Neil Abercrombie
| Neil Abercrombie | ||
 | ||
| Governor of Hawaii | ||
| Incumbent | ||
| In office | ||
| December 6, 2010 - Present | ||
| Term ends | ||
| December 1, 2014 | ||
| Years in position | 3 | |
| Party | Democratic | |
| Compensation | ||
| Base salary | $117,312 | |
| Elections and appointments | ||
| First elected | November 2, 2010 | |
| Next election | November 4, 2014 | |
| Term limits | 2 consecutive terms | |
| Prior offices | ||
| Hawaii House of Representatives | ||
| 1975 - 1979 | ||
| Hawaii State Senate | ||
| 1980 - 1986 | ||
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| 1986 - 1987, 1991 - 2010 | ||
| Education | ||
| High school | Williamsville High School | |
| Bachelor's | Union College | |
| Ph.D. | University of Hawaii-Manoa | |
| Personal | ||
| Birthday | June 26, 1938 | |
| Place of birth | Buffalo, New York | |
| Websites | ||
| Office website | ||
Contents |
Biography
Abercrombie was born in Buffalo, New York, to Vera June and Donald Abercrombie.[1] Upon graduating from Williamsville High School (now Williamsville South High School), he went on to pursue studies in sociology at Union College (New York) in Schenectady, New York. There, Abercrombie obtained his bachelor's degree in 1959. He moved to Honolulu, Hawaii, and studied at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa where he obtained his Doctor of Philosophy in American Studies in 1974. There he attended classes with and befriended current United States President Barack Obama's parents, Ann Dunham and Barack Obama, Sr.[2] As a result, Abercrombie is the only member of Congress to have met Barack Obama's parents while they lived in Hawaii.
In 1981, Abercrombie married Nancie Caraway,[3] who is a political scientist and feminist writer at the University of Hawaii-Manoa's Globalization Research Center.
Abercrombie is an avid weight-lifter and has a stated goal of lifting 200 lbs more than his age on each birthday. It has been reported and witnessed by other members of Congress that Abercrombie can indeed do this. On his 67th birthday, he bench pressed 267 lbs.[4]
Political career
Governor of Hawaii (2010-Present)
Abercrombie was first elected Governor of Hawaii in November of 2010 and assumed office on December 6, 2010.
Judicial appointments
As governor, Abercrombie is responsible for appointing judges to the Hawaii Supreme Court, Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals, and the Hawaii Circuit Courts. (The Chief Justice appoints judges to the Hawaii District Courts. The governor makes a judicial appointment after candidates are recommended by a judicial nominating commission. The nominee must be confirmed by the Hawaii State Senate before she or he takes office. For an up-to-date list of all of Abercrombie's appointees, see Judgepedia's page on his appointments.
Marriage equality
On February 21st, Abercrombie acknowledged that the state's marriage law "is unconstitutional because it denies same-sex couples the "fundamental right" to marry," but noted that the state will continue to defend the statute in federal court.[5] The statement is in response to a federal lawsuit filed against the state Department of Health after a same-sex couple was denied a marriage license. A lawyer for the plaintiffs was encouraged by Abercrombie's stance on the issue, saying "its an extremely significant political and moral development to have an important representative of the state, like the governor, stand up and speak his conscience."[6]
U.S. Congress (1990-2010)
At the end of his council tenure, Abercrombie once again ran for Congress and won in 1990, and went on to be re-elected ten times. In the 2008 election, he won with 70.6% of the vote.
Neil Abercrombie was a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and compiled a generally liberal voting record. He supported and voted for the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act. On October 10, 2002, he was among the 133 members of the House who voted against authorizing the 2003 invasion of Iraq. He cosponsored H.R. 1312 (Assault Weapons Ban and Law Enforcement Protection Act of 2005) on July 28, 2005. He took issue with the Vatican over not listing torture as a sin.[7]
According to Project Vote Smart, Abercrombie holds the following issue positions. He is pro-choice, and has voted against a ban on partial birth abortion. He voted with the interests of NARAL and Planned Parenthood 100% between 2000-2006. He has voted for bills designed to make it easier for Americans to vote, such as the motor voter bill. He has advocated strongly for civil liberties; his voting record is supported by both the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and American Library Association. He has also voted against a constitutional amendment to limit marriage to being between one man and one woman. Notably, he was one of only nine representatives not to cast a vote for or against the USA PATRIOT Act in 2001. In 2005, he voted against the extension of the act, calling it “a blank check to trample civil liberties." In 2007, he signed on as a co-sponsor of United States National Health Care Act (H.R. 676), which would have established a national health insurance program. [8] He resigned from Congress shortly before the vote on the 2010 health insurance reform bill.[9]
Controversies
"Mainland" earmarks
For Fiscal Year 2009, the State of Hawaii was one of the top recipients of “mainland money” in the form of Congressional earmarks, receiving $210 dollars in “mainland money” per capita ($270,736,707 total). Maine, a comparable state in population, received only $55 per capita in earmarks.
