Mayor Kim Adds Clarity to Role on Mauna Kea, TMT

Maunakea overviews, July 21, 2019. PC: DLNR

Hawai‘i County Mayor Harry Kim circulated a press release on Thursday, July 25, 2019, to provide further clarification on the scope of his work to mediate the situation regarding the Thirty-Meter Telescope (TMT) and Mauna Kea.

The mayor has no authority to intervene or make any kind of deal regarding TMT, the release stressed. Instead, his role is to work with all sides to find a better way forward for everyone concerned. Mayor Kim expressed his heartfelt wish to get the parties to find common ground and to achieve a peaceful resolution for the sake of all, the release continued.

“I’m here to see where we can go, and I’m hoping we can establish a relationship so we can all join hands together, to move forward to making it better,” he said.

The specialness of Hawai‘i Island as a small community whose people are all ‘ohana gives the mayor hope that we can come together, the release continued.

Mayor Kim said his first important task is to ensure the safe flow of traffic on the Daniel K. Inouye Highway (Saddle Road), and the safety of both the protectors and the general community as they travel on the highway.

“The traffic flow on the Saddle Road, the ingress and egress, is what I’m trying to address,” Mayor Kim said. “My job is to coordinate the safety of everybody.”