This is actually a re-post of a diary I did in April 2019, almost exactly 6 years ago. I had the good fortune to be back in Hawaii the past 2 weeks and it made me think of this diary. In keeping with the goal of this new group, Democratic Party Spotlight, I thought it was a good opportunity to share it again.
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This week I’m writing from the great state of Hawaii, and decided to write about the two terrific Senators that represent this former island Kingdom, and now our 50th State.
I’ll start with the “dean” of the delegation from Hawaii — Senator Mazie Hirono.
Mazie Hirono
Sen. Hirono was born in Japan and immigrated to Hawaii as a child. Her mother was Japanese but an American citizen by birth. Hirono moved to Hawaii in 1955 and became a naturalized citizen the same year Hawaii was admitted into statehood — 1959. She gives her mother a lot of credit for the courage she displayed in leaving Japan to get as far away as she could from her alcoholic husband, Hirono’s father.
Like so many good public servants, Sen. Hirono is smart. She attended the University of Hawaii Manoa and graduated Phi Beta Kappa. Leaving her home state, she attended Georgetown University and left with a law degree that she put to use back home in Hawaii.
Fast forward two years later and Hirono successfully ran for a State House seat. In addition to the State House, she served as Hawaii’s 9th Lieutenant Governor for 8 years, 6 years in the US House of Representatives, and has served in the the US Senate since 2013, after winning her seat to replace the retiring Sen. Daniel Akaka. She was reelected in the big blue wave of 2018 in a 69% — 28% race.
Spotlight on recent news about Sen. Hirono
She has served on the Senate Judiciary Committee since she began her service in the Senate and became a strong supporter of Christine Blasey Ford, and a very strong opponent of Judge Brett Kavanaugh.
More recently she and Rep. Barbara Lee have sponsored bills to mitigate the impact to women of climate change,
Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) hopes to develop coordinated strategies to mitigate the impact of climate change on women and girls around the world. She teamed up with Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) to introduce the Women and Climate Change Act, which would establish a Federal Interagency Working Group on Women and Climate Change within the Department of State. “For far too long, women have been left out of the conversation on how best to confront the challenges of climate change, though across the globe women are disproportionately impacted by its effects,” said Hirono.
www.thebeatdc.com/...
Senator Mazie Hirono is doing a terrific job serving her state and her country. We Democrats can all be proud of her.
You can keep up with Sen. Hirono on Twitter, @MazieHirono
Sen. Schatz’s early life is also interesting and in some ways is a lot like another famous politician. His family moved to Hawaii when he was two years old. He graduated from Ponahou High School, (hint, hint), and then continued his education at Pomona College in Claremont, CA. During his time there he spent a term studying in Kenya, (hint, hint).
After college he returned to Hawaii, and taught at his former HS before working for non-profits. His electoral history mirrors Sen. Hirono’s career. Starting with State House seats, the Lieutenant Governor, and currently serving in the U.S. Senate. He also served two years as the Chair of the Hawaii Democratic Party. During his time as State Party Chair, (2008-2010), Democrats increased the number of active party members and delivered Obama's best performance of any state in the country.
Spotlight on recent news about Sen. Schatz
Climate change really impacts the Islands. Nice to see that he’s the Chair of this new committee. Want to learn more? Here’s a good summary of the mission of the committee.
He’s also sponsoring a healthcare bill that would allow people to buy into Medicaid, versus Medicare.
You can find him on Twitter under two accounts, @SenBrianSchatz and @BrianSchatz
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Obviously these two have continued their good service not just to the state of Hawaii, but also to the nation as a whole.