Abercrombie sought 41 earmarks for a total of $165,034,800 in “mainland money.”[10]
Honolulu City Council (1988-1990)
Abercrombie won a seat on the Honolulu City Council and served from 1988 to 1990.
Hawaii State Senate (1980-1986)
He moved to the Hawaii State Senate, where he served from 1980 to 1986. After Representative Cecil Heftel resigned from the United States Congress in July 1986 to run for Governor of Hawaiʻi, Abercrombie was elected to the House in a September 1986 special election to complete Heftel's unexpired term. However, on the same day Abercrombie lost the Democratic primary for a full two-year term to Mufi Hannemann, who went on to lose to Republican Pat Saiki in the general election.[11]
Hawaii House of Representatives (1975-1979)
Abercrombie ran for the Hawaii House of Representatives where he served from 1975 to 1979.
Elections
2010
- See also: Hawaii gubernatorial election, 2010
On Sunday, March 9, 2009, he announced his intention to again run for Governor of Hawaii instead of running for an 11th term.[12] On December 11, 2009 he announced that he would resign from Congress to concentrate on his gubernatorial bid. He was succeeded in Congress by Republican Charles Djou, the first Republican elected to Congress from Hawaii since Congresswoman Pat Saiki.
| Governor and Lt. Governor of Hawaii, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Neil Abercrombie and Brian Schatz |
58.2% | 222,724 | |
| Republican | Duke Aiona and Lynn Finnegan | 41.1% | 157,311 | |
| Free Energy | Daniel Cunningham and Deborah Spence | 0.3% | 1,265 | |
| Non-partisan | Tom Pollard and Leonard Kama | 0.3% | 1,263 | |
| Total Votes | 382,563 | |||
Abercrombie won defeated Mufi Hannemann in the September 18th Democratic primary.
Campaign donors
Ballotpedia collects information on campaign donors for each year in which a candidate or incumbent is running for election. The following table offers a breakdown of Neil Abercrombie's donors each year.[13] Click [show] for more information.
| Neil Abercrombie's Campaign Contributions | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 Governor of Hawaii | |||||||||||||||||||
| Total Raised | $4,438,999 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Total Raised by General Election Opponent | $2,954,616 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Top 5 contributors | QRM LLC | $6,000 | |||||||||||||||||
| Hawaii State Teachers Association | $6,000 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Hawaii Association of Realtors | $6,000 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Gabriel Siu | $6,000 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 16 other individual donors | $6,000 each | ||||||||||||||||||
| Individuals | $3,396,944 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Institutions | $804,269 | ||||||||||||||||||
| In-state donations | $3,682,371 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Out-of-state donations | $746,470 | ||||||||||||||||||
See also
External links
- Office of the Governor
- Neil Abercrombie For Governor official campaign site
- Project Vote Smart biography
- Neil Abercrombie at FollowTheMoney
- Neil Abercrombie on Facebook
- Neil Abercrombie on Twitter
- Neil Abercrombie on YouTube
- Neil Abercrombie on Flickr
References
- ↑ Freepages, "Neil Abercrombie Genealogy"
- ↑ Time, "The Story of Barack Obama's Mother", April 9, 2008
- ↑ New York Times "NANCIE E. CARAWAY MARRIED TO NEIL ABERCROMBIE", July 19, 1981
- ↑ The Hill, "Menendez: Turn the tables on journos", July 6, 2005
- ↑ Hawaii Star Advertiser, "Governor concedes marriage law's bias," February 22, 2012
- ↑ Hawaii News Now, "Governor, DOH have differing responses to same-sex lawsuit," February 22, 2012
- ↑ The Honolulu Advertiser, "Abercrombie seeks Vatican's view on torture", March 17, 2008
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Neil Abercrombie Voting Record", accessed August 23, 2010
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Neil Abercrombie"
- ↑ Hawaii Reporter, "The Hypocrisy of Putting Down ‘Mainland Money’ Flowing into Hawaii," October 31, 2010
- ↑ NPR, "Democrats Poised to Make Gubernatorial Gains", September 26, 2007, accessed August 23, 2010
- ↑ Hawaii News No, "Neil Abercrombie formally announces run for Hawaii governor's seat", September 3, 2009, accessed August 23, 2010
- ↑ Follow the Money.org
