Gill, Thomas P. (Thomas Ponce), 1922-2009
Biographical notes:
Thomas Ponce Gill (April 21, 1922 – June 3, 2009) was an American lawyer and politician. A member of the Democratic party, he served in the U.S. Congress representing Hawai'i's at-large congressional district from 1963 to 1965 and was the third lieutenant governor of Hawaii from 1966 to 1970.
Born in Honolulu, Hawai'i, Gill attended public schools there before attending the University of Hawaii at Mānoa before earning B.A. and LL.B. degrees from the University of California at Berkeley. After graduating, Gill began practicng law in Hawai'i. Gill served in Hawaii's territorial legislature and, after statehood in 1959, became a member of the first state house delegation, representing the 15th district until his time in Congress. He was elected to one of his state's two Congressional seats in 1962 and served one term. In Congress, he was a staunch supporter of liberal causes, including civil rights. He then worked as the director of Hawaii's Office of Economic Opportunity. In 1964, Gill chose not to seek reelection and instead ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senator, losing to Republican incumbent Hiram Fong. In 1966, he was elected Lieutenant Governor with incumbent Governor John A. Burns.
During his term as Lieutenant Governor, Gill, considered outspoken and acerbic, developed differences with Burns, and was never shy about criticizing the incumbent, despite being part of his administration. In 1970, Gill challenged Burns in the Democratic primary. Gill ran as a reformer, campaigning against what he described as an entrenched, corrupt political machine. He narrowly lost, even though Burns significantly outspent him in a savvy campaign that included sophisticated use of expensive image-building television spots. Most in the state's large Japanese population remained loyal to Burns, who had spearheaded their rise to political power during the 1950s. Before Neil Abercrombie lost in 2014 this race stood as the closest anyone came to a primary defeat of an incumbent governor of Hawaii. Gill ran in the primary for governor again in 1974, but lost again in the primary to George Ariyoshi, who had succeeded him as lieutenant governor. After failing both campaigns, he resumed his career as a lawyer.
Gill died in 2009 in Honolulu and was buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
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Subjects:
- Legislators
Occupations:
- Lawyers
- Lieutenant governors
- Representatives, U.S. Congress
- Soldiers
- State Representative
Places:
- HI, US
- CA, US
- HI, US
- Hawaii (as recorded)
- United States (as recorded)
