Former Hawaii Congresswoman Colleen Hanabusa Dies at 74 Former U.S. Representative Colleen Hanabusa passed away at the age of 74 after a private battle with cancer. Born in 1951 in Waianae, Hawaii, Hanabusa built a long career in public service, serving in the Hawaii State Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives, and the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation. Her death was announced by her family, who described her as a dedicated advocate for local communities. Hanabusa’s political career began in the Hawaii State Senate, where she was elected in 1998. She became the state’s first female Senate president in 2007, a milestone that marked her growing influence in Hawaiian politics. Early in her tenure, she challenged the results of the 1998 gubernatorial race, which Ben Cayetano won narrowly over Linda Lingle. Her activism continued when she led efforts to remove Cayetano’s Attorney General, Margery Bronster, after Bronster ousted politically connected trustees of the Bishop Estate. In 2010, Hanabusa was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Hawaii’s 1st Congressional District. Her political career took a pivotal turn in 2012 when U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye, who was dying at the time, asked Governor Neil Abercrombie to appoint her to his Senate seat. Abercrombie instead selected his lieutenant governor, Brian Schatz, a decision political analyst Colin Moore called “a rejection of the Inouye era.” Hanabusa later lost her 2014 bid to unseat Schatz in the Senate. After the death of U.S. Representative Mark Takai in 2016, Hanabusa returned to Congress, where she championed the Honolulu rail system. Moore noted her political strength lay in her ability to operate as an inside strategist rather than a public communicator.#colleen_hanabusa #ben_cayetano #margery_bronster #daniel_inouye #neil_abercrombie
