CRAIG T. KOJIMA
Doug Chin (left):
The state attorney general seeks to replace U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa
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As expected, state Attorney General Douglas Chin officially announced Monday he will run for the U.S. House seat representing urban Honolulu.
Chin, a Democrat, seeks to replace Hawaii U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, who is running for governor. Hanabusa is also a Democrat.
Chin made the announcement Monday, saying the last year of legal battles over White House actions prompted him to run for the U.S. House seat. Chin has been a vocal opponent of decisions by President Donald Trump’s administration on immigration and other issues.
Chin, who was appointed by Gov. David Ige to be Hawaii’s attorney general in 2015, is the son of Chinese immigrants who came to the U.S. in the 1950s. His father was an interpreter for the U.S. during the Korean War, he said.
Chin is married, with two children.
Ige said Monday he does not think Chin’s campaign for political office will affect his performance as the state’s top law enforcement official, and said he has not asked Chin to resign.
“I do know that we have important cases that are in progress that I think are fundamentally important to our state,” Ige said. “I am certain that he is aware of the prohibition of campaigning using state resources and state time, and I know that he will follow the law.
“We’ll all have that opportunity to see his performance. I certainly expect that there shouldn’t be any degradation in his performance,” Ige said of Chin.