Big Island Mayor Harry Kim said he made up his mind not to enter the Democratic primary for governor at 4 a.m. yesterday and then woke up his wife, Bobbi, to tell her.

"The bottom line in decision-making was simple — to finish the task at hand and honor my commitment to the people of Hawai'i County before taking on another task," Kim said, in a news release.

Kim, whom some Democratic leaders viewed as the best challenger to incumbent Republican Gov. Linda Lingle, informed his Cabinet later in the morning before issuing his statement.

The jeans-wearing, "just-call-me-Harry" mayor said it was an agonizing decision, requiring him to weigh the commitment he made with Hawai'i Island constituents with "an absolute belief that I would present a clearly different choice to Hawai'i's people."

Kim, who turns 67 next month, said recent decisions made by the Lingle administration regarding prisons, economic growth, education and housing further spurred him to consider a run for state executive. He said contemplating a run for the post of governor made him realize that "I must become more involved in expressing positions on issues that I feel strongly about. I will do this."

In his statement, Kim apologized to Cabinet members, his family and others who may have been affected by the lateness of his decision.

"I need for people to understand that the indecision up to this point on which direction to go was truly because of not knowing what was right for me to do," Kim said.

Both leading contenders for the Democratic nomination, former state Sen. Randall Iwase and Wai'anae harbormaster and Hawaiian activist William Aila, yesterday said they would seek Kim's support.

Aila said he believes he and Kim share much of the same support base.

"The values are basic, old-time Democratic values of doing what's best for the entire population rather than segments of the population, that worry about the healthiness of the environment and talking about long-term planning," Aila said.

Iwase said his campaign strategy would have been the same with or without Kim's entry into the primary.

"The election is just about going out there and meeting as many people as you can, distributing your brochures and having coffee hours," he said. "We've been doing a lot of grass-roots campaigning, and that's not going to change," he said, noting that Lingle has a substantial advantage in terms of campaign funds.

Randy Perreira, president of the state AFL-CIO and deputy executive director of the Hawaii Government Employees Association, acknowledged that the HGEA was waiting for Kim's decision before making an endorsement for governor. However, Perreira said, neither organization had promised an endorsement to Kim if he would run.

AFL-CIO leaders are scheduled to meet on Wednesday to decide endorsements. HGEA leaders will gather July 29.

Reach Gordon Y.K. Pang at gpang@honoluluadvertiser.com.