JoAnn Yukimura

JoAnn Yukimura
5th Mayor of Kauai
In office
1988–1994
Preceded byTony Kunimura
Succeeded byMaryanne Kusaka
Personal details
Born1949 or 1950 (age 76–77)
SpouseJohn Wehrheim
Alma materStanford University (BA)
University of Washington School of Law (JD)

JoAnn Yukimura is an American politician who served as the first female Mayor of Kauai County.[1][2] She also served on the Kauai County Council for over 22 years.[3]

Early life and education

Yukimura graduated from Kaua'i High School in 1967 as valedictorian.[4] She earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from Stanford University in 1971 and an J.D. from the University of Washington School of Law in 1974.[5]

Career

Yukimura was first elected to the Kauai County Council in 1976 at the age of 26, serving until 1980.[4] She served later terms from 1984 to 1988, 2002 to 2008, and 2010 to 2018.[6][7]

Yukimura served as mayor during Hurricane Iniki in 1992, "the most powerful hurricane in the Hawaiian islands [that] century."[8]

Over her career, Yukimura advocated for environmental and land use planning issues.[9] She supported efforts to oppose suburbanization of Kilauea’s agricultural lands, stop development of condominiums on Alekoko (Menehune) Fishpond, fight a proposal to build three hotels in Nukolii, secure and protect 140 acres as part of the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge, and establish the Kauai Public Land Trust.[10]

Personal life

Yukimura is the oldest of five children. She was born into a Christian family as a member of the Lihue Christian Church.[5]

References

  1. ↑ Chang, Lester (May 8, 2004). "County of Kaua'i history comes to life at ceremony". The Garden Island. Retrieved April 3, 2026.
  2. ↑ "Former mayor of Kauaʻi, Yukimura, wants you to know this". KHON2. April 10, 2024. Archived from the original on April 10, 2024. Retrieved April 3, 2026.
  3. ↑ "'Pretty Unusual': Big Changes Are Possible At The Kauaʻi County Council". News From The States. Retrieved April 3, 2026.
  4. 1 2 "Born to Politics". MidWeek Kaua'i. August 4, 2011. Retrieved April 3, 2026.
  5. 1 2 "Kauai's JoAnn Yukimura". Hoji Shinbun Digital Collection. Hawaii Herald. April 7, 1989.
  6. ↑ "New, old faces elected to Council". Thegardenisland.com. November 6, 2002. Retrieved April 3, 2026.
  7. ↑ "Candidate Q&A: Kauai Mayor — JoAnn Yukimura". Honolulu Civil Beat. July 6, 2018. Retrieved April 3, 2026.
  8. ↑ "7-Mph Iniki Slams Into Hawaii -- Hurricane Cuts Off All Power On Kauai Island | The Seattle Times". archive.seattletimes.com. Retrieved April 3, 2026.
  9. ↑ "Finding Aid to the JOANN YUKIMURA RECORDS LIHU'E, KAUA'I, HAWAI'I Records, 1969, 1976-l980, 1982" (PDF). Kauaihistoricalsociety.org. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
  10. ↑ "Yukimura feted for public service". The Garden Island. December 7, 2018. Retrieved April 3, 2026.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.