Today we celebrate the life and legacy of one of our own: CLCV Board member Kimo Campbell.
James Kimo Campbell, a longtime member and Secretary of the CLCV Board of Directors, died at the age of 65 on February 16 of complications from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig’s disease.
From the Marin Independent Journal:
Born Feb. 11, 1947 in Los Angeles, Mr. Campbell was raised in Ewa Beach, Hawaii by his adoptive grandmother, Alice Kamokila Campbell. Mr. Campbell attended the Punahou School in Honolulu before coming to Northern California in 1966. He studied journalism at the College of Marin, winning the Marin Independent Journal’s award for outstanding student journalism in 1967 and becoming editor of the College of Marin Times in 1968. He worked as a part-time sportswriter for the Independent Journal from 1967 to 1969, and later continued his freelance work for the California Journal, the Pacific Sun and other publications.
While at the College of Marin, Mr. Campbell also became involved in student politics, particularly the emerging protest movement against the Vietnam war. He was also active in protests against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ plans to build a concrete channel through the College of Marin campus to control the flood waters of Corte Madera Creek, going so far as to stand in the path of one of the bulldozers sent to begin the project.
Kimo continued to champion environmental causes and stand up for civil liberties, among other important causes, throughout his life. He loved all things Hawaii — the culture, land, music, and people — and operated the publishing house Pueo Press, which specialized in books about Hawaii. He also ran the Pohaku Fund, which supports environmental protection, civil rights and Hawaiian sovereignty.
It’s difficult to summarize in this limited space the life and legacy of a dear friend; with that caveat, several of his fellow CLCV Board members shared the following memories of Kimo:
“The Board and staff of the California League of Conservation Voters and the CLCV Education Fund have made a $1,000 contribution to the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California in honor of our friend and Board colleague, Kimo Campbell. We are grateful to have shared his selfless and gentle spirit and we honor his lifelong passion and commitment to civil rights, the environment and Hawaiian sovereignty. He will be remembered for his many generous contributions to the justice and environmental community.” – Rick Zbur, Chair, CLCV Board of Directors
“Kimo was incredibly committed to CLCV and its political mission on behalf of the environment. During my tenure as Board Chair, Kimo was willing to undertake some very difficult assignments to help our organization out. This is in addition to his very generous financial contributions to CLCV. Unfortunately, during the last few years he had several medical problems and was frequently in pain. Despite that he attended our meetings, often at considerable personal sacrifice. Kimo was a kind and gentle person, committed to environmental progress and the kind of warm human being that the world needs more of. He will be greatly missed.” – Tom Adams
“A gentle generous smiling soul has passed. I am thinking of Kimo in his island home of Hawaii with the warm water and friendly sun. His aloha shirts will always mean Kimo to me. Mahalo.” – Annie Notthoff
“I knew Kimo as gentle and selfless, always showing up and ready to help when needed. He was spare with words, a trait that is far too rare these days. I recall joking with Kimo during an unusually long board meeting about a quote from my high school yearbook that he seemed to appreciate: ‘God gave us two eyes, two ears and one mouth so we can see and hear twice as much as we say.’ In Kimo’s honor, I will leave it at that.” – Charles Stringer
We conclude with these inspiring words from our friend and colleague Kimo Campbell himself. First, spoken to a reporter in a 1977 interview:
“The one way to ensure that you have no political power is not to do anything. I don’t have a lot of patience with people who say there’s no use in doing anything because everyone is corrupt. We can’t afford to have people on the sidelines.”
Finally, here he is talking about California’s environmental priorities, in an interview taped at CLCV’s Environmental Leadership Awards in June 2010:
