Mayor's Technology Summit:
Homeland Security, Safety and Economic Development
Jeremy Harris
Mayor
City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii
The
11th mayor of the 12th largest municipality in the nation, Mayor Jeremy
Harris was elected in a September 1994 Special Election and was re-elected
in November 1996 and again for a second full term in September 2000.
Public safety, environment, transportation, cultural and recreation projects are the primary focuses of Harris' plan for each Honolulu community. The Harris Administration has guided numerous community identity and place-making programs, most notable, the Marine Education Center at the Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve.
Harris ventured into politics as a delegate to the 1978 Hawaii Constitutional Convention. At the age of 29, he was elected to a seat on the Kauai County Council served as council chairman. He then joined the Honolulu city and county government as executive assistant to the Mayor, and was soon promoted to deputy managing director and then managing director.
Prior to a career in politics, Harris was an instructor at Kauai Community College, where he taught oceanography. He also served as a Marine Advisor with the Sea Grant Program at the University of Hawaii.
He earned two related undergraduate degrees in biology at the University of Hawaii and a master's degree in population and environmental biology, at the University of California at Irvine.