Keith Amemiya

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Keith Amemiya
Keith Amemiya.jpg
Personal details
Born (1965-09-01) September 1, 1965 (age 59)
Political party Democratic [1]
Spouse
Bonny Suzui
​
(m. 1996)​
Children1
Education University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (BBA, JD)

Keith Amemiya (born September 1, 1965) [2] [3] [4] is an American business executive and politician who ran in the 2020 Honolulu mayoral election, [5] [6] and in 2022 for lieutenant governor of Hawaii.

Contents

Background

Amemiya is the son of former Hawaii Attorney General Ronald Amemiya. His mother suffered from mental illness and Keith was brought up by various relatives until he moved in with a friend whose father, Bert T. Kobayashi Jr., became Keith's hānai father. After graduating from Punahou in 1983, Amemiya studied finance and law at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, where he earned his degrees. [2]

Since January 2021, Amemiya has served as executive director of the Central Pacific Bank Foundation. [7] Before running for elected office, he was the senior vice president of Island Holdings, Inc., starting in 2012, and executive director of the Hawaii High School Athletic Association from 1998 to 2010. [2] [7] [8] [9] [10] Until 2019 he was the campaign treasurer for U.S. Senator Brian Schatz, and was appointed by several state leaders to serve on citizen boards, including the Honolulu Police Commission, Hawaii Board of Education, and Aloha Stadium Authority board. [2]

2020 Honolulu mayoral election

With no candidate receiving an outright majority of the vote in the August 8 nonpartisan blanket primary, the top two finishers, Amemiya and Rick Blangiardi, advanced to a runoff on November 3. In the primary, former U.S. representative for Hawaii's 1st congressional district Colleen Hanabusa, former state senator John Carroll, and former mayor of Honolulu Mufi Hannemann were eliminated along with many other candidates. [11] [12] [13] Blangiardi won the runoff with 58.2% of the vote. Japanese in Hawaii are the state's second-largest ethnic group, and Amemiya would have been the first mayor of Honolulu of Japanese ancestry.

In 2025, JL Capital CEO Timothy Lee was indicted for allegedly contributing $13,000 under false names to Honolulu mayoral campaigns in 2020. Amemiya received $5,000 of those contributions and said he did not know about them. [14]

Endorsements

2022 Hawaii lieutenant gubernatorial election

With 23.2% of the vote, Amemiya placed third in the 2022 Democratic primary election for Hawaii lieutenant governor and was thus eliminated. [19]

Personal life

Amemiya's biological parents divorced when he was 10 years old, and he was raised afterward by a friend's family. [20]

Amemiya met his wife, Bonny (née Suzui), in 1995 when she was the CFO of a local fast food chain. They married in 1996 and have a son. [20]

In February 2021, Amemiya was appointed as executive director of Central Pacific Bank Foundation. [21] [22]

References

  1. ↑ Blair, Chad (July 1, 2020). "New TV Spots Promote Keith Amemiya's Democratic Roots". Honolulu Civil Beat . Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Jedra, Christina (July 10, 2020). "Keith Amemiya: Political Outsider Or Establishment Insider?". Honolulu Civil Beat . Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  3. ↑ "Musings from Manoa: Amemiya right man for top job". Hawaii Tribune-Herald . March 25, 2015. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  4. ↑ @amemiyaformayor (September 1, 2020). "Wishing a wonderful 55th birthday to our humble leader and friend, Keith, today from Team Amemiya!! We're happy and proud to stand alongside you on this journey!" – via Instagram.
  5. ↑ Jedra, Christina (August 27, 2019). "'Stop The Scandals': Businessman Keith Amemiya Says He's Running For Mayor". Honolulu Civil Beat. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  6. ↑ Bernardo, Rosemarie (August 28, 2019). "Amemiya announces run for Honolulu mayor". Honolulu Star Adviser. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  7. 1 2 McInnis, Brian (February 25, 2021). "Former Honolulu mayoral candidate Keith Amemiya hired to lead Central Pacific Bank Foundation". Pacific Business News. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
  8. ↑ Mossman, Bill. "Keith Amemiya Hawaii High School Athletic Association Executive Director". State of Hawai'i Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. Career Kokua, Research and Statistics, Department of Labor & Industrial Relations, State of Hawaii. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  9. ↑ "Musings from Manoa: Amemiya right man for top job". Hawaii Tribune Herald. March 25, 2015. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  10. ↑ HNN Staff (August 27, 2019). "Business executive throws his name in the race for Honolulu mayor". Hawaii News Now. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
  11. ↑ Star-Advertiser Staff (September 9, 2020). "Kokua Council to host online debate between Honolulu mayoral candidates Keith Amemiya, Rick Blangiardi". Honolulu Star Advertiser. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  12. ↑ Jedra, Christina (August 8, 2020). "Honolulu Mayor: Blangiardi And Amemiya Advance To Runoff". Honolulu Civil Beat. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  13. ↑ HNN Staff (August 10, 2020). "Voters set up runoff for mayor between political newcomers: Blangiardi and Amemiya". msn. KHNL. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  14. ↑ "Hawaii real estate firm CEO indicted for $13K political donations under false names". KITV Island News. February 11, 2025. Retrieved February 11, 2025.
  15. ↑ HNN Staff (August 13, 2020). "Amemiya picks up mayoral endorsement from U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz". KHNL. Retrieved September 11, 2020– via MSN.
  16. ↑ HNN Staff (September 7, 2020). "AFL-CIO announces endorsement for Amemiya in mayoral campaign". Hawaii News Now. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  17. ↑ "Four more Honolulu City Council members endorse Amemiya for mayor". Hawaii News Now. September 15, 2020. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  18. ↑ Pang, Gordon Y.K. (May 28, 2020). "HGEA endorses Keith Amemiya for Honolulu mayor". Honolulu Star Advertiser. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  19. ↑ "2022 Hawaii Primary Election Results". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. August 14, 2022. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
  20. 1 2 "The Good Hānai Son". MidWeek . July 22, 2020. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  21. ↑ "Keith Amemiya named executive director of Central Pacific Bank Foundation". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. February 27, 2021. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
  22. ↑ "CPB Foundation Appoints Keith Amemiya Executive Director, Awards $100,000 Grant to The Salvation Army Hawaiian & Pacific Islands". Central Pacific Bank. February 25, 2021. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
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