Next year Hawai`i will have an open U.S. Senate seat for the first time in 36 years, as Sen. Daniel Akaka is retiring.
There's one likely candidate who's shown a lifelong commitment to progressive causes, from protesting the Vietnam War as a young adult to fasting in protest of budget cuts targeting the poor this week. Her name is Mazie Keiko Hirono.
I've been lucky to have Mazie as my Representative in Congress for the last several years. She's both a fighter and a coalition builder. For what it's worth, she's also an accessible and, frankly, nice person. This recent comment succinctly and accurately shows what she's all about:
I met Mazie Hirono last week
You'd never think she was a politician. More like your favorite schoolteacher or friend from down the block.
I was surprised at how genuinely angry she is at the GOP, though. I sort of expected a Democratic congressperson to be more circumspect but she didn't mince any words.
Please follow me below the fold for more information on this race and why I'll be supporting Mazie if she becomes a candidate.
Other than thanking Sen. Akaka for his service, Mazie has made no comments on a potential Senate race. She's been preoccupied with concerns about her native Fukushima prefecture (where she still has family) in the aftermath of the Japan earthquake and tsunami disaster, the subsequent tsunami-related damage in her Congressional district, and the budget fight in Congress. So, it's unclear whether she'll run and, if so, what the campaign will look like. But I can foresee a potential Hirono for Senate campaign focusing on the five Es: Education, Environment, Energy, Economy, and Electability
Education
Mazie is arguably the leading advocate of early-childhood education in Congress. Immediately after being elected to Congress, she sought and obtained a seat on George Miller's education committee. He rewarded her hard work by giving her the opportunity to chair a committee hearing during her freshman term, a rare honor. Her legislative advocacy as a freshman also attracted the attention of national organization Pre-K Now, which made her the first person to receive a Pre-K Champion award. She's remained with the education committee throughout her tenure in Congress and continues to prioritize support for education on her legislative agenda.
Environment
Mazie was recently recognized for a 100% voting record by the League of Conservation Voters. She has used her earmarks and other appropriation-related work largely to protect Hawai`i's fragile environment and endangered native birds and marine mammals. She's also been working to establish a park on Maui in honor of her mentor, the late, great Congresswoman Patsy T. Mink.
Energy
Mazie constantly laments that Hawai`i is the most oil-dependent state in the nation. But she also always notes that, with our abundant sun, wind, and wave resources, we have the ability to turn that around. Frankly, many other politicians in Hawai`i have touted renewable energy too. But with Mazie in the Senate, she'll actually be in a position to help us finally reach our potential. And she's shown the ability as a legislator to turn rhetoric into action.
Economy
Mazie has long been a proponent of high tech in Hawai`i as a way to diversify our tourism-based economy. It was even on her mind as she visited Lebanon on a democracy-building initiative with Rep. Keith Ellison, as she touted the Women In Technology program of the Maui Economic Development Board. This video, shot by Ellison as they traveled along a bumpy road, is just about two minutes, but I appreciate it because it shows she was thinking about Hawai`i's economic future despite being on the other side of the world:
Her pro-high-tech efforts helped her garner the endorsement of the Hawai`i Venture Capital Association. Her support for transit has facilitated economic growth in Hawai`i's rural communities, where gas is now about $5 a gallon.
Electability
Mazie has never lost a Democratic primary, won her last race for Congress with more than 70% of the vote, and holds the highest favorability rating among potential candidates, according to a recent Daily Kos/SEIU poll. She's also done a solid job of fundraising. In the current GOP-led Congress, Mazie has been able to find common ground with Republican colleagues to help rural and military families in her district. This is the type of pragmatism - not for the meaningless purpose of bipartisanship but to actually benefit her constituents - that should be appealing to voters across the spectrum.
On paper, she looks like a formidable, possibly dominant candidate. In the paper, however, our local male pundits have been touting male candidates in the race (whose favorability ratings are more than 20 points lower than Mazie's among Democratic voters), while ignoring Mazie or tossing unsubstantiated putdowns toward her. The situation reminds me of Barbara Boxer's first campaign for Senate in California. I was a volunteer in the campaign. I could see that Barbara was a strong candidate, with a solid track record as a Congresswoman and a positive message, possessing the ability to both generate turnout among the Democratic base and appeal to a general-election voters. In my mind, she should have been regarded as a frontrunner from the beginning. But two male candidates received most of the early press coverage for the Democratic primary. Barbara kept working hard and eventually won the race. That experience taught me that progressive women candidates always face an uphill battle in big races - but hard-working, principled women can overcome the obstacles and win tough races.
The 1992 Year of the Woman can be replicated in 2012, with Hawai`i leading the way this time. But it will take a monumental effort, here and elsewhere. I hope you'll consider joining the effort. Aloha and mahalo!