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Mazie Hirono / Rep. Mazie Hirono’s office in the Longworth House Office Building is 4,500 miles from most of her district. Add the fact that Hirono seems to be the only politician in Hawaii not running for a new office next year and you have great a recipe for “I wonder what’s she’s doing over there.” We asked around.

As a woman and a Japanese-American, U.S. Rep. Mazie Hirono has been a novelty in the clubby, male-dominated halls of Congress in Washington, D.C.

But these days that novelty may finally be wearing away as the former lieutenant governor settles into Hawaii’s 2nd Congressional District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

According to some old political hands: So far, so good. The 62-year-old lawyer and former social worker, who became a U.S. citizen in 1959, turned hard-charging congresswoman has been racking up praise from peers and constituents for what some describe as a level of commitment unusual in a relatively new representative.

More crucially, Hirono, who three years ago became the first immigrant woman of Asian ancestry to be elected to Congress, has been making a big impression on Congressional Democrats as a disciplined and effective advocate on such issues as clean air, access to healthcare and educational policy.

Despite all of that, Hirono has an enormous challenge ahead as state governments continue to look to Congress to help bring relief to eroding economies that are squeezing consumers and struggling to create jobs. More than 46,000 people in Hawaii were out of work in October, up 56 percent from a year ago as the surging jobless rate continues to hurt households and force higher state taxes on companies to pay for unemployment insurance claims.

Of course, Republican challengers have been fiercely opposed to her record on the job and are charging to take on Hirono in November 2010, as public anxiety over the national economy lingers.

Making the leap

Neal Milner, a political science professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, doesn’t see any of that making much of a difference.

“There is really no high-visibility issue that people are watching her on right now that can affect her in Congress,” Milner said. “She is in a safe seat. She is also in a much different place politically than when she was in state politics. In Congress, one of the first steps is to do your work and don’t cause trouble.”

When it comes to state politics, things aren’t that simple. Despite serving in the House of Representatives and eight years as lieutenant governor, Hirono was perceived as a Democratic lightweight.

“For one thing, she has never been a really vocal politician, and being lieutenant governor didn’t help,” Milner said. “And she was not her party’s first choice to run for governor in 2002 against (Gov. Linda) Lingle. She wasn’t even a second choice. Then, she ran an undistinguished campaign.”

Hirono lost the 2002 race, becoming the first Democratic nominee in two generations to do so. But Milner added that Hirono’s political image got a major boost after she ran for Congress and won the election in November 2006, beating back tough competition.

Fast-forward to the present

Hirono has navigated nearly two terms in Congress, where her pragmatic approach and openness have brought her growing respect as a strong policy voice on Capitol Hill.

“She has been a terrific advocate for the infrastructure needs of her district,” said U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar, D-Minn., chairman