Hanabusa, Colleen, 1951-

<p>A prominent labor lawyer, Colleen Hanabusa served in the state senate for a dozen years before winning election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2010. After leaving the House to run unsuccessfully for the Senate, she returned to Congress in a 2016 special election following the death of Hawaii Representative Mark Takai. During her four terms on Capitol Hill, she advocated for her state’s interests at every turn. “I never lose sight of the fact that I represent Hawaii,” she said in 2011. “So my short-term goal is to do whatever I can to ensure that the economic growth in Hawaii continues.”</p>

<p>Colleen Hanabusa was born on May 4, 1951, in Honolulu, Hawaii, to June and Isao Hanabusa, gas station proprietors in Waianae. Because her parents devoted most of their time to the family business, Hanabusa was raised largely by her maternal grandmother. She graduated from Honolulu’s St. Andrew’s Priory School in 1969, and attended the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa where she earned degrees in economics and sociology in 1973, a master’s degree in sociology in 1975, and a law degree in 1977.</p>

<p>Hanabusa spent 20 years as an attorney in private practice, and her career as a labor lawyer led to a successful campaign for the state senate in 1998. During her 12 years in state government, Hanabusa focused on education and health care issues, and pushed for civil service reforms. In 2007 Hanabusa became the first woman to lead either of Hawaii’s legislative chambers when she was elected president of the senate. During her tenure as senate president, which lasted until 2010, she endeavored to rectify budget woes by instituting new taxes. She also used her influence to improve Hawaii’s special-education programs and set up charter schools for children in need.</p>

<p>Colleen Wakako Hanabusa (born May 4, 1951) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. Representative for Hawaii's 1st congressional district from 2011 to 2015 and again from 2016 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, she ran for her party's nomination for governor of Hawaii in 2018, challenging and losing to incumbent and fellow Democrat David Ige.</p>

<p>Before her election to the United States House of Representatives, Hanabusa was a member of the Hawaii Senate. She served as Senate Majority Leader before being elected Hawaii's first female President of the Senate in 2007. On August 24, 2011, she announced her intention to run for reelection to Congress. On December 17, 2012, after the death of U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye, it was announced that Inouye had sent a letter shortly before his death to Governor Neil Abercrombie, stating his desire that Hanabusa be appointed to the seat. Abercrombie decided against appointing Hanabusa and selected Lieutenant Governor Brian Schatz instead. Hanabusa challenged Schatz in the Democratic primary for the 2014 special election, but narrowly lost.</p>

<p>In 2016, Hanabusa announced her intention to run in the 1st congressional district special election to fill the remaining term of Representative Mark Takai, who died in July 2016; she won the Democratic primary for the race on August 13. Hanabusa also won the election on November 8, 2016, and was sworn in on November 14. In 2017, Hanabusa announced her decision to run for the governorship of Hawaii in 2018 rather than reelection to the U.S. House of Representatives. She lost to incumbent Democratic Governor David Ige in the primary, and Ige was subsequently reelected to a second term. In February 2020, Hanabusa announced her campaign for Mayor of Honolulu in 2020. She placed third in the nonpartisan blanket primary.</p>