.
On Friday, Yoshimura brought up that incident without prompting from reporters.
"I also did some things during my first two terms on the City Council that I’m frankly ashamed of," he said. Bringing up the 1999 incident, Yoshimura said, "I basically lied about the circumstances that went into that occurring. … I let a lot of people down."
Yoshimura credited U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka for giving him a second chance by hiring him as a staff aide in Washington, a job he held for six years before returning to Honolulu last year to work as an executive for SolarCity, a solar energy company.
"What you’ll get to see this time around is a Jon Yoshimura who’s a little more humble, a little kinder, but still with a lot of energy to serve the people of Honolulu," he said.
Yoshimura said he is a supporter of the city’s $5.26 billion rail project. "We’re actually building rail, and some people are having their buyer’s remorse, or cold feet," he said.
While the project did not come before him for a vote, "I feel an obligation to move forward … when the city and state government, and the federal delegation, makes a decision like that," he said. "We can’t keep second-guessing. We need to move forward."
Yoshimura said he will continue to support rail until "somebody shows me a compelling reason why we shouldn’t build rail."
