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Graduates of secondary schools in Hawaii often enter directly into the work force. Some attend colleges and universities on the mainland or other countries, and the rest attend an institution of higher learning in Hawaii. The largest is the University of Hawaii System. It consists of: the research university at Mānoa; two comprehensive campuses Hilo and West Oʻahu; and seven Community Colleges. Private universities include Brigham Young University–Hawaii, Chaminade University of Honolulu, Hawaii Pacific University, and Wayland Baptist University. The Saint Stephen Diocesan Center is a seminary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu. Kona hosts the University of the Nations, which is not an accredited university. See also: List of colleges and universities in Hawaii Governance The Hawaii State Capitol, as seen from the rim of Punchbowl Crater. Aliʻiōlani Hale, home of the Supreme Court of Hawaii See also: Politics of Hawaii and Political party strength in Hawaii The state government of Hawaii is modeled after the federal government with adaptations originating from the kingdom era of Hawaiian history. As codified in the Constitution of Hawaii, there are three branches of government: executive, legislative and judicial. The executive branch is led by the Governor of Hawaii assisted by the Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii, both elected on the same ticket. The governor is the only state public official elected statewide; all others are appointed by the governor. The lieutenant governor acts as the Secretary of State. The governor and lieutenant governor oversee twenty agencies and departments from offices in the State Capitol. The official residence of the governor is Washington Place. The legislative branch consists of the bicameral Hawaii State Legislature, which is composed of the 51-member Hawaii House of Representatives led by the Speaker of the House and the 25-member Hawaii Senate led by the President of the Senate. The Legislature meets at the State Capitol. The unified judicial branch of Hawaii is the Hawaii State Judiciary. The state's highest court is the Supreme Court of Hawaii, which uses Aliʻiōlani Hale as its chambers. Unique to Hawaii is the lack of municipal governments. All local governments are administered at the county level. The only incorporated area in the state is a consolidated city–county, Honolulu County, which governs the entire island of Oahu. County executives are referred to as mayors: The Mayor of Hawaii County, Mayor of Honolulu, Mayor of Kauaʻi, and the Mayor of Maui. The mayors are all elected in nonpartisan races. Political subdivisions See also: List of counties in Hawaii The movement of the Hawaiian royal family from the Big Island to Maui, and subsequently to Oʻahu, explains why population centers exist where they do today. Kamehameha III chose the largest city, Honolulu, as his capital because of its natural harbor, the present-day Honolulu Harbor. Now the state capital, Honolulu is located along the southeast coast of Oʻahu. The previous capital was Lahaina, Maui, and before that Kailua-Kona, Hawaiʻi. Some major towns are Hilo; Kāneʻohe; Kailua; Pearl City; Waipahu; Kahului; Kailua-Kona. Kīhei; and Līhuʻe. Hawaii comprises five counties: the City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii County, Maui County, Kauai County, and Kalawao County. Federal government Brian Schatz is the senior United States Senator from Hawaii Hawaii is represented in the United States Congress by two Senators and two Representatives. All four are Democrats. Colleen Hanabusa represents the 1st congressional district in the House, representing southeastern Oahu, including central Honolulu. Tulsi Gabbard represents the 2nd congressional district, representing the rest of the state, which is mainly rural. Brian Schatz is the senior United States Senator from Hawaii. He was appointed to the office on the December 26, 2012, by Governor Neil Abercrombie, following the death of former Senator Daniel Inouye. The state's junior senator is Mazie Hirono, the former Representative from the 2nd congressional district. Hirono owns the distinction of being the first Asian American female and first Buddhist senator. Hawaii incurred the biggest seniority shift between the 112th the 113th Congress. The Aloha state went from a delegation with senators who were first and 21st in seniority before Inouye’s death and Senator Daniel Akaka’s retirement, to senators who are 87th and 93rd.[149] Federal officials in Hawaii are based at the Prince Kūhiō Federal Building near the Aloha Tower and Honolulu Harbor in Honolulu. