Tim Sakara Named Communications Director for City and County of Honolulu

Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi named Tim Sakahara as communications director for the City and County of Honolulu, beginning Feb. 16.

Sakahara currently serves as communications director for the Hawai‘i Department of Transportation, which consists of 15 airports, 10 commercial harbors and more than 2,500 highway lane miles across the state. He represents the department’s 2,600 employees.

Prior to joining the Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation (HDOT) in January 2015, Sakahara was an award-winning journalist for 17 years. His most recent stint in journalism was with Hawai‘i News Now, where Blangiardi served as General Manager. Sakahara has reported in television markets in Hawai‘i, California, Oklahoma and Oregon, where in addition to covering government and legislative stories, his assignments included chasing tornadoes, hurricanes and tsunamis.

“Tim Sakahara brings a very real depth and breadth of knowledge and experience in both government and media to lead our communications team,” Mayor Blangiardi said. “In our commitment to best serve and communicate vital information to our residents, Tim is an extraordinary and gifted communicator. We are all very grateful and excited Tim has accepted this very challenging role.”

Sakahara said: “I am grateful for the opportunity to continue serving the community, while rejoining my former boss, Mayor Blangiardi, whom I have great respect for. I thoroughly enjoyed my experience with HDOT and look forward to working for the City and County of Honolulu and communicating the new administration’s mission and goals to the public in a positive, transparent and effective manner.”

In addition to being a dedicated public servant, Sakahara is active in the community and regularly volunteers for various educational and charitable organizations. Sakahara graduated from UCLA with a degree in Political Science.