Hanabusa makes House run official

Colleen Hanabusa formally launched her campaign Thursday to seek election to the U.S. House of Representatives representing urban Honolulu, a seat she held from 2011 to 2015.

Hanabusa surrendered that District 1 House seat to challenge U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz in the 2014 Democratic primary, but her bid for the U.S. Senate was ultimately unsuccessful. She now has a rare opportunity to return to Congress because U.S. Rep. Mark Takai, who holds the urban Honolulu House seat now, will not run for re-election.

Hanabusa, a Democrat, filed for the office and recited an affirmation of loyalty Thursday with her mother, June, seated on her right, and her husband, John Souza, on her left. About 60 supporters looked on and applauded, including members of various construction trade unions, teamsters and the ILWU.

Also filing for the same U.S. House race this week was Leinaala “Lei” Ahu Isa, a Democrat and former member of the state House of Representatives who is now a trustee for the state Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

Takai announced last month he would not seek re-election to the House, saying he had learned that his pancreatic cancer had spread. Hanabusa, 65, said Takai urged her to enter the race, and also offered up a public endorsement of Hanabusa at the state convention of the Hawaii Democratic Party last weekend.

“I wish to extend my deepest aloha to my friend Mark Takai,” said Hanabusa. “Our thoughts and heartfelt prayers are with him, his wife, Sami, and his entire family as he completes his term and focuses on his health. I am committed to continuing the great work he began, and thank him dearly for his support.”

Hanabusa said she was also recently contacted by Republican U.S. Rep. Don Young of Alaska, one of the most senior members of the House, who urged her to return to Congress to help in the fight for native rights. One of her top priorities in the House will be advocating for Native Hawaiian issues, she said.

“I really believe that for Hawaii to move forward, we need to have a strong foundation of our values, and our values in Hawaii are tied to the host culture but also the multicultural aspects of it,” she said. “We are all able to be so unique in Hawaii. I want Hawaii to stay Hawaii as much as it can.”

Successfully representing Hawaii in Congress “is based on relationships that have been built, based on the people and the trust, but it’s also based on respect,” Hanabusa said.

With her years of political experience and her high level of name recognition, Hanabusa is the presumed favorite in the race. She is a labor lawyer who was first elected to represent Leeward Oahu in the state Senate in 1998, and served as chairwoman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and as majority leader for the Senate Democrats.

In 2007 she became the first female president of the state Senate.

Hanabusa led the state Senate until 2010, when Neil Abercrombie resigned from the urban Honolulu U.S. House seat to run for governor. Hanabusa then ran for that seat, with mixed results.

She lost to Republican Charles Djou in a special election to fill out the remaining months of Abercrombie’s term, but defeated Djou in the November 2010 general election to win a full two-year term in the U.S. House. She defeated Djou again in a rematch in 2012.

Shortly before Inouye died in 2012, Inouye urged then-Gov. Abercrombie to choose Hanabusa as his replacement. Abercrombie appointed Schatz instead, and Hanabusa challenged Schatz in the 2014 Democratic primary.

She was narrowly defeated in a tough race, which suggests there could be friction if Hanabusa rejoins Schatz in the Hawaii congressional delegation. Hanabusa said she saw Schatz at a Memorial Day service, and they agreed to talk.

“I think it’s one of those situations where, yes, everyone fought hard, but this is a matter of what’s in the best interests of Hawaii and we have to move forward,” she said. “I’m sure we’ll be able to get past it.”

Also entering the race this week is Ahu Isa, 72, who wasted no time in criticizing Hanabusa. She pointed to Hanabusa’s “baggage,” including her vote as a state senator in 1999 against the confirmation of then-Attorney General Margery Bronster.

Bronster was ordered by former Gov. Ben Cayetano to investigate the charitable Bishop Estate trust in 1997; she filed a court petition in 1998 calling for the removal of the five Bishop Estate trustees.

The Senate vote on Bronster’s reconfirmation was on April 28, 1999, near the height of the public controversy over the management of the trust, which was created to support Kamehameha Schools. Hanabusa opposed Bronster, and the Senate rejected Bronster’s appointment in a 14-11 vote that triggered an angry political backlash.

When asked about Ahu Isa’s criticism, Hanabusa replied that then-Sen. David Ige also voted against confirming Bronster, and “the question is, Why did so many vote the way they did?”

“I think it’s unfortunate if she doesn’t understand the issue that she wants to raise it,” Hanabusa said.

Hanabusa said she voted against Bronster mostly because she was dissatisfied with the lack of progress on Hawaiian claims in connection with ceded-land revenues, and with the lack of progress on individual claims filed by people who were left waiting for years for Hawaiian homestead awards.

Ahu Isa, who lives in downtown Honolulu, was elected to the state Board of Education in 2004 and served there for eight years. She is also a member of the Ahahui Kaahumanu, or Kaahumanu Society, and is principal broker for Hilton Grand Vacations Management LLC.

Ahu Isa was elected as trustee for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs in 2014 but clearly hasn’t been satisfied with that experience.

“I get in there … and these trustees don’t do anything; I’m so frustrated,” she said. “I’m not running because of that, but I feel I could help them more if I get into that level. Get a Hawaiian in there; I’m Hawaiian.

“Nobody is taking care of us now,” Ahu Isa said, referring to Hawaiians. U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye “always took care of us,” but he has died and U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka has retired.

“Who looks out for us? Mark (Takai) was trying to help us; he’s not there. Tulsi? No. Mazie? No,” Ahu Isa said, referring to U.S. Reps. Mark Takai, Tulsi Gabbard and U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono. “I’m doing it for my beneficiaries; we need a Hawaiian in Congress.”

Ahu Isa said she will not hold any fundraisers or raise money for the race, and will rely on Hawaiians to support her. “They can organize. That’s my army right there, so it’s not like I don’t have anybody behind me,” she said.