Case set for 'emotional' day

By James Gonser
Advertiser Staff Writer

As new Hawai'i Congressman Ed Case raises his hand to take the oath of office today amid pomp and circumstance on the floor of the U.S. Capitol, he may well be wearing a borrowed shirt.

Ed Case, shown here campaigning on Saturday, says his family will keep their residence in Hawai'i while he's in Washington, D.C. Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser

"We got into Cleveland and it was snowing pretty hard and a bunch of the flights were canceled, including the flight we had into D.C.," Ed Case said yesterday from his brother Brad's Virginia home. "So we hopped a flight to Baltimore instead. We don't know where our luggage is at the moment, but we are here."

Case, a Democrat, drew 42.3 percent of the votes in the winner-take-all special election Saturday to fill the two-year term in the 108th Congress won posthumously by Patsy Mink, who died Sept. 28 of viral pneumonia brought on by chickenpox.

Case bested 43 other candidates and took a majority of votes on every island, winning the opportunity to represent rural O'ahu and the Neighbor Islands in Congress and completing a remarkable personal and political journey.

Case is still amazed at the turn of events in his life over the past 18 months, from state House member, to candidate for governor and losing in the primary election, to becoming a member of Congress, first by winning the Nov. 30 special election to fill the remaining five weeks of Mink's term and then winning the seat in the 108th Congress in overwhelming fashion.

Now he is busy mapping out the next two years of his life.

"Nobody could have ever anticipated the year I've just had in Hawai'i politics," Case said. "That I ended up running for Congress was not a surprise, but how it came about — nobody could have anticipated that."

Case said he sat down with his family in the summer of 2001 and talked about their futures.

"At that time I didn't anticipate that in just a little over a year I would be a member of Congress," he said.

The family has decided to keep their residence in Hawai'i so the couple's three children, who still live at home, can continue with school and grow up here.

"I will come back as much as I can," Case said. "It is something I want to do to maintain my family in Hawai'i, and it is good for me to spend a lot of time in the district. I'll become very familiar with the flight timetables and be doing a lot of redeye flying and sleeping on planes."

The couple has four children ranging in age from 12 to 19, two each from previous marriages. Audrey Case said the decision to stay in Hawai'i was made by the entire family.

"All our decisions are very democratic," she said. "Everybody gets input. I think if you give the children the opportunity to have real input, they feel more responsible for the outcome."

Ed will likely get an apartment near work. Audrey, who is a cook and has some favorite recipes on the congressman's Web site, said he is capable of taking care of himself, although she will likely be sending him care packages from home.

"He is a very good cook," Audrey said. "He is really great with fish and really good at already-cooked Safeway rotisserie chicken."

Washington insiders say many transplanted locals eat at Lehua's Bakery, which features Hawaiian food, pastries, guava cake and guava chiffon. The close-knit Hawaiian community often holds parties at staff members' homes with laulau and kalua pig.

"There is a very active ex-pat community here in D.C.," Case said. "There has been a Hawai'i Society here for decades now. They usually have an annual lu'au. I'm sure friends will point me to where the best local food is here."

Case said he can always fall back on an old Hilo staple in a pinch — Spam and rice.

"You can't grow up in Hilo without eating Spam," Case said. "I can cook rice the old way without a rice cooker. (Water) up to the first joint on your pinky."

Case expects to open both his offices, in Honolulu and Washington, tomorrow. They were closed by House rules before the special election, as is customary. This week, he also will decide whom to keep on his staff. During the five weeks of Mink's final term, he kept on many of her staff members.

The fact that he was a member of the 107th Congress does give him a slight edge over other new members, he said.

"It gives me the benefits of having served in the prior Congress," Case said. "Seniority rules in Congress are pretty arcane but should be of some benefit, usually in the ranking of committee members."

When he is officially sworn in today, his wife, parents, siblings and friends will view it from the gallery, but two of his sons, James and David, will be by his side.

"The House allows younger children to come onto the floor when members are sworn in," Case said. "James and David will be sitting right there on the House floor with me. I am really excited for them to have that memory. I think someday they are going to look back and go 'Wow, that was amazing.' "

It will also be an amazing moment for Case.

"I'm sure it will be a deeply emotional moment for me," he said. "I even choke up thinking about it. Not only because it's been a long campaign trail, but I worked for three years in Congress for (former Sen.) Spark Matsunaga. I'm sure as I sit there on the floor I'll be thinking of Spark and the opportunity he gave me."

Reach James Gonser at jgonser@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2431.