About Mayor Rick Blangiardi
15th Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu
Rick Blangiardi has led a life of uncompromising service to Hawaiʻi, his colleagues, and his family. Decisively elected by the residents of Oʻahu in 2020 and reelected in 2024 for a second term, with a commanding 78% of the vote, Blangiardi is leading the nearly one million people of the City and County of Honolulu — which ranks as the eleventh largest municipality in the country.
Now in his second term — which started on January 2, 2025 — Blangiardi and his leadership team are focused on relentlessly addressing the “Wicked Problems” that are top-of-mind for all Oʻahu residents. These intractable issues — including homelessness and the lack of affordable housing across our communities — have plagued the City for decades, due to complex challenges and a deficit of decision-making on difficult topics.
Armed with a deep understanding of these problems that was fostered during his first term, Blangiardi and his team are moving ahead with bold and innovative initiatives that are helping chart the course of the City for years to come, making it easier to provide services and shelter to the homeless, streamline the permitting process, improve the drivers licensing process and enhance core City services.
Key to that progress is removing drama and politics from the decision-making process, working together with all stakeholders in a purposeful, intelligent, and respectful way, and simply focusing on doing what is right on behalf of all the people who call Oʻahu home.
Blangiardi first took office January 2, 2021 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. He immediately went to work hiring a dedicated leadership team of more than 40 highly accomplished and experienced professionals to address the short and long term challenges facing the City. The top priorities included navigating the pandemic and its health and economic impacts, affordable housing and homelessness, public safety, rail, and modernizing services to bring the City’s technology into the 21st century.
Prior to being elected as mayor, Blangiardi led a distinguished and award-winning career as a media executive that spanned more than four decades. He began his broadcast career at KGMB in 1977 and from there went on to become a nationally recognized leader, succeeding in senior executive positions in many of the nation’s most competitive markets including Seattle, New York City, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Blangiardi’s last mainland position was President of Telemundo Holdings Inc., the nation’s second-largest Hispanic television network. He was based in Los Angeles and responsible for the operations and dramatic turnaround of Telemundo’s 11 owned-and-operated stations throughout 10 major markets in the United States and Puerto Rico. A key highlight of Blangiardi’s tenure was leading the sale of Telemundo in 2001 to NBC for $2.7 billion, the largest deal in NBC’s history at the time.
Returning to Honolulu, Blangiardi was Senior Vice President and General Manager of both KHON2 (FOX) and KGMB9 (CBS) from 2002 through the sale of KHON2 in 2006. From 2006 through 2009, he served as GM of KGMB, and in 2009 he became the GM of the newly created Hawaii News Now (KGMB and KHNL), the state’s largest multi-media company.
Practicing what he preaches, Blangiardi has an extensive resume of involvement with Hawaiʻi’s leading non-profit organizations, educational institutions and youth development programs, including chairman, past president and director positions for the ‘Ahahui Koa Anuenue, Aloha Council Boy Scouts of America, American Red Cross Hawaiʻi Chapter, Central Pacific Bank, Chamber of Commerce of Hawaiʻi, Hawaiʻi Food Bank, Hawaiʻi State Federal Credit Union, Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum, Public Schools of Hawaiʻi Foundation, Na Koa; University of Hawaiʻi Football Booster Club, and the YMCA Honolulu.
Forever a coach, Blangiardi began his football coaching career in the early 1970s at the University of Connecticut and then went on to the University of Hawaiʻi, rising in the coaching ranks to become the Defensive Coordinator/Associate Head Football Coach. You will still hear him speak to his staff and the public as if he is motivating his players to give nothing short of their very best effort.
Blangiardi is a veteran of the United States Naval Reserve, serving more than six years before being honorably discharged on August 1, 1970.
Blangiardi initially enrolled as a freshman at University of Hawaiʻi, Manoa in 1965, then transferred two years later and earned his Bachelor of Science (BS) degree from Springfield College in 1969. He returned to Hawaiʻi and received his Master’s in Educational Administration (M.Ed.) from the University of Hawaiʻi in 1973.
During his most recent ten-year tenure at Hawaii New Now, before retiring to run for mayor, Blangiardi and his team garnered more than 100 Emmy Awards, Mark Twain AP Awards and Edward R. Murrow Awards for journalistic excellence competing against major west coast markets.
Some of Blangiardi’s most notable recognitions include:
2010 – Sales and Marketing Executives International Chapter: “Salesperson of the Year” This highly coveted and prestigious award is presented annually to an individual ‘who has greatly enhanced the image of Hawaii and the quality of life in our community’
2014 – University of Hawaiʻi – Distinguished Alumni Award
2015 – Boy Scouts of America – Aloha Council: “Hawaiʻi’s Distinguished Citizen of the Year”
2016 – Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS): Lifetime Achievement Award from the Silver Circle Society
2018 – University of Hawaiʻi: Sports Circle of Honor
2019 – Springfield College: Distinguished Alumni recipient
2019 – March of Dimes: Franklin Delano Roosevelt Award for Distinguished Community Service
2019 – Consular Corps of Hawaiʻi: Distinguished Service Award
Humbled and proud of his family, Rick lives in Honolulu with his wife Karen Chang. He has three children; Matt, Ryan and Laura and six grandchildren.