Ed Case (D-HI-Senate)

Ed Case, former Congressman and Senate Candidate Hawaii

Biography of Ed Case

Roots, Experience, Family, Community
Born and raised on the Island of Hawai‘i
Fourth generation in Hawai‘i: O‘ahu, Maui, Kaua‘i, Hawa‘i Island
58 years old
Husband and father
Educated in public and private schools
25 years of private sector experience
20 years of government experience
U.S. Congress (Spark Matsunaga)
Hawaii Supreme Court (William Richardson)
Hawaii State Legislator (Majority Leader)
U.S. Congressman
Democrat

Personal

Born Hilo, Territory of Hawai‘i, September 27, 1952
Eldest of six children of Jim (born Lihue) and Suzanne (born Missouri) Case
Grandson of Hib and Betty Case of Kauai (moved to Kaua‘i 1919)
Great-grandson of Judge Daniel and Kathryn Case of Maui (moved to Hawai‘i 1896; Maui 1903-1946)
Married to the former Audrey Nakamura, daughter of Rev. James Saburo (born Honolulu) and Magdalene Hirata (born Kona) Nakamura
Four children: David (27), Megan (25), James (22) and David (20)

Education

Waiakea-Kai and Keaukaha Elementary Schools, Hilo (K-6th)
Hawai‘i Preparatory Academy, Kamuela (grad. 1970)
Williams College, MA (B.A. 1975)
University of California/Hastings College of Law, San Francisco (J.D. 1981)

Private Sector Experience

Attorney, Carlsmith Ball, Honolulu (1983-2002)
- Partner (1989-2002)
- Hawai‘i managing partner (1992-94)
Attorney, Bays Lung Rose & Holma, Honolulu (2007 – present)
- Executive Committee

Government Experience

Legislative Assistant, U.S. Congressman/Senator Spark Matsunaga, Washington, D.C. (1975-78)
Law Clerk, Department of Labor, State of Hawai‘i (1979)
Law Clerk, Hawai‘i Supreme Court Chief Justice William Richardson (1981-82)
Mānoa Neighborhood Board (1985-89), Chair, 1987-89
Hawai‘i State House of Representatives, Mānoa (1994-2002)
Chair, Committee on Hawaiian Affairs (1997-98)
Majority Leader (1999-2000)
U.S. Congressman (2002-2007)

Other Employment

Messenger/office boy; laborer/container yard, tire company, construction/masonry; “jackeroo” (cowboy)/sheep-cattle ranch; youth counselor/summer camp

Selected Awards

Legislator of the Year, Honolulu Weekly (1995)
New Economy Legislator of the Year, Hawai‘i Technology & Trade Assn. (2000)
Legislator of the Year, Small Business Hawai‘i (2000)
Aiting Kaibigan Progress Award, United Filipino Council Hawai‘i (2003)
Small Business Advocate, Small Business Survival Committee (2004)
Koa Award/Elected Official of the Year, Conservation Council for Hawai‘i (2005)

Hobbies & Interests

Outdoor activities, including running, bodysurfing and sailing
Reading, especially biography and history

Biography from House.gov “LOC Archive”

Born and raised in Hilo, Hawai‘i on September 27, 1952, Congressman Ed Case is the eldest of six children. He attended Waiakea-Kai and Keaukaha Elementary Schools in Hilo and graduated in 1970 from Hawai‘i Preparatory Academy in

Kamuela, Hawai‘i. In college, Case studied psychology and graduated in 1975 with a Bachelor of Arts from Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. After graduation, Case went to Washington, D.C. and worked three years (1975-1978) for Spark Matsunaga who was then one of Hawai‘i’s U.S. Representatives and Senators.

Following his Washington experience, Congressman Case attended law school and earned his Juris Doctor from the University of California/Hastings College of Law in San Francisco in 1981. He went on to work for almost twenty years as an associate, partner, and managing partner with the law firm of Carlsmith Ball in Honolulu, Hawai‘i. His work experience also included serving as a law clerk to Hawai‘i Supreme Court Chief Justice William Richardson, and with Hawai‘i’s State Department of Labor.

His career as an elected public servant began with his service on the Manoa Neighborhood Board from 1985 to 1989 in Honolulu. In 1994, he was elected as a State Representative in Hawai‘i’s legislature and served four two-year terms until November 2002. He also served as House Majority Leader from 1999-2000.

As a state lawmaker, Congressman Case was recognized as “Legislator of the Year” by Honolulu Weekly in 1995, “New Economy Legislator of the Year” by the Hawai‘i Technology and Trade Association in 2000, and “Legislator of the Year” by Small Business Hawai‘i in 2000.

Congressman Case was elected to office in a special election on November 30, 2002 to complete the remainder of the late Congresswoman Patsy Takemoto Mink’s term of office in Hawai‘i’s 2nd Congressional District. On January 4, 2003, he won a second special election to fill the full, two-year term left vacant by Congresswoman Mink.

In the U.S. House, he is a member of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, Committee on Agriculture, and Committee on Small Business.

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