Real estate broker Choon James joins race for Honolulu mayor

Real estate broker Choon James officially announced her candidacy for mayor Monday afternoon at the steps of Honolulu Hale.

This is her first campaign since her defeat in the 2018 race for the Honolulu City Council District 2 seat, where she finished third with 2,040 votes behind Robert Bunda and Heidi Tsuneyoshi.

In this race James will be taking on mayoral candidates who include former U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, current Council members Ron Menor and Kymberly Pine, and Honolulu businessman Keith Amemiya.

James told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that she’s “crazy enough to run for mayor.”

“I know I’m the underdog, but we must take the government back,” James said in a press release. “For too long, democracy has been hijacked by big money and special interests in the decision-making process. Ordinary people have been disenfranchised, ignored and left out.”

James, 62, basically self- financed her 2018 City Council campaign, spending more than $30,000 of her own money on the race. She said she will not accept donations from lobbyists and political action committees.

James said she plans to tackle the issues of taxes, the Honolulu rail transit project and Hawaii’s roads. James also said she’s concerned with Oahu residents who work more than two jobs, and seniors “trying to survive in Hawaii.”

“One of my main goals is to place a cap on property taxes for owner occupants who have lived in their homes for more than 20 years,” James said in an interview. “The reason is that so many of our local people are afraid that they might be priced out of their homes.”

She has worked in real estate for more than 30 years, and described herself as a longtime activist for the environment and social and economic justice. She came to Oahu from Singapore at 17, and is now a mother of five and a grandmother of 11.

Last year James launched a petition to impeach Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell, and was arrested during the protests against the controversial wind turbines in Kahuku while photographing for ‘Olelo Community Media.

“I am confident that I can represent our residents first because I do not owe anyone anything,” James said.