For those of us in Hawaii, mark this year 1 A.D. — the start of the first year After Dan.

Assessing the passing of Daniel K. Inouye, Hawaii’s longest serving and most politically important U.S. senator, is just now starting.

At the state Capitol, and for politicians across the state, it is mostly about measuring the size of the vacuum left by Inouye’s death on Dec. 17.

On a crass economic level, talk in Hawaii about Inouye’s departure has been to compare it to something like a cargo cult tragedy. Business and economic experts are predicting great losses, as Inouye will not be able to steer federal money and contracts home.

Hawaii’s finance director, Kalbert Young, says without Inouye, the state faces an economic cliff far worse than the federal fiscal cliff.

Young told a joint committee hearing at the Capitol last week that the "Inouye cliff" is immeasurable and expected to last for years.

In politics, the Inouye vacuum will be filled, but the question of how and by whom is sure to leave many unsettled.

As one top Inouye ally, who asked for anonymity to speak freely, said: "Dan Inouye is the reason Mazie Hirono is a U.S. senator."

True, Inouye’s early and strong endorsement of Hirono in last year’s Democratic primary was the biggest boost of Hirono’s career, although Hirono had her own long career in local politics to add to the campaign.

Inouye’s clout intensified during the years that Linda Lingle was Hawaii’s Republican governor, because Inouye assumed the role of local Democratic titular head.

During that time, the Inouye name was the magic that carried a lot of men and women into local office.

And his personal dislike of former U.S. Rep. Ed Case was what spurred Case’s repeated defeats in Democratic primaries.

On issues, Inouye’s support of the Jones Act, which blocks foreign registered ships from carrying cargo from the West Coast to Hawaii, has been nearly an act of faith for Hawaii’s congressional delegation, except for the time Case was in Congress.

Even the state issue of legalizing gambling was a topic that Inouye could influence. Back in 2002 he delivered a speech on the subject, telling the Chamber of Commerce that it would destroy Waikiki’s "family-friendly nature."

Inouye was influential, but his opposition was not the only reason gambling didn’t pass back in 2002, said former Gov. Ben Cayetano, who added that negative views by local religious leaders and the then-two state newspapers carried more weight.

But, now with Inouye gone and Hawaii needing much more money for pension and health care debts, "gambling may have a better shot at being passed," Cayetano said in an interview last week.

Perhaps the most obvious filling of the power vacuum left by Inouye was Gov. Neil Abercrombie appointing Lt. Gov. Brian Schatz as Hawaii’s senior senator. That came after the state Democratic Party Central Committee, where Abercrombie enjoys much support, provided the Democratic governor with three names, including the one Inouye requested, U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa.

In picking Schatz — young, capable but relatively untested — Abercrombie went with his own gut and not the advice of Inouye. Schatz assumes the mantle after winning the Democratic primary back in 2010 with just 83,000 votes.

It was the first sign that even if the vacuum had not been filled, there were others occupying the space left by Inouye.

—————
Richard Borreca writes on politics on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Reach him at rborreca@staradvertiser.com.