Council will
likely have new
chairman Monday

Jon Yoshimura, probable
new leader, is said to be
'willing to share' power

By Gordon Y.K. Pang
Star-Bulletin

His face is familiar to Oahu families because of his days as a television reporter, but Jon Yoshimura, for the most part, stayed away from the limelight during his first term on the City Council.

He was friendly with all and sidestepped direct confrontations with colleagues. He is one of only two members who have held the same committee and same office space since coming onto the Council at the end of 1994.

The bright lights will be back on him Monday, however, when Yoshimura will likely take the gavel as Council chairman from Mufi Hannemann.

"In the long run, I think that was smart. It kept him from being swallowed up in all the politics at Honolulu Hale," said Kent Baker, general manager of KHON-TV and a longtime friend.

"I personally think it's a good thing," said Councilman Duke Bainum, among Yoshimura's closest allies. "He's had opportunities to take higher profiles and he's declined, and I think that's a wise move. Some of us choose to do that because you find you may be more effective to your community."

Yoshimura said: "My style is different from a lot of people; my style as a politician is very low key. I'm not out there making press releases or trying to make some point on the 6 o'clock news."

Councilwoman Rene Mansho agreed. "He's not interested in being king. He's really willing to share."

What most Council members have been seeking is participation, she said. "We had a lot of good things going under Mufi, but many members felt they weren't being consulted and weren't being part of the process."

At 40, Yoshimura has gone through several incarnations, but said that being a politician is what he has wanted to do all along.

"When I was a kid, political figures were heroes," said the Wailuku native, the son of two schoolteachers. "There were people like the Kennedys, Martin Luther King, Cesar Chavez -- people who were able to organize others for a common good."

'Lost faith in the system'

But in the 1970s, as an adolescent and young adult, Watergate and other scandals made him a cynic of government.

"I lost faith in the system, like so many other people did," he said. "And because of that, I kind of lost my way a little bit.

He dropped out of Georgetown University after his second year, he said, because he felt he was wasting his parents' money.

"I felt I wasn't getting anything out of it. I was a mediocre student," he said.

He did develop an interest in film and, while on Maui, ran a film society at Maui Community College and then became a free-lance cameraman.

Enter Baker, then news director of KHON.

Baker said that when he had an opening for a cameraman in 1980, there was no hesitation about hiring Yoshimura, then 21, who had been doing stringer work for him.

"He was a very bright, aggressive, smart kid who did good work for us on Maui," Baker said.

Yoshimura said, "One of the things that was good about that job was it exposed me to so many different things: sports, law, politics, all kinds of things."

The experience, he said, also made him "rediscover my interest in law and government."

Yoshimura later became a reporter at the station, and then earned a law degree from the University of Hawaii.

A surprise winner in 1994

After a few years of practicing law, Yoshimura came out of nowhere in 1994 to win the Punchbowl-Nuuanu-Downtown seat against better financed, more seasoned politicians including Lei Ahu Isa, Tony Chang and Tony Narvaes.

Critics and supporters alike call Yoshimura intelligent and a quick study.

"The guy is very bright and articulate. He grasps things very quickly," said Will Copulos, one of Yoshimura's law partners.

Yoshimura also has a lot of things on his plate.

Besides the Council and a law firm, he is now public affairs director at KHON.

On top of that, the father who is separated from his wife has been finding time for his two young sons.

He is also an avid golfer and is occasionally spotted at the more trendy late-night clubs in the downtown district.

His large number of interests appear to bother some of his colleagues, and some have called into question his ability to stay focused on city issues.

"Although City Council is a part-time job, it is very demanding," said outgoing Vice Chairman John Henry Felix. "I think he's going to have to spend more time on the job."

Yoshimura acknowledged his busy and sometimes happy-go-lucky lifestyle.

"I like too many things, and maybe I try to do too much," Yoshimura said. "I need to make sure that I don't spread myself too thin."

As for his fun-loving side, "I try to pace myself. Sometimes you have to cram and sometimes you have to relax. If you're always working and you're always stressed out, your performance level suffers."

But none of that affects his performance on the Council, he said. "I'm a councilman first. Everything else comes second."

'A consensus builder'

Friend and foe alike also sum up Yoshimura as a classic compromiser, one who would rather make peace than fight.

Supporters feel that is the greatest contrast between him and Hannemann and the reason he is now becoming chairman.

"I like to find compromise when it's available, when it is something that is in the best interest," Yoshimura said.

"Jon Yoshimura's strongest suit is that he is a consensus builder, and I think that's what the majority on the Council is looking for," Bainum said.

Some critics do not like the way he compromises, however.

"I think he's going to have to be more decisive," Felix said. "It's difficult to make tough decisions."

Others think that Yoshimura has become a more confident decision-maker during his first term on the Council.

"I think the decision-making part is certainly easier for Jon," Councilman Steve Holmes said. "He's showing much more independence these days."

Bainum and Holmes praised Yoshimura for his handling of the lease-to-fee condominium issue in the Policy Committee, waiting for the matter to clear the courts before moving forward on legislation.

"Jon had no previous (government) experience," Bainum said. "You take on a few tough issues and you learn how to handle the issues, and that's what he did."

Now that he has learned the ropes, Bainum said, Yoshimura is ready to take on more challenges.

Mansho said, "This is his chance to make his mark and make a difference."