Patsy Mink has died

CNN just reported that Rep. Patsy Mink passed away today at Straub; they have few details to report. Presumably the local news stations will have more; I'm sure they have pre-prepared obits for all Hawai'i public figures.

Comments

I was afraid of that after yesterday's announcement. I really feel for her family.

This will certainly make things interesting in my district, though.. I wonder if we can get Ed Case to run for the seat? I can't stomach the thought of that nasty McDermott getting in.

A long life and a good one, I'll bet she'd say.

As to Case, I'll have to look up the US District residency requirements. He lives in Manoa, I think, which would put him in Urban Honolulu, Neil's district.

Per Article 1, Section 2:

25 years old or older

Must have been a U.S. citizen for seven years

Must live in the district he represents

I'm glad that her family was there with her when she passed. Patsy Mink has been a solid figur all these years--they won't be alone in their mourning.

The political commentators were talking about the possibility of Case filling the seat. Interestingly, to me anyway, Case's experience in Washington was as an aide to Sparky Matsunaga and one of the other possibles mentioned was Sparky's son, who recently ran for Lt. Gov.

That's sad that she passed away.

Either the Advertiser is wrong, or there's some kind of exemption for Hawai'i. They state in that article that the candidate could reside anywhere in Hawai'i, not necessarily in the district. I've never heard a state exemption, and the US Constitution clearly states that the Rep. must reside in the district; I don't think there's been an amendment.

...I'm sure they have pre-prepared obits for all Hawai'i public figures.

Speaking as someone who does have friends in the business and in fact knows more than a few people who have been following this story: Oooo, Link, don't make me run after you with a butter knife... ;)

But anyway.

I'm sorry to hear about this; I was at church when the priest offered up prayers for her family and "the repose of [her] soul." I knew that she was being kept under super-tight security (read: Secret Service) at Straub Hospital, and like Lisa, I've been fearing the worst since the pronouncements about her health made the front pages. My condolences.

Politically, however, this is where I'll say the Hawaii Democratic Party dropped the big one. I doubt that they're going to let Steve Tataii run for this seat again, since he has come under fire for taking advantage of Mink's poor health during his campaign in the primaries. I've read a report somewhere that certain sources in the party were thinking about getting Mufi Hanneman (yuck, sick, eeeeeeewwww) to run for the seat should a special election arise, which should tell you a lot about the kinds of skanky folks who are seriously considering a run for Washington these days.

While I'd love to see Ed Case step up to the plate and be the stand-up guy for the party, like I've said before, I'm afraid this may (or may not) be his year. But we'll see.

Here's a thought: Is Waianae in the 2nd district? 'Cause, you know, if Colleen Hanabusa isn't particularly busy...

Stella, you keep that butter knife away from me! ;)

Actually, the way I understand it, most major news organizations have canned obits for nearly every major public figure they can think of; that wasn't a slur, just a presumption on my part.

I'm still perplexed about the residency req't.; I heard someone on Fox local say "according to our law" (with no emphasis on the possessive pronoun), the prospective candidate just has to live "in Hawai'i." Either many in the media are stupid about the Constitution, or I am (and I looked it up). As far as I know, Federal law trumps state law (that's the argument Ashcroft is using against Oregon's "Death with Dignity" law).

A great loss. Her positions weren't always popular, but that never seemed to be her motive - she did what she believed was right.

"Mink was a primary force behind the landmark Title IX legislation that opened up school athletics and academics to women in 1972. She was involved in writing scores of other significant laws affecting families and women, from early childhood education initiatives to family medical leave." —Honolulu Advertiser

And Link, you're right, obituaries on major figures are written in advance, and revisited/updated every so often if said person continues to live and do stuff. One of the most facinating finds in blog-dom a while back was an entire spread written in anticipation of Ronald Reagan's demise. I guarantee you there are similar ready-to-run Quark layout packages on Pope John Paul II in newsrooms around the country.

Mink's name will remain on the Nov. 5 ballot. If she wins, the seat will be declared vacant and a special election will be held 60 to 120 days later.

This is interesting. I thought the party would be allowed to slot someone in. (Not that I'm doubting Mink could win posthumously.) I agree that Steve Case would be a great special-election candidate (and that Mufi going for it would just be skanky... and thus unsurprising).

Ryan, I think you got the wrong Case there.. talk about residency requirements ;)

If Hillary Clinton could get elected as New York's senator, I don't think Ed would have any serious problems with residency.

AUTHOR: Lisa
EMAIL: lisa@windwardskies.com
IP: 66.180.134.210
URL: http://www.windwardskies.com
DATE: 09/28/2002 08:17:16 PM

"Steve Case"? I guess so... the Time Warner AOL board doesn't seem too happy with Steve these days. Yes, I knew what you meant. :-)

My guess Linkmeister would be that the residency requirement would kick in at the time the interested party filed their nomination papers for the special election, similar to how residency requirements are evaluated in a regular election. So, as long as you moved into the district prior to the time of filing...

Link, I'm putting the butter knife down now. In fact, I shouldn't even have taken it out in the first place... :) Peace?

I now understand that there is such a thing as canned obits in print, and sometimes on broadcast as well (there's a priceless SNL skit in which Tom Brokaw, played by Dana Carvey, is continuously taping several takes of a Gerald Ford obituary) - I just didn't understand it as a matter-of-fact statement at first. ;)

Residency, shmesidency - remember that one Republican candidate who had to pull out of the race this year when it was discovered that he moved to the same Honolulu apartment building as Linda Lingle to fulfill his residency requirements? I don't know how soon he did that to fulfill residency (one of the issues was that he did this a little too soon "prior" to the time of filing - was it less than a month?), but for a while there it looked like that tiny booboo nearly threw "Battleship Linda" off course. That's one thing to consider.

(In other words, Ed Case - if, when, and should he ever consider such a thing - should start looking for a house in Maui or Waimanalo pretty soon. As in, right now.)

Speaking of nasty candidates, I just heard Bob McDermott phoning in (!) his condolences from New Jersey (!!) on the news...

Waianae IS in the 2nd district, and I'd be surprised if Hanabusa isn't a leading candidate in the special election.

"I just didn't understand it as a matter-of-fact statement at first. ;) "

You surely don't think I'd be sarcastic?

*snicker*

From our fellow IsleTies comrade, Ian Lind:

Party strategists must have looked closely and decided that odds for retaining the seat in the Democratic column are better in a special election than with the last-minute candidacy of a replacement. At least it will be an even playing field. The party already has its hands full with the tough governor's race, and another costly, island-hopping campaign at the same time would have been difficult.

Just to keep in mind that a special election will cost taxpayers another $2 million.

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