King-Hinds’ life of advocacy for less fortunate may have bipartisan appeal in Congress

Kimberlyn King-Hinds will have much in common with members of the U.S. House of Representatives on both sides of the aisle if she is elected this November to represent the CNMI as its non-voting delegate. She is a lawyer, just as 137 members of the House are, according to the Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House. It is historically the most common profession shared by members of Congress.

But Ms. King-Hinds’ profession only is the start of a long list of credentials and what voters may see as qualifications for the job she announced she’s running for the night of February 29, 2024. The longtime republican has years of experience at senior levels of the CNMI government and the Tinian municipal government. She most recently was the chairwoman of the Commonwealth Ports Authority, where she led the CNMI’s negotiations on the divert airfield lease agreement between the Defense Department and the Commonwealth, among her other achievements since serving on the board beginning in 2015.

The candidate also is out counsel for the NMI Settlement Fund, and served as in house counsel for the fund between 2014 and 2015.

According to her curriculum vitae, Ms. King-Hinds served as chairwoman of the Northern Marianas College Board of Regents from 2002 to 2006. She was responsible for establishing NMC’s accreditation, and also established the Regent’s Scholarship. It was in these early days of her career that the civic advocate began a lifelong passion for providing opportunities for the less fortunate through education. In 2000 she served the lieutenant governor through his Tinian office as special assistant for projects and community services, then went on to become executive director of the Tinian Youth Center.

Following her interlude as a businesswoman leading Tinian Ice and Water Co. and consultant with Paradise Real Estate & Consulting, and a short stint back in government at the mayor’s office as his chief of staff, Ms. King-Hinds returned to her love of education. This time, as a student. She moved to Hawaii to pursue her juris doctorate at the William S. Richardson School of Law, where she earned her degree in 2014. This is where her social justice advocacy took root.

In 2012, Ms. King-Hinds was a graduate assistant at the University of Hawaii’s Office of Gender Studies, where she helped to develop policy pertaining to gender-based harassment for the University of Hawaii in compliance with the Cleary Act.

And in a role that surely will help her to cultivate relationships with democrats across the aisle in the next Congress if she is elected, Ms. King-Hinds worked pro bono at the Hawaii Immigrant Justice Center. From 2013 to 2014, she assisted non-citizens with immigration-related issues and processing of temporary visas for human trafficking victims, according to her CV. She also used her post to raise awareness of issues facing COFA citizens, and assisted people to qualify for public benefits.

Her resume about her early days as a lawyer leaves out one important facet of her life of which she has been a vocal advocate. For years, Ms. King-Hinds has been an undaunted voice for survivors of sexual abuse, using her story as a survivor to help others out of the drug addiction, suicidal ideation, and other self-imprisonments they faced as a result of sexual abuse. The fight against sexual abuse and human trafficking is one of the few policy issues that bring both major political parties together, along with major lobbying activities in the nation’s capital.

The first-time candidate for political office said her slogan is “Level Up,” a call for the people of the Commonwealth to break through barriers of progress and into a new era. She faces democrat Edwin Propst and fellow republican John “Bolis” Gonzales in the November 5, 2024 general election.