Mazie Hirono Biography | Wiki
Mazie Hirono ( Full Name: Mazie Keiko Hirono) is a popular American lawyer and politician who is the junior United States senator from Hawaii. A member of the Democratic Party, Mazie previously worked as a member of the United States House of Representatives for Hawaii’s 2nd congressional district from 2007 until 2013. She also worked as a member of the Hawaii House of Representatives from 1981 until 1995 and as Hawaii’s tenth lieutenant governor from 1994 until 2002, under Ben Cayetano.
Mazie was the unqualified Democratic nominee for governor of Hawaii in 2002, defeated by Republican Linda Lingle in the general election. She is the first elected female senator from Hawaii, the first Asian-American woman elected to the Senate, the first U.S. senator born in Japan, as well as the nation’s first Buddhist senator. Mazie considers herself a non-practicing Buddhist and is always cited with Hank Johnson as the first Buddhist to work in the United States Congress. Mazie is also the third woman to be elected to Congress from Hawaii (after Patsy Mink and Pat Saiki).
In 2012, Mazie was the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by the retirement of Daniel Akaka. Mazie won the election, defeating Lingle in a landslide, 63% to 37%. Mazie was sworn in on January 3, 2013, by Vice President Joe Biden. She was the only person of Asian ancestry working in the U.S. Senate from 2013 to 2017, when senators Tammy Duckworth and Kamala Harris were sworn in, representing Illinois and California, respectively. Although Brian Schatz is Hawaii’s senior senator because he joined the Senate a week before Mazie after the death of Daniel Inouye, Mazie’s three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives make her the dean, or longest-working member overall, of Hawaii’s congressional delegation.
Mazie Hirono Age
Mazie was born on November 3, 1947, in Koori, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. She is 76 years old. Mazie celebrates her birthday on November 3, every year.
Mazie Hirono Height
She is a woman of average stature. Mazie stands at a height of 5 ft 4 in ( approx. 1.63m ).
Mazie Hirono Family
She was born in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan the daughter of Laura Chie Satō, a Japanese American, and Hirono Matabe, a Japanese veteran of World War II. Her maternal grandfather, Hiroshi Satō, came to Hawaii to work on a sugar plantation at the age of 16; whereas her grandmother, Tari Shinoki, came to Hawaii as a picture bride. Following finding plantation work hard, the pair opened a bathhouse on River Street in Honolulu in 1928. They had a daughter, Laura Chie, in 1924, and a son, Akira.
Mazie’s dad, Matabe, was a compulsive gambler and alcoholic who pawned even his wife’s possessions for gambling money. Treated “like a slave” by her in-laws, her mother finally left the abusive marriage in 1951. Following telling her in-laws she was going to take her kids to school in her hometown, inlaw Laura left the house, never to return. Selling her clothes to pay the rail fare, she and the kids moved back to her parents’ home. Mazie had two siblings Roy and Wayne.
Mazie never saw her father again, and he has since died. Her mother Laura became a newspaper proofreader in 1961 and retired from the Hawaii Newspaper Agency in 1986; Roy became a Hawaiian Electric supervisor. Wayne drowned in 1978, aged 26. Mazie’s grandfather Hiroshi passed away in 1989, and her grandmother Tari died in 2000 at age 99. Raised in Honolulu, Mazie became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1959, the year Hawaii became a state.
Mazie Hirono Husband | Married | Spouse
Mazie is married to her husband Leighton Kim Oshima who received a law degree from George Washington University. The two first met at a Young Democrats meeting back in 1973 at the Waikiki library and married in 1987. Leighton Kim Oshima served as both a litigator in the state attorney general’s office and a private practice. He now works in a private practice in Honolulu, specializing in insurance defense.
Mazie Hirono Education
She studied at Kaʻahumanu Elementary and Koko Head Elementary Schools. Mazie graduated from Kaimuki High School, which at the time had a predominantly Japanese-American student body. Mazie then joined the University of Hawaii at Mānoa, graduating in 1970 Phi Beta Kappa with a B.A. in psychology. She afterward attended Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C., where Mazie obtained her J.D. degree in 1978. She then returned to Honolulu, where she practiced law.
