{"id":508240,"date":"2026-03-07T00:49:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-07T00:49:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/508240\/"},"modified":"2026-03-07T00:49:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-07T00:49:15","slug":"former-us-rep-colleen-hanabusa-dead-at-74","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/508240\/","title":{"rendered":"Former US Rep. Colleen Hanabusa Dead At 74"},"content":{"rendered":"

The former congresswoman served as president of the Hawai\u02bbi Senate and chair of the Honolulu rail authority.<\/p>\n

Colleen Hanabusa, who represented Hawai\u02bbi in the U.S. House of Representatives, died Thursday. She was 74.<\/p>\n

Hanabusa, a Democrat, served twice in the House, from 2011 to 2015 and again from 2016 to 2019.<\/p>\n

Gov. Josh Green on Friday ordered that the U.S. and Hawai\u02bbi flags be flown at half-staff at the State Capitol, all state offices and agencies, and all National Guard facilities in her honor until sunrise Monday.<\/p>\n

\u201cJaime and I extend our deepest aloha and sympathy to the Hanabusa \u02bbohana and to all who loved Colleen,\u201d Green said in a press release. \u201cColleen Hanabusa dedicated her life to serving the people of Hawai\u02bbi \u2014 from the Wai\u02bbanae Coast she proudly called home, to the halls of the Hawai\u02bbi State Capitol and the United States Congress. She broke barriers as the first woman to serve as President of the Hawai\u02bbi State Senate and spent decades advocating for her community with strength, determination and heart. Her legacy of leadership and public service will continue to inspire generations to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Colleen Hanabusa, former congresswoman, died Thursday. She was 74. (David Croxford\/Civil Beat\/2025)<\/p>\n

Hanabusa served as a state senator from 1999 to 2010, where she represented a district on O\u02bbahu\u2019s Wai\u02bbanae Coast where her family had long resided. She served as Senate president for two of those years, the first woman to hold the position.<\/p>\n

Hanabusa was very nearly also elevated to the U.S. Senate in 2012 after the revered U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye sent a deathbed letter to then-Gov. Neil Abercrombie asking that Hanabusa be appointed to Inouye\u2019s Senate seat.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope you will grant me my last wish,\u201d Inouye wrote, but Abercrombie instead chose then-Lt. Gov. Brian Schatz to fill the seat.<\/p>\n

Schatz then defeated Hanabusa in the August 2014 Democratic Primary by just 1,769 votes in an election that saw more than 230,000 votes cast. The race also was postponed for one week in two storm-damaged precincts on the Big Island, but Hanabusa did not challenge<\/a> the election results.<\/p>\n

Hanabusa then went on to run unsuccessfully for Hawai\u02bbi governor in 2018 against Gov. David Ige, and to run for mayor of Honolulu in 2020 in a large field that was won by Rick Blangiardi<\/p>\n

In a statement Friday, Schatz said, \u201cColleen Hanabusa brought toughness, integrity, and deep aloha for Hawai\u2018i to everything she did. I was fortunate to see that firsthand when we served together in Congress.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Hanabusa paying her respects to the late Dan Inouye at Punchbowl Cemetery, December 2012. (Brian Tseng\/Civil Beat\/2012)<\/p>\n

Leading The Rail Authority<\/p>\n

More recently, Hanabusa was chair of the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation. She resigned that position<\/a> in September. She also chaired the State Salary Commission.<\/p>\n

Hanabusa, a longtime labor attorney, is survived by her husband John Souza.<\/p>\n

Kika Bukoski, chair of the board of directors for the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation, worked with Hanabusa both on the HART board and also years ago when Bukoski was a state representative and Hanabusa was in the state Senate.<\/p>\n

\u201cI respected her tremendously, not just for her tenacity but she was also a very compassionate person,\u201d Bukoski said. \u201cMost people didn\u2019t really see that side of her maybe, but she was very compassionate, very kind, very thoughtful. But very tenacious.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anthony Aalto, a member of the HART board, described Hanabusa as \u201can exemplary public servant.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aalto credited Hanabusa with lobbying the Honolulu City Council for critically important additional funding for the Honolulu rail project in 2021, which then cleared the way for an updated agreement between the city and the Federal Transit Administration the following year. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf we hadn\u2019t had that, we probably wouldn\u2019t have convinced them that we had enough money to do the project,\u201d Aalto said. <\/p>\n

\u201cShe had a mind like a steel trap, she had an extraordinary memory,\u201d Aalto said. \u201cShe was on top of every detail and kept voluminous notes, so she always knew what she was talking about.\u201d<\/p>\n

She also expected others to be as well prepared as she was, and she could be tough, Aalto said.<\/p>\n

\"ColleenHanabusa in 2021 when Mayor Blangiardi appointed her to the HART board. (Cory Lum\/Civil Beat\/2021)<\/p>\n

Hanabusa is being remembered fondly by her other colleagues from Hawai\u02bbi in Congress.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe stood by me during some of my toughest battles;\u00a0as a young mother in the chamber,\u00a0she\u00a0never once questioned that I could both lead and nurture,\u201d Rep. Jill Tokuda said in a press release. \u201cIn so many ways, she was a trailblazer and a fighter\u00a0who left\u00a0an indelible mark in Washington, D.C.,\u00a0during her time in Congress. We are all better because of her leadership and service.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI had the privilege of working with Colleen in Congress, where together we worked to continue strengthening the trust\u00a0relationship between the federal government and the Native Hawaiian community,\u201d said Sen. Mazie Hirono. \u201cI\u2019m grateful to have known Colleen and to have worked alongside her, and I\u2019m sending my aloha to her husband John, her family, and all who loved her.\u201d<\/p>\n

City and county flags will be lowered today through Sunday out of respect for Hanabusa\u2019s passing.<\/p>\n

\u201cColleen and I once stood on opposite sides of a mayoral race, but what grew from that experience was a relationship built on mutual respect and friendship,\u201d Blangiardi said in a statement. \u201cI came to appreciate her insight, her honesty, and her deep commitment to this community. I was grateful when she agreed to serve as Chair of the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation Board. Her leadership and steady guidance were instrumental during an important time for the Skyline project.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the State Capitol Friday, Hanabusa\u2019s official portrait in the Senate gallery was draped with lei, and several senators took to the floor to speak emotionally about losing their former colleague.<\/p>\n

But the session was not without lighter moments, something Hanabusa (who had a great sense of humor) would no doubt have appreciated. Senate President Ron Kouchi, for instance, smiled as he described his predecessor as \u201ca tough tita from Wai\u02bbanae.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is a developing story. Please check back for more information.<\/p>\n

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