Former US Rep. Colleen Hanabusa Dead At 74

colleen hanabusa, the former U. S. representative and longtime Hawaiʻi lawmaker, died Thursday at the age of 74 after a private battle with cancer.

Colleen Hanabusa’s long run in state and federal office

Hanabusa served twice in the U. S. House of Representatives, from 2011 to 2015 and again from 2016 to 2019, and earlier represented a district on Oʻahu’s Waiʻanae Coast in the Hawaiʻi State Senate from 1999 to 2010. She was the first woman to serve as president of the Hawaiʻi State Senate, holding that role for two years.

Rail authority role, political bids and public service

After her time in Congress, Hanabusa chaired the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation and resigned that position in September. She also chaired the State Salary Commission and ran unsuccessfully for the U. S. Senate in 2014, for Hawaiʻi governor in 2018 and for mayor of Honolulu in 2020. She returned to Congress in 2016 following the death of U. S. Rep. Mark Takai and notably championed the Honolulu rail system while serving in Washington.

How the state is marking her passing

Gov. Josh Green ordered the U. S. and Hawaiʻi flags to be flown at half-staff at the Hawaiʻi State Capitol, at all state offices and agencies, and at all Hawaiʻi National Guard facilities in her honor until sunrise Monday. Green said, “Colleen Hanabusa dedicated her life to serving the people of Hawaiʻi — from the Waiʻanae Coast she proudly called home, to the halls of the Hawaiʻi State Capitol and the United States Congress. ”

Born in 1951 and raised in Waianae, Hanabusa was an attorney by training and is survived by her husband, John Souza. She left the HART board for health reasons last September.

This is a developing story; flags will remain at half-staff through sunrise Monday as officials carry out the governor’s order.