Senator Mazie Hirono | Senator
On May 19, 2011, Mazie reported her candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat left open by Daniel Akaka, who was retiring at the end of his term in 2012. Mazie won the Democratic primary election on August 11, 2012. She was endorsed as one of Democracy for America’s Dean Dozen. The Republican nominee was retired Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle. Mazie won the general election on November 6, 2012, with 63% of the vote. Mazie is the first female senator from Hawaii, and the first Asian-born immigrant to be elected to the U.S. Senate. In addition, Mazie was a part of the first completely non-Christian Congressional delegation from the state, which continued until the election of Mark Takai (an Episcopalian) in 2014 as Representative of Hawaii’s 1st congressional district.
Mazie Hirono Contact | Phone Number | Contact Information
If anyone has any questions for Mazie, please call (808) 522-8970
Mazie Hirono Health | Cancer
In May 2017, Mazie was diagnosed with stage 4 kidney cancer, which had spread to her seventh rib. The kidney cancer was discovered in a chest X-ray in April prior to a minor eye surgery. Mazie’s right kidney was removed on May 17, 2017, with a Cyberknife procedure to treat the rib lesion. She came back to the Senate on May 22, 2017, and was reelected to a second term in 2018.
Mazie Hirono Previous Offices
– Representative, HI 2nd District (2007 to 2013).
– Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii (1994 to 2002).
Mazie Hirono Office
She is Senator (D-HI) since 2013. She is privileged to serve the people of Hawaii in the United States Senate.
Mazie Hirono Email
Her email address is HawaiiOffice@hirono
Congresswoman Hawaii Mazie
On September 23, 2006, Mazie ran for Hawaii’s 2nd congressional district being vacated by incumbent Ed Case. The Democratic primary became very competitive. There were ten candidates, seven of whom worked in the Hawaii Legislature. Mazie’s advantage was that she was the only candidate who had held statewide office and due to that had the most name recognition. Mazie led in fundraising, helped by the endorsement of EMILY’s List. Mazie won with a plurality of 22% of the vote. State Senator Colleen Hanabusa completed second with 21%, 845 votes short of Hirono. In the general election, Mazie defeated Republican State Senator Bob Hogue, 61%–39%. She won reelection to a second term with 76% of the vote. She won reelection to a third term with 72% of the vote.
Mazie Hirono Committees
– Committee on Armed Services.
– Committee on the Judiciary where she Subcommittee on Oversight, Agency Action, Federal Rights, and Federal Courts.
– The Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.
– Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Mazie Hirono Brett Kavanaugh
During the Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court nomination hearings in September 2018, Maize became an outspoken defender of Christine Blasey Ford following Ford accused Brett of sexual assault, telling men to “shut up and step up. Do the right thing for a change.”
Mazie Hirono Campaign
In the 2012 campaign, Mazie raised $5.2 million, with approximately 52% of that from large corporations. Linda Lingle raised $5.5 million, with 74% from large corporations. She spent $5 million and Linda $4.8 million.
Mazie Hirono Prior Occupation
Prior to working as a member of the U.S. Senate from Hawaii, Mazie worked as a member of the United States House of Representatives for Hawaii’s 2nd congressional district from 2007 until 2013.
Mazie Hirono Salary
She earns a satisfying amount from her work as the junior United States senator from Hawaii. Mazie’s average salary is $983,958 per year.
Mazie Hirono Net Worth
Mazie gets her wealth from her work as the junior United States senator from Hawaii. Therefore, Mazie has accumulated a decent fortune over the years. Mazie’s net worth is $4.3 million.
How Old Is Mazie Hirono
Mazie is a 76-year-old who was born on November 3, 1947, in Koori, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. Mazie celebrates her birthday on November 3, every year.
Is Mazie Hirono Married
Yes, she married Leighton Kim Oshima an attorney who received a law degree from George Washington University. The two married in 1987.
Who Is Mazie Hirono
She works as a lawyer and politician who is the junior United States senator from Hawaii. Since 2013, she has served as a junior Democratic U.S. Senator from Hawaii, being the first woman from the state to ever hold the position. Prior to her run for the Senate, Mazie was a member of the Hawaii House of Representatives for 10 years and served as the Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii for eight years.
Mazie Hirono Social Media Account
Twitter – @maziehirono