Today we’d like to introduce you to Holly Kim.
Thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, how did you get started?
Being a civic fighter runs in my blood. My great-grandmother Shin Jung Sook was the first female Freedom Fighter in the Korean Liberation Army. She was a spy that brought messages back and forth from China to Korea, and she was the secretary and treasurer to General Kim Koo, who would go on to be the 6th provincial president of Korea. She sacrificed being a mother and wife for national independence. Leaving their son with his grandparents, both she and her husband went to fight for their country. I can only imagine the danger she faced while serving her country. She wrote a letter once a year, and when liberation happened, and she finally went home, she and her son hugged and cried for two hours. Currently, she rests in National Daejeon Cemetery, Korea’s equivalent of Arlington National. So the fighting spirit started even before me. It runs through my veins.
In 2012, I started to attend local village board meetings. It was my introduction to local politics. Someone wanted to open a restaurant at one meeting, but a board member said, “I wouldn’t eat at that establishment, so I’m not sure I want it in town.” I turned to my friend and said – This is a numbers game! If we were on the board, we could swing the vote to allow these small business owners to open their stores in the empty storefronts. Personal biases were in play rather than looking after their constituents or what was best for the village. We went out for a beer, clanked our glasses in a toast, and declared to ourselves that we would run for a seat on the village board.
Armed with a unifying platform for being small business champions, we hit the doors, the streets, and every event in town. Our message resonated with the voters, and in 2013, I wound up winning the election for village trustee. Being on the village board opened my eyes to a lot of things. I saw how the sausage was made. I was often invited for coffee by senior board members trying to sway my vote. I said thank you for your thoughts, and I’ll consider it, but ultimately the vote is mine to make. Boy, they didn’t like independent thinkers. They just wanted you to vote their way. I may have been an idealist, but I believed I was there to represent the voiceless, and my opinions clashed with the establishment.
I disagreed with the size of some economic incentive packages we offered. What are we doing for our small business owners? The ones who donate to the community and sponsor little league teams. I decided to run for mayor in the 2017 election. The thing about campaigning for office is, as a great philosopher once said: “Haters gonna hate.” There’s no short supply of “wait your turn” and “you’re not experienced enough.” But once you know who you are in your heart. In your mind, and are at peace with that. They can’t take that away from you. But most of all, they can’t use it against you. It was a spirited race. It was a dogfight. The results were close enough to necessitate a recount. Ultimately, I lost by five votes, where three voters swinging around could have ended the election in my favor. The obvious lesson was every single vote matters. And consequentially, every voter matters.
With the mayoral race over and my term as trustee ending with the election, I believed I was done with politics. But then, I began to receive solicitations from Democratic party leaders and Republicans. It was like being talent scouted from college sports to the big league. This was certainly a humbling experience. I ran for Lake County Treasurer so I could be home every night. During my campaign, I leaned heavily on my experience in tech and management. The election for mayor was really by 5; it meant I was just as good as the other guy—looking back. It had turned me into one hell of a public servant. I won Lake County Treasurer by 21,000 votes in 2018, and recently I won re-election in 2022 with 37,000+ votes
Would it have been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The treasurer’s race would pit me against an incumbent. The naysayers once again said, “You have no experience.” My response was neither did the other guy until he got the office. “Are you a CPA? No, but neither is he.” Some people would ask me: What about your children? What about your husband? Smile more. Smile less. Don’t dress too cute they’ll think you’re dumb but have some fashion sense so you look relatable. Wildly Impossible double standards. Why is the bar so much higher for women when no one asked those questions to men?
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My office collects the property taxes of all the parcels in the county. I told banks we all have to work harder – a goal of mine was to increase financial literacy for our residents on how to budget and live within their means. We are partnering to throw free financial literacy classes. I started an ESG (Environmental, social, and governance) investment policy centered on sustainability. House Bill 925 Passed with House and Senate to lower mobile home penalties. I am starting a robotics tournament hosted by CLC. I held workshops for residents who wanted to open their businesses. I invited the state treasurer to lake county to talk to nonprofits about the Charitable Trust grant. Every day is a challenge but in a crazy amazing way. I truly feel like I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be now.
What are your plans for the future?
I’m still working on making the Lake County Treasurer’s office better.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @voteforhollykim
- Facebook: @voteforhollykim
- Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/hollykim
- Twitter: @LakeCountyHolly
