About Brenda Ford

Hawaiʻi County Council Member, District 7
Elected in 2006 and reelected in 2008. Former Chair of Public Works and current Chair of Food and Energy Sustainability Committee.

Personal Information
Brenda was born on the San Francisco Bay area. Her Father was a carpenter, then a contractor. She grew up in a home built by her father’s hands. Brenda has been married to Larry Ford, her best friend and biggest supporter for 19 years. Larry was a Senior Contract Manager (negotiator) for Pacific Bell and is now retired. They have three grown children who live in California and Washington State.

Brenda and Larry came to the island of Hawaiʻi on their honeymoon and fell in love with its ocean, countryside, and perfect climate for orchids, which Brenda loves. They have resided on the Big Island since 1995. They currently live on a small farm in Captain Cook where they grow papaya, lychee and coffee.

Professional History
Brenda worked her way through college, earning a management degree. She started at Pacific Bell in 1969. She became a Union Steward and was promoted into management. Brenda worked her way up to product manager, then project manager. She took early retirement in 1991. Subsequently, she worked as a project manager in the chemical industry. After moving to Hawaiʻi Island, she worked in sales in the hotel industry for two years.

Community Involvement
Brenda’s belief in giving back to the community resulted in her service as a Director or Corporate Officer for several nonprofit organizations: Kona Orchid Society, Plan To Protect, South Kona Community Emergency Response Team, and Citizens For Equitable and Responsible Government. Brenda and Larry have acted as advisors for several small start-up corporations. In addition, they also volunteer for the Red Cross Disaster Action Team, the South Kona Community Emergency Response Team, and serve as Neighborhood Watch Coordinators. Brenda was the island-wide disaster committee coordinator for the American Red Cross.

For 13 years, Brenda was a community advocate before Commissions, Boards and the County Council supporting improved infrastructure, workforce housing, environmental protection, public safety, small business development, a fair and equal vote for everyone, and an equitable reapportionment plan. Passionate about redistricting fairness, Brenda took her case against Hawaiʻi County’s Reapportionment Commission to the U.S. Supreme Court in an effort to equitably balance council districts.