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service and the Secret Service maintain their offices there, and the building is also the site of the federal District Court for the District of Hawaii and the United States Attorney for the District of Hawaii. National politics Presidential elections results Year Republican Democratic 2012 27.84% 121,015 70.55% 306,658 2008 26.58% 120,446 71.85% 325,588 2004 45.26% 194,191 54.01% 231,708 2000 37.46% 137,845 55.79% 205,286 1996 31.64% 113,943 56.93% 205,012 1992 36.70% 136,822 48.09% 179,310 1988 44.75% 158,625 54.27% 192,364 1984 55.10% 185,050 43.82% 147,154 1980 42.90% 130,112 44.80% 135,879 1976 48.06% 140,003 50.59% 147,375 1972 62.48% 168,865 37.52% 101,409 1968 38.70% 91,425 59.83% 141,324 1964 21.24% 44,022 78.76% 163,249 1960 49.97% 92,295 50.03% 92,410 Since gaining statehood and participating in its first election in 1960, Hawaii has supported Democrats in all but two presidential elections (1972 and 1984, both landslide victories for Republicans Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan respectively). During that time, only Minnesota has supported Republican candidates fewer times in presidential elections. In 2004, John Kerry won the state's four electoral votes by a margin of nine percentage points with 54% of the vote. Every county supported the Democratic candidate. In 1964, favorite son candidate Senator Hiram Fong of Hawaii sought the Republican presidential nomination, while Patsy Mink ran in the Oregon primary in 1972. Honolulu native Barack Obama, then serving as United States Senator from Illinois, was elected the 44th President of the United States on November 4, 2008, and was reelected for a second term on November 6, 2012. Obama had won the Hawaiian Democratic Caucus on February 19, 2008 with 76% of the vote. He was the third Hawaii-born candidate to seek the nomination of a major party and the first presidential nominee from Hawaii.[150][151] Transportation See also: Hawaii Department of Transportation and Aviation in Hawaii A system of state highways encircles each main island. Only Oʻahu has federal highways, and is the only area outside the contiguous 48 states to have signed Interstate highways. Travel can be slow due to narrow winding roads, and congestion in populated places. Each major island has a public bus system. The main welcome sign for Honolulu Airport Honolulu International Airport (IATA:HNL), which shares runways with the adjacent Hickam Field (IATA:HIK), is the major commercial aviation hub of Hawaii. The commercial aviation airport offers intercontinental service to North America, Asia, Australia, and Oceania. Within Hawaii, Hawaiian Airlines, Mokulele Airlines and go! use jets between the larger airports in Honolulu, Līhuʻe, Kahului, Kona and Hilo, while Island Air and Pacific Wings serve smaller airports. These airlines also provide air freight service amongst the islands. Until air passenger service became available in the 1920s,[152] private boats were the sole means of traveling between the islands. Seaflite operated hydrofoils between the major islands in the mid-1970s.[153] The Hawaii Superferry operated between Oʻahu and Maui between December 2007 and March 2009, with additional routes planned for other islands. Legal issues over environmental impact statements and protests ended the service, though the company operating Superferry has expressed a wish to begin ferry service again at a future date.[154] Currently there is passenger ferry service in Maui County between Molokaʻi and Maui,[155] and between Lanaʻi and Maui,[156] though neither of these takes vehicles. Currently Norwegian Cruise Lines and Princess Cruises provide passenger cruise ship service between the larger islands.[157][158] Rail At one time Hawaii had a network of railroads on each of the larger islands that helped move farm commodities as well as passengers. Most were 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge but there were some 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) gauge on some of the smaller islands. Standard US gauge is 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm). By far the largest railroad was the Oahu Railway and Land Company (OR&L) that ran many lines from Honolulu across the western and northern part of Oahu.[159] The OR&L was important for moving troops and goods during World War II. Traffic on this line was busy enough for there to be signals on the lines to facilitate movement of trains and wigwag signals at some railroad crossings for the protection of motorists. The main line was officially abandoned in 1947; although part of it was bought by the US Navy and operated until 1970. Thirteen miles (21 km) of track remain and preservationists occasionally run trains over a portion of this line.[159] The Honolulu High-Capacity Transit Corridor Project aims to add elevated passenger rail on Oahu to relieve highway congestion. Sister cities and twin towns Hawaii has many sister cities and twin towns. Hawaii County is twinned with five Japanese cities and one Philippines city. Hilo is twinned with a Chilean city and a Japanese city. Honolulu is twinned with over 25 foreign cities, most notably Manila, Toronto, Seoul, and Tokyo. Kauai County is twinned with three Japanese cities. Maui County is twinned with over 20 cities, most notably Madrid and Manila. Waikiki is twinned with Bixby, Oklahoma. See also: List of sister cities in the United States § Hawaii |
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