Most Hawaii State House Reps on Facebook
UPDATED 9/16/11 11 a.m.
has 1,750 friends. listens to Amy Hanaialii. John Mizuno has two accounts. And posts no photos — not even of himself.
UPDATE (Speaker Say’s Facebook entry is a link to Say’s Wikipedia entry. There is a Facebook account called , too, which does post a photo of the speaker. It’s not clear, though, what the account name is referring to or who it belongs to.)
Those fun little details come from Facebook, of course. They shed light on our lawmakers — who they know, what they like, what they won’t share.
Just this week, Georgette Deemer, who handles communications for the Hawaii House of Representatives, on the House’s official blog the names of majority members on Facebook. At least 32 of the 43 Democrats have a Facebook presence, including top leaders like Speaker Say.
UPDATE (Deemer did not include information on the eight House Republicans. But Michele Van Hessen, who handles media for the Minority Caucus, reports that six of them are on Facebook.)1
Join Civil Beat as it combs the state House members on Facebook!
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The Minority Caucus tells Civil Beat that the number is actually six, and not seven, as previously advised.
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Lawmakers Are Friends With Lawmakers
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that people in the same business are Facebook friends.
Example: is friends with Clarence Nishihara, Will Espero, Suzanne Chun Oakland, Mike Gabbard, Della Au Belatti, John Mizuno, Glenn Waikai, Donovan Dela Cruz and … well, you get the idea.
Brian Schatz and Daniel K. Inouye are friends with a lot of lawmakers, too. Same goes for Inouye press secretary Peter Boylan.
Lawmakers Use Facebook for Work
While they are not official accounts — like the one for , for example — legislators find them to be useful ways to pass along information and comments.
Consider :
March 8: “State-wide pedestrian master plan meeting!!!!”
Feb. 14: “LDS WEST OAHU CAREER FAIR!”
Jan. 19: “It was such a blessing to have Kamaki Kanahele from Nanakuli give the Opening Day pule to begin this 2011 legislative session!
Or , who posts video of her town halls and cable TV talk show.
Or , who had this recent item on her wall:
Aug. 29: Really high surf hitting the wall at Kekaha beach. Water going across the road. Please drive careful and stay off the beachside shoulder.
Keiki Pics
Of the 244 photos posted by , a good many are of keiki, including her own.
Basic information about Belatti: “A busy mom, wife, State Representative, and attorney trying to juggle it all in the 808 state.”
Speaking of photos, in addition to Speaker Say, also doesn’t have a photo of himself on his Facebook. , meanwhile, is pictured in his Hawaii Army National Guard uniform.
Some Share Details
is a Christian, coaches wrestling and is of Lebanese and Japanese descent (“Father, John Hashem was a WWII, Korean War and Vietnam War Veteran”). He is founder of NineBall Billiards Japan.
had this item on her wall: Aug. 25: “Toured Rehabilitation Hospital of the Pacific today. The machine below tests the reflexes of ‘older’ drivers. I think I passed.”
And has three — THREE! — favorite professional football teams: the Houston Texans, the Denver Broncos and the San Francisco 49ers; and two — TWO! — favorite college football teams, UH and Boise State.
Some Do Not
does not publicly share photos or her wall, and does not directly identify herself as a state representative. But she does like “Glee.”
will only admit that he is male, though he does list 1,418 friends.
And Chris Lee only posts a few pics (he’s in all of them). He does link to his , though, where one can find more useful info.
John Mizuno Has Two Facebooks
One account is for , which chronicles his official duties like touring a fishmarket and holding a hearing on homelessness.
The other account is for , which is … well, a lot like his other account.
For example, both list the Bible and Hemingway’s “The Old Man and the Sea” as favorite books. Both like “Pulp Fiction” and Celine Dion. Both say he is a graduate of Willamette University.
And both list near-identical information under the “Basic Information” section. (E.g., “In 2010 Representative Mizuno won his third LEGISLATOR OF THE YEAR recognition.”)
Curiously, Representative John Mizuno has 3,066 friends but John Mizuno has 5,003 friends.
Both accounts list Gene Park, Melissa Chang, Catherine Toth and L.P. Neenz Faleafine as friends.
The GOP
As noted above, six of the eight House GOP members are on Facebook.
UPDATE The only GOP lawmakers who are not are Aaron Ling Johanson, though there are more than a dozen Aaron Johansons on Facebook, and Cynthia Thielen, though there are a few Cynthia Thielens on Facebook as well.
But, you can find Johanson and Thielen on the account. There are also photos of Ronald Reagan, Charles Djou, Lynn Finnegan, Linda Lingle and James “Duke” Aiona.
The GOP account lists no discussions of friend activity. The most recent wall post is from (626 friends), who recalls how he was changed by the events of 9/11:
Awakened from his slumber by an early-morning phone call, current South Maui Rep. George Fontaine, a former Maui police captain, thought he was “dreaming” when he saw the attack on the World Trade Center on television.
Like John Mizuno, Kymberly Pine has two accounts — and . Neither has much to say, but who knew that Pine has an English degree from UC Berkeley?
Coming next: How many Hawaii state senators are on Facebook?
