Honolulu City Councilman Joey Manahan announced Friday that he will run for the 1st Congressional District seat this fall, joining a crowded field that already includes two Council colleagues and one of his former mentors.
Manahan, 43, was elected to the Council in 2012. He would not have to resign from his four-year term to run for Congress.
He was first elected in 2006 to the state House of Representatives, where he served three terms, including a time as vice speaker.
Two other Council members, Ikaika Anderson and Stanley Chang, are also in the race, as are Senate President Donna Mercado Kim, state Sen. Will Espero, state Rep. Mark Takai and community activist Kathryn Xian. All of the candidates are Democrats.
Chang and Takai are forgoing re-election bids in order to run, while Anderson, Kim and Espero would keep their jobs if unsuccessful.
Manahan, who came to the United States from the Philippines as a child, said his background puts him in a unique position to understand immigration reform issues as well as the need to refocus the nation’s priorities in the Asia-Pacific region.
Kim, for whom Manahan worked as a staff aide for a year, said she was informed of his candidacy via an email sent to his supporters and the media Friday morning.
A supporter of Manahan’s political career through the years, Kim said she considers herself a mentor to him. While she wishes him well, she said "it’s sad" he did not give her advance notice of his intentions given their past relationship. "I guess that’s today’s politics."
Manahan said he considers Kim a friend and that "I did learn a lot from her, for sure." But he stressed that he had worked or is working with nearly all the other candidates in the race and that he chose to give none of them advance notice.
Anderson and Chang said they wished their colleague well.
Current 1st District Rep. Colleen Hanabusa is forgoing re-election this fall to challenge U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz for the seat he now holds.
