Colleen Hanabusa and Congressional Residency

With the 1st Congressional District (urban Honolulu) race heating up to replace Congressman Neil Abercrombie who will step down on February 28, I’ve been having more and more discussions with friends and acquaintances.

Just recently, a friend asked me on Facebook:

How is it that [State Senate President Colleen] Hanabusa can hold a seat in Waianae on the State Senate… but run for a seat in urban Oahu for Congress?

It’s a good question and here was my answer:

The US Constitution only requires that Representatives live in their state, but no particular area therein.

Article I, Section 2 of the U. S. Constitution lists the 3 requirements of members of the U. S. House:

No person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the age of twenty five years, and been seven years a citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that state in which he shall be chosen.

So let’s look at Sen. Hanabusa:

1. At least 25 years old – Check!
2. A U. S. citizen for at least 7 years – Check!
3. An inhabitant of Hawaii – Check!

It’s not that uncommon. Patsy Mink lived in Kaimuki, which was outside of her district for years. But she was born and raised on Maui, so she had long-standing ties to her district (the 2nd Congressional District encompasses rural Oahu and the neighbor islands).

As the Senate President, Hanabusa has dealings with people throughout our state, including those in urban Honolulu. So really, we should focus on the issues and let the democratic system of government work.

Ultimately, it is the voters of Hawaii’s 1st Congressional District who will decide whether Sen. Hanabusa is their best representative. As an honest, intelligent, effective, and caring leader, I sure think she fits the bill.

Mahalo!

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Tagged as: Capsun, colleen, exbor, hanabusa, honolulu, maui, mink, patsy, poe