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Kim Coco Iwamoto

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Kim Coco Iwamoto
Commissioner, Hawaii Civil Rights Commission
In office
2012–2016
Personal details
Born (1968-05-26) May 26, 1968 (age 56)[1]
Kauai, Hawaii, U.S.
ResidenceHonolulu, Hawaii
Alma materUniversity of New Mexico School of Law
(JD, 2000)
San Francisco State University
(BA, 1990)
Fashion Institute of Technology
(AAS, 1988)

Kim Coco Iwamoto is a commissioner on the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission, appointed by Governor Neil Abercrombie to serve the four-year term from 2012 to 2016.

Iwamoto previously served two terms with the Hawai Board of Education. Iwamoto, a trans woman was elected in November 2006, making her at that time the highest ranking openly transgender elected official in the United States and the first openly transgender official to win statewide office.[2]She has stated that being a transgender woman never came up publicly during her campaign.[3] She was reelected in 2010 with 25% more votes than in 2006.[4]

Iwamoto, a Japanese-American born on the island of Kauai, is a graduate of St. Louis High School. She received an A.A. in Merchandising from the Fashion Institute of Technology, a B.A. in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University, and her J.D. from the University of New Mexico School of Law.

Iwamoto publicly opposed passage of California's Proposition 8, outlawing same-sex marriages in California. She has stated that Proposition 8 reminds her of her mother's internment during World War II and believes the proposition is a violation of essential civil rights, stating, "The country has acknowledged that [internment] as a mistake, to just go with populous fear to oppress a specific group. I think we're going to look back at this kind of oppression as a mistake."[5]

References

  1. ^ "ABOUT KIM COCO". 2010. Retrieved 12 August 2011.
  2. ^ Associated Press (16 November 2006). "Hawaiian Becomes Highest-Elected Transgender Official". Fox News. Retrieved October 12, 2009.
  3. ^ "An Exclusive Interview With Kim Coco Iwamoto". www.hawaiinewsnow.com. Retrieved 2016-03-31.
  4. ^ "Hawaii Office of Elections: 2010 general election results" (PDF).
  5. ^ Park, Gene (16 November 2008), Islanders protest gay-marriage ban, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, retrieved September 28, 2006
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