Surprisingly, the new senator from Hawai’i will be Lt. Gov. Brian Schatz. It’s a surprise because it was Sen. Daniel Inouye’s dying wish that his seat go to Rep. Colleen Hanabusa. I don’t know much about Lt. Gov. Schatz, but I quickly learned a few things.
He’s Jewish and was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He went to the same high school as Barack Obama. He studied philosophy at Pomona College and spent a semester studying in Kenya. He has an interracial family with two kids. He got his start as a community organizer.
Schatz first became active in the community when he became involved in the Save Sandy Beach movement in the 1980s. He served as CEO of Helping Hands Hawaii as well as Director of both the Makiki Community Library and the Center for a Sustainable Future. In March 2010, Schatz stepped down from Helping Hands to focus on his campaign for the office of Lieutenant Governor.
And, of course, he was appointed by Gov. Neil Abercrombie who was good friends with Barack Obama Sr. when they were both students at the University of Hawaiʻi in the early 1960’s.
As a fellow philosophy major and former community organizer, I kind of feel like I am getting personal representation. He’s also three years younger than me, so he may be in the Senate for the rest of my life.
I am eager to learn more about him.
I do feel a little sad that Sen. Inouye didn’t get his wish, but I think I like this choice.
The whole thing sounds like Rush Limbaugh bait. I love it. Let them start all kinds of conspiracy theories about Kenyan Community Organizers Taking OVER!
Make some popcorn and enjoy the show.
Pomona, born ’72. Christ, I’m sure he’s heard me play drums. Don’t recognize him from the picture on wikipedia. I went to Pitzer at the same time, graduated a couple years before he would have. Definitely we’d have swilled cheap beer at the same, famous Wednesday night Pomona party. Why, I bet he’s seen my walk in, only to crawl out.
Small world. Bet he takes great notes. Pomona students were always good at that.
We’ll need to see his birth certificate.
Shatz. I saw his picture on the web. I think his mother flew to Germany in her last stages of pregnancy and had him there so he could be bor in the Vaterland, then flew back to Hawaii and had a fake birth certificate made.
Sounds absurd, doesn’t it.
I was skeptical, him being the former state party chief and all, but Howie Klein likes Lt. Gov. Brian Schatz a lot. If Howie likes him that much, I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt.
Good choice on many levels. Hanabusa would have required a special election to fill her Congressional seat and that could have opened the door for a Republican. Schatz was the more progressive choice and if he performs well, he is young enough to develop the power of seniority that Hawaii enjoyed with Inouye.
It would only have opened the door if Ed Case decided to run. Yes, the loathed brother of the loathed ex-CEO of AOL. He’s another ConservaDem that Hawaii residents have already rejected twice.
Only meant my comment in the generic sense that special elections are more of a crap shoot than regular elections.
That’s a pretty high mark to meet, Deval.
You can do it, though.
Senator Inouye died believing that he got his dying wish. He’s dead now so he won’t be disappointed.
I don’t think it’s right that he will be sworn in immediately and so become the Senior Senator. Mazie Hirono who actually stood for election should be senior. Shatz could have been notified but actually sworn in a day after Hirono.
Elizabeth Warren may be senior Senator soon also.
Well, no. Only if Mazie Hirono’s future predecessor, Senator Akaka, resigns before his term runs out (which he is under no obligation to do) would she be able to be the more-senior Senator. Akaka may have his own reasons for serving out his full term, and his pension calculations may be involved.
How so? There will be two Senators, Schatz and Hirono. The one sworn first will be senior.
Although I have no opinion on the subject of who should have been sworn in first, I am fairly confident of one thing: This was not an oversight; the powers that be were well aware of all the implications when they made the decision on the timing of who will be sworn in when.
Would you be surprised if my dying wish that my rich neighbor give all his property to my heirs got ignored?
Let him prove himself.