Case filed his papers at the Maui County Clerk's Office today.

Steve Hirano, spokesman for the Waihe'e campaign, said the former governor is in Washington, D.C., and will return later this week to officially announce his intent to run.

"Our group has been meeting this weekend to put together his campaign and organization papers so the governor can file right away when he gets back," Hirano said.

State Sen. Colleen Hanabusa said she would not run in the special election to fill the remainder of Mink's term, but would run in the second election if Mink wins the Nov. 5 general election against Republican Bob McDermott.

"I am campaigning for re-election for my state senate district, so I would not run in the first race," Hanabusa said. "If Mink prevails, I would run in the second."

"As for Mrs. Mink's remaining term, I really believe her husband, John, should fill it out, if he wishes to do so," Hanabusa said.

Former City Councilman Mufi Hannemann said today he is "seriously considering" running for Mink's seat. Hannemann narrowly lost to Mink in a special 1990 election to fill Daniel Akaka's congressional seat. Akaka was appointed to the U.S. Senate after Spark Matsunaga died.

"I lost to (Mink) in the special election in 1990 by one percentage point, so people have been urging me to run," Hannemann said.

Case said he chose Maui to launch his candidacy to pay tribute to Mink, who was born in the old plantation town of Pa'ia. Mink, whose 2nd District includes rural O'ahu and the Neighbor Islands, died Sept. 28 after battling viral pneumonia for more than a month.

Before arriving at the clerk's office in the county building, Case stopped at County Council Chambers, where hanging on a wall was a framed photo of his great-grandfather, Daniel Case, a former county attorney and judge who lived on Maui from 1903 to 1947.

The four-term state representative, who narrowly lost the Democratic gubernatorial nomination to Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono, also said he would seek election to complete Mink's next term if she wins the general election posthumously.

"Nobody can ever replace Patsy Mink ­ she was truly a remarkable woman and she served the 2nd Congressional District well," said Case, who was flanked by his wife, Audrey, and sons James, 13, and David, 12. "But we must now all move on to provide the same level of representation ... and I believe I can do that job."

State Chief Election Officer Dwayne Yoshina last Monday announced a special election would be held Nov. 30 in the 2nd District (rural O'ahu, Neighbor Islands) to elect a representative to serve the rest of Mink's term, which ends at noon on Jan. 3.

Attorney General Earl Anzai on Friday asked the state Supreme Court to decide whether that special election could be held at the same time as the general election, saving taxpayers $2 million.

If Mink wins the Nov. 5 general election against McDermott, there will be a vacancy and another special election would be held Jan. 4.

Jim Wang, a University of Hawai'i-Hilo political science professor emeritus, said for all of the advantages Case now seems to enjoy, he may not be the front-runner with Waihe'e in the race.

"If you are going to line up Ed Case and John Waihe'e, John Waihe'e was a former governor, so he probably has more name recognition," Wang said. "I think he would probably be a very hard person to beat."

State officials said the U.S. Constitution and state law require a special election to determine who will finish out Mink's term. Gov. Ben Cayetano noted there also are pressing national issues, including major appropriations bills and a possible vote on war with Iraq.

Case said Iraqi President Saddam Hussein would not hesitate to harm U.S. citizens, but he believes the United States would be better off proceeding under international law, rather than unilaterally.

Although he said he is not as liberal as Mink, Case said he agreed with her on protection of the environment and preservation of natural resources through expansion of national parks and recreational facilities.