Bonny Amemiya / June 2, 2020
Hi everyone,
Next week, Keith and I celebrate 24 years of marriage. In that time, I’ve watched Keith discover his passion and grow into a wonderful father and community leader.
It’s not easy for a humble person like Keith to talk about his accomplishments and it’s also not easy for him to talk about his challenges. He had a difficult childhood and was adopted into his best friend’s home when he was in high school.
As an adult, he wanted to give others the same opportunity he was given. When our son Chris was in elementary school, we took a student-athlete from Molokaʻi, Kalei Adolpho, into our home so she could train in summer programs offered only on Oʻahu. On sports trips, Keith made sure that students who didn’t have enough money were always fed. That’s the kind of caring and generous person Keith is.
When the state was in a budget crisis and instituted Furlough Fridays in 2009, Keith was the head of the Hawai‘i High School Athletic Association and it was extremely distressing for him knowing that junior varsity sports were being cut. Sports wasn’t just a leisure activity for kids — it was a way to connect with others, feel a part of a team, learn valuable life skills, and build a future where college was attainable. Keith was on the phone and in meetings constantly and didn’t stop until he successfully galvanized the community to generate the political will and money needed to save high school sports.
Getting into politics was never something I thought we as a family would do. But I believe that it is the right place for Keith to be right now. He is passionate about making sure our most vulnerable families are taken care of and that our son Chris, can call Hawaiʻi home after completing college.
I hope you’ll join me in supporting Keith for Mayor. He is honest, caring, hardworking, and he will always bring his best self as the Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu.
Thank you for your support,
Bonny Amemiya
