B.J. Penn is back on a Hawaii ballot, this time for a local race on the Big Island.
Hawaii’s official 2026 candidate list names Jay D. Penn, with the ballot name BJ Penn, as a nonpartisan special-election candidate for Hawaii County Council District 1. The Aug. 8 primary also lists Heather L. Kimball and Ren Del Rosario in the same contest.
The District 1 seat covers North Hilo, Hamakua, and part of Waimea. Kimball is the incumbent, while Penn enters the race after previous political runs for Hawaii governor and county council.
Penn laid out his local campaign pitch in a 2026 District 1 candidate video with Nā Leo TV.
Penn’s Local Campaign Pitch
Penn said the campaign itself has become part of the draw for him after his earlier run for governor and a previous county council race.
“I really enjoy it.”
Asked about values, Penn said his father gave him the line he still uses to frame public service.
“Don’t let the cancer of lying and stealing ever enter our family.”
His policy answers kept returning to one theme: Hawaii’s cost of living. Penn said he did not want to increase pressure on residents through taxes or fees, then linked the issue to food production and energy.
“Hawaii’s got one problem. It’s called the highest cost of living in the nation and everything else is a symptom.”
“We really got to start producing things over here.”
Penn argued District 1 could be part of the answer because of its farmland, rainfall, and rivers. He said he wants the region to grow more food locally and explore hydroelectric power where it can be done without damaging waterways.
“Our two biggest costs are the food and the electricity.”
“Hunger will make criminals of us all.”
“We got to start feeding ourselves with it”
“But it’s our stomachs that are the market.”
“That could be Hawaii’s food basket. I mean Hawaii’s refrigerator right there.”
“Hamakua can do something about it.”
Asked about compromise with other officials, Penn said the job would require direct relationship-building.
“You got to know how to get along with everybody.”
“I really feel I’m a people person.”
On youth retention, Penn started with the basic issue before returning to food and electricity costs.
“We need jobs.”
Legal Cases Still On The Calendar
The campaign is unfolding while Penn’s criminal cases remain active. A judge ruled in June that the former UFC champion was fit to proceed after a court-ordered mental health evaluation.
“The court, having reviewed the reports of defendant’s appointed examiner and noting that neither the state nor the defendant’s counsel contests the findings and contents of the report, finds by a preponderance of the evidence that defendant is fit to proceed.”
Penn is due back in court on Aug. 28. His 2025 arrests included abuse of a family or household member allegations and later restraining-order violation allegations tied to his mother, Lorraine Shin. The cases remain pending.
In the restraining-order filing, Shin accused Penn of psychological abuse and asked the court for protection and treatment conditions.
“I believe my son [B.J. Penn] is suffering from Capgras delusional syndrome (a psychiatric disorder in which a person holds a delusion that a friend, spouse, parent, other close family member has been replaced by an identical imposter).”
“In the best interest for my safety, I ask the court for a six-month [temporary restraining order] and have my son ordered to get medical treatment or other source of therapy.”
From UFC Gold To Another Ballot
Penn remains one of the most recognizable names tied to Hawaiian MMA. He won UFC titles at lightweight and welterweight, later entered the UFC Hall of Fame, and became a crossover public figure in the state.
Penn’s public timeline already includes his 2022 Hawaii governor bid, his loss in that Republican primary, and the June ruling that allowed his criminal cases to resume after the mental health evaluation.
The election timeline is now tight. Penn’s name is on the Aug. 8 District 1 primary ballot, and his next court date follows less than three weeks later.
