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Mayor of Honolulu

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Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu
since January 2, 2021
Term length4 years
Maximum of 2 consecutive full terms[1]
Inaugural holderJoseph James Fern
Formation1909
WebsiteOffice of the Mayor

The mayor of Honolulu is the chief executive officer of the City and County of Honolulu. An office established in 1900 and modified in 1907, the mayor of Honolulu is elected by universal suffrage of residents of Honolulu to no more than two four-year terms. The City and County of Honolulu's elected officials include the mayor, the prosecuting attorney, and councilmembers representing nine districts.[1]

The mayor of Honolulu has full control over appointment and removal of administrators, is invested with absolute control over department heads, wields veto power over the Honolulu City Council and has substantial control over the budget, totaling in excess of US$1 billion.

Honolulu Hale and other offices

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The mayor of Honolulu conducts official business from Honolulu Hale, the historic city hall building of Honolulu constructed in 1928 in classical Spanish villa architectural styles. The building is located at the northeast corner of King and Punchbowl streets in the Hawaii Capital Historic District near downtown Honolulu. Other administrative officers under the mayor of Honolulu work from separate municipal buildings on the larger civic campus of which Honolulu Hale is a part.

Domestic policy

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From the courtyard of Honolulu Hale, the mayor of Honolulu is mandated by the City and County charters to make an annual State of the City address. In this speech, the mayor of Honolulu outlines the administrative and legislative agenda for the year. It is also a summation of the budget to be implemented compared to the budget of the previous year.

The mayor of Honolulu also organizes the major public services managed by the mayor’s office. The mayor oversees dozens of departments, including: Honolulu Board of Water Supply, Honolulu Fire Department, Honolulu Police Department and the Oʻahu Civil Defense Agency. Unlike most United States mayors, the mayor of Honolulu does not oversee any schools, a jurisdiction of the Hawaiʻi State Department of Education.

Managing director

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Assisting the mayor of Honolulu in overseeing these departments and other domestic policy issues is the managing director of Honolulu. The managing director's most important role is to serve as acting mayor in absence or resignation. The current managing director is Michael Formby.

Foreign policy

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Honolulu is often considered the "Geneva of the Pacific"[according to whom?] due to its commercial and trade, political and military, as well as academic influences over Asia and the Pacific Rim. Honolulu is the site of several international governmental and non-governmental organizations and summits, as well as the site of high-profile multinational military exercises called RIMPAC. RIMPAC is conducted by the commander-in-chief of the United States Pacific Command whose headquarters is in Honolulu’s Salt Lake subdivision.

The uniqueness of Honolulu’s significance to the global community has forced the mayor of Honolulu to assume a constant diplomatic role that goes beyond the foreign policy roles of almost all other United States mayors. The mayor of Honolulu serves as concurrent chairman of several multinational mayoral bodies and convenes special sessions of international summits regularly.[citation needed]

First Lady of Honolulu

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As a Hawaiian tradition, the wife of the mayor of Honolulu is honored with the ceremonial title of "First Lady of Honolulu." Honolulu is distinct in this tradition as most United States cities and towns reserve the title of "First Lady" to the wife of the state governor, the wife of the president of the United States or the wife of a visiting foreign head of government. Honolulu deemed it necessary to bestow the ceremonial title to reflect her role in relation to her husband’s extensive international responsibilities. The title is not codified in modern law but is an honorific.

List of mayors of Honolulu

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No. Portrait Name Party affiliation Elected Term in office
1 Joseph J. Fern
(1872–1920)
Democratic 1908

1910


1912

January 4, 1909 –
January 4, 1915
(lost re-election)
2 John C. Lane
(1872–1958)
Republican 1914 January 4, 1915 –
January 4, 1917
(lost re-election)
(1) Joseph J. Fern
(1872–1920)
Democratic 1916

1918

January 4, 1917 –
February 20, 1920
(died in office)
3 John H. Wilson
(1871–1956)
Democratic 1920

1922


1924

February 26, 1920 –
January 2, 1927
(lost re-election)
4 Charles N. Arnold
(1880–1929)
Republican 1926 January 2, 1927 –
January 1, 1929
(lost re-election)
(3) John H. Wilson
(1871–1956)
Democratic 1928 January 1, 1929 –
January 3, 1931
(lost re-election)
5 George F. Wright
(1881–1938)
Republican 1930

1932


1934

January 3, 1931 –
July 2, 1938
(died in office)
6 Charles Crane
(1869–1958)
Republican 1938 July 15, 1938 –
January 2, 1941
(lost re-election)
7 Lester Petrie
(1878–1956)
Democratic 1940

1942


1944


1946

January 2, 1941 –
January 2, 1949
(retired)
(3) John H. Wilson
(1871–1956)
Democratic 1948

1950


1952

January 2, 1949 –
January 2, 1955
(lost re-election)
8 Neal Blaisdell
(1902–1975)
Republican 1954

1956


1960


1964

January 2, 1955 –
January 2, 1969
(retired)
9 Frank Fasi
(1920–2010)
Democratic 1968

1972


1976

January 2, 1969 –
January 2, 1981
(lost re-election)
10 Eileen Anderson
(1928–2021)
Democratic 1980 January 2, 1981 –
January 2, 1985
(lost re-election)
(9) Frank Fasi
(1920–2010)
Republican 1984

1988


1992

January 2, 1985 –
September 17, 1994
(resigned)
11 Jeremy Harris
(born 1950)
Democratic 1994

1996


2000

September 18, 1994 –
January 2, 2005
(term limited)
12 Mufi Hannemann
(born 1954)
Democratic 2004

2008

January 2, 2005 –
July 20, 2010
(resigned)
Kirk Caldwell
(born 1952)
Democratic July 20, 2010 –
October 11, 2010
(lost election)
13 Peter Carlisle
(born 1952)
Independent 2010 sp October 11, 2010 –
January 2, 2013
(lost re-election)
14 Kirk Caldwell
(born 1952)
Democratic 2012

2016

January 2, 2013 –
January 2, 2021
(term limited)
15 Rick Blangiardi
(born 1946)
Independent 2020 January 2, 2021 –
present
(incumbent)

Notable candidates and acting mayors

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Resources

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See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b "Office of Elections - Elected Officials". Retrieved September 4, 2021.
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