Thomas Gill

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For the comic book artist, see Tom Gill (comics)

Thomas Gill was Congressman and Lieutenant Governor of Hawai'i.

Thomas Gill, formally Thomas Ponce Gill (born April 21, 1922), a Democrat, served in the United States Congress from 1962 to 1964 and was Lieutenant Governor of Hawai'i from 1966 to 1970.

Born in Honolulu, Hawai'i, Gill was a decorated infantryman in the Pacific Theatre during World War II. After the war, he attended law school and began practicing law in Hawaii.

Gill served in Hawaii's territorial state legislature and, after statehood in 1959, became a member of the first state house delegation. He was elected to one of his state's two Congressional seats in 1962 and served one term. In Congress, he was a staunch supporter of liberal causes, including civil rights. He then worked as the director of Hawaii's Office of Economic Opportunity. In 1966, he was elected Lieutenant Governor with incumbent Governor John A. Burns.

During his term as Lieutenant Governor, Gill developed differences with Governor Burns. While Burns was a supporter of President Lyndon Johnson and the Vietnam War, Gill supported the 1968 primary challenge of Senator Eugene McCarthy and was against the war. In 1970, Gill challenged incumbent Governor John Burns in the Democratic Primary. Gill ran to Burns' left, and centered his campaign on his opposition to American involvement in Vietnam. He narrowly lost, but this race still stands as the closest anyone has come to a primary defeat of an incumbent governor of Hawaii. He ran in the primary for governor again in 1974. After failing both campaigns, he resumed his career as a lawyer.

Gill has two sons who have been involved in Hawaiian politics. His son Gary served on the Honolulu City Council and son Tony is a labor lawyer who considered seeking the governorship in 2006.