Mazie Hirono
| Mazie Hirono 広野 慶子 |
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Hawaii's 2nd district |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2007 |
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| Preceded by | Ed Case |
| 9th Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii | |
| In office December 2, 1994 – December 2, 2002 |
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| Governor | Ben Cayetano |
| Preceded by | Ben Cayetano |
| Succeeded by | James Aiona |
| Member of the Hawaii House of Representatives from the 22nd district |
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| In office January 3, 1993 – January 3, 1995 |
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| Preceded by | Gene Ward |
| Succeeded by | Terry Nui Yoshinaga |
| Member of the Hawaii House of Representatives from the 32nd district |
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| In office January 3, 1985 – January 3, 1993 |
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| Preceded by | Clarice Hashimoto |
| Succeeded by | Len Pepper |
| Member of the Hawaii House of Representatives from the 20th district |
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| In office January 3, 1983 – January 3, 1985 |
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| Preceded by | Mitsuo Shito, Daniel Kihano |
| Succeeded by | Cam Cavasso |
| Member of the Hawaii House of Representatives from the 12th district |
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| In office January 3, 1981 – January 3, 1983 |
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| Preceded by | Clifford Uwaine, David Hagino |
| Succeeded by | Barbara Marumoto |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Mazie Keiko Hirono November 3, 1947 Fukushima Prefecture, Japan |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Leighton Kim Oshima |
| Residence | Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Alma mater | University of Hawai'i at Manoa, Georgetown University |
| Occupation | attorney |
| Religion | Buddhism (non-practicing) |
Mazie Keiko Hirono (メイジー・ヒロノ Meijī Hirono, Japanese name: 広野 慶子 Hirono Keiko, born November 3, 1947) is the U.S. Representative for Hawaii's 2nd congressional district, serving since 2007. She is a member of the Democratic Party.
She was the second Asian immigrant elected lieutenant governor of a state of the United States. She ran against Linda Lingle for governor of Hawaii in 2002, one of the few gubernatorial races in United States history where two major parties nominated women to challenge each other. She considers herself a non-practicing Buddhist,[1] and is often cited with Hank Johnson (D-Georgia), as the first Buddhist to serve in the United States Congress.[2] She is the third woman to be elected to Congress from the state of Hawaii (after Patsy Mink and Pat Saiki). On May 19, 2011, Hirono announced her candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat left open by Senator Daniel Akaka.
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[edit] Early life, education, and law career
Hirono was born in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, in 1947. In 1955, Hirono's mother escaped an abusive marriage by emigrating to the United States with her children. Raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, Hirono attended Kaʻahumanu Elementary and Koko Head Elementary Schools. She later graduated from Kaimuki High School, which at the time of her attendance had a predominantly Japanese American student body. Upon graduating from high school, Hirono enrolled at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa where, in 1970, she received B.A. in psychology. She left Hawaii briefly to attend Georgetown University Law School. She was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa and obtained her J.D. in 1978. Hirono quickly returned to Honolulu where she practiced law.
[edit] Hawaii House of Representatives
[edit] Elections
[edit] Tenure
From 1980 to 1994, Hirono served in the Hawaii House of Representatives, passing more than 120 laws. She was honored by a coalition of leaseholders as Legislator of the Year in 1984.
[edit] Committee assignments
From 1987 to 1992, she was the chairman of the Consumer Protection and Commerce Committee.
[edit] Lieutenant Governor
In 1994, she joined the ticket of incumbent Lieutenant Governor Benjamin J. Cayetano and was consequently elected to an historic administration led by the first Filipino American governor and first Japanese immigrant lieutenant governor. During her tenure as lieutenant governor, Hirono was also president of the National Commission on Teaching, America's Future, as well as the Hawaiʻi Policy Group. She also spearheaded the first-in-the-nation comprehensive Pre-Plus program, a precursor to universal pre-school education in the United States.
[edit] 2002 gubernatorial election
With her time as Lieutenant Governor coming to an end, Hirono formed a campaign structure as she set her sights on becoming the next governor of Hawai'i in a 2002 special election to fill a vacancy to be created by Jeremy Harris' entry in the gubernatorial election. Hawaii residents were shocked, considering his high polling numbers, when Harris abruptly dropped from the race for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination.
Hirono maneuvered to gain the support of potential Harris voters in her challenge against former Hawaii State House of Representatives Majority Leader Ed Case and former Republican Chairman D. G. Anderson for the Democratic ticket. Through the entire primary campaign season, Hirono and Case polled almost equally. Case appealed to Hawaii residents that his campaign was one of government reform as opposed to Hirono whom Case alleged represented the "Old Boys' Network" of Democrats that had ruled over Hawaii for forty years.
In a narrow primary election for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, Hirono beat Case, winning by 2,613 votes out of 185,995 valid votes cast.[3][4] Hirono ran against former Mayor of Maui, Republican Linda Lingle, in the general election. Lingle ultimately defeated Hirono to become the first female governor of Hawaii.[5]
[edit] U.S. House of Representatives
[edit] Elections
- 2006
On September 23, Hirono won the Democratic primary for Hawaii's 2nd congressional district, being vacated by Ed Case, in a 10-way race, garnering 21.8 percent of the vote, about 800 votes ahead of state Sen. Colleen Hanabusa, who had 21.1 percent. Former state Sen. Matt Matsunaga (14 percent) finished in third.[6]
Hirono entered the race with significant name recognition as the only candidate who had held statewide office, and she raised more money than any other candidate in the race – in part because she was backed by EMILY's List,[7] which supports pro-choice Democratic women. Hirono also loaned her campaign $100,000.
