James Kealoha

James Kimo Kealoha ( born April 29, 1908 in Pahoa, Hawaii County, Hawaii Territory; † August 24, 1983 in Honolulu, Hawaii ) was an American politician. Between 1959 and 1962 he was the first Lieutenant Governor of the State of Hawaii.

Career

James Kealoha was the son of Chinese immigrants who came as plantation workers to Hawaii. In the Chinese community in Hawaii, he was called Lee Yat wk. In 1926 he graduated from Hilo High School. He then worked for a grocery store in Hilo. Politically, he joined the first at the Democratic Party.

Between 1934 and 1938 he sat in the territorial House of Representatives, which he was president from time to time. In 1938 he was elected to the Senate of the Hawaii Territory. In the same year he joined the Republicans. In 1940 he was elected to the District Council of Hawaii County. After two re- election he was able to attend three consecutive legislative sessions. Also in 1940 he was an alternate delegate for his territory to the Republican National Convention. Since 1948 he was Chairman of the District Council Hawaii County.

1959 Kealoha was elected the first Lieutenant Governor of the State of the Union on the side of William F. Quinn after the accession of Hawaii. This post he held between August 21, 1959, and December 2, 1962. Yet he was assistant to the governor, with whom he politically rather poorly understood itself. In 1962 he entered the Republican primaries unsuccessfully against Governor Quinn at, which then in turn the Democrat John Anthony Burns was defeated.

In 1966, James Kealoha ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. House of Representatives. He was a staunch opponent of the Vietnam War. In 1968, he competed unsuccessfully also to the office of mayor or county council in Hawaii County. Privately, he had little success at that time. In 1967 and 1977 he had twice apply for insolvency, as two companies in which he was involved, Bankruptcy went. Later he built on papayas. He also owned a farm in Salem in the state of Oregon. James Kealoha died on August 24, 1983 in Honolulu.