Hirono's primary win all but assured her of election in this heavily Democratic district. She defeated broadcaster Bob Hogue in the general election with 58 percent of the vote.
- 2008
Hirono won against Republican Roger B. Evans, Independent Shaun Stenshol, and Libertarian Jeff Mallan.
- 2010
Hirono won against Republican nominee John Willoughby, Libertarian nominee Patric R. Brock, and Independent Andrew Von Sonn.
[edit] Committee assignments
- Committee on Education and the Workforce
- Committee on Ethics
- Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
[edit] Caucuses
- Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus
- Congressional Wildlife Refuge Caucus
- International Conservation Caucus
- SAFE Port Act
[edit] 2012 U.S. Senate election
On May 19, 2011, Mazie Hirono announced her candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat left open by Senator Daniel Akaka, who is retiring at the end of his term in 2012.[8]
[edit] Electoral history
Results certified by the Office of Elections, State of Hawaii:[9]
- 2002 Race for Governor
- Linda Lingle (R), 51.1%
- Mazie Hirono (D), 46.6%
- 2006 Race for U.S. House of Representatives – 2nd Congressional District
- Mazie Hirono (D), 59.8%
- Bob Hogue (R), 38.2%
- 2008 Race for U.S. House of Representatives – 2nd Congressional District
- Mazie Hirono (D), 69.8%
- Roger Evans (R), 18.7%
- 2010 Race for U.S. House of Representatives – 2nd Congressional District
- Mazie Hirono (D), 67.7%
- John Willoughby (R), 23.7%
[edit] References
- ^ Camire, Dennis (January 5, 2007). "What happened to ... religious tolerance?". Honolulu Advertiser (Gannett Company). http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2007/Jan/05/ln/FP701050345.html. Retrieved August 9, 2011.
- ^ Jonathan Tilove. "New Congress brings with it religious firsts". Newhouse News Service. http://www.newhousenews.com/archive/tilove120806.html. Retrieved Dec. 8, 2006
- ^ Borreca, Richard (September 23, 2002). "The race is on". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. http://archives.starbulletin.com/2002/09/23/news/index1.html. Retrieved June 24, 2010.
- ^ State of Hawaii Office of Elections (September 28, 2002). "2002 Primary Election Results (Statewide Summary)" (PDF). http://hawaii.gov/elections/results/2002/primary/02swpri5.pdf. Retrieved June 24, 2010.
- ^ Borreca, Richard (November 6, 2002). "'Big responsibility'". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. http://archives.starbulletin.com/2002/11/06/news/index1.html. Retrieved June 24, 2010.
- ^ Rachel Kapochunas. "Akaka Survives Challenge from Case in Hawaii Democratic Primary", cqpolitics. Retrieved Sep. 24, 2006.
- ^ Carries Giddins. "Emily's list announces endorsement of Mazie Hirono for Hawaii's 2nd congressional District", "Essential Elements." Retrieved June 14, 2006.
- ^ DePledge, Derrick (May 20, 2011). "Hirono to run for U.S. Senate". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20110520_hirono_to_run_for_USSenate.html. Retrieved June 18, 2011.
- ^ "Election Results". Office of Elections, State of Hawaii. http://hawaii.gov/elections/results/. Retrieved December 5, 2010.
[edit] External links
- U.S. Congresswoman Mazie Hirono official U.S. House site
- Hirono for Senate official campaign site
- Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
- Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
- Congressional profile at GovTrack
- Congressional profile at OpenCongress
- Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
- Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
- Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
- Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
- Campaign contributions at the National Institute for Money in State Politics
- Appearances on C-SPAN programs
- Profile at SourceWatch
- Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi
- "The Immigrant Congresswoman" Dan Boylan, March 21, 2007, MidWeek cover story
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Ben Cayetano |
Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii 1994–2002 |
Succeeded by James Aiona Jr. |
| United States House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by Ed Case |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Hawaii's 2nd congressional district 2007–present |
Incumbent |
| United States order of precedence | ||
| Preceded by Keith Ellison D-Minnesota |
United States Representatives by seniority 273rd |
Succeeded by Hank Johnson D-Georgia |
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- 1947 births
- American Buddhists
- American female lawyers
- Members of the United States Congress of Asian descent
- Female members of the United States House of Representatives
- Georgetown University Law Center alumni
- American politicians of Japanese descent
- American people of Japanese descent
- Japanese emigrants to the United States
- Lieutenant Governors of Hawaii
- Living people
- Members of the Hawaii House of Representatives
- Members of the United States House of Representatives from Hawaii
- Naturalized citizens of the United States
- People from Fukushima Prefecture
- People from Honolulu, Hawaii
- University of Hawaii alumni
- Women state legislators in Hawaii
- Hawaii Democrats
- Asian American women in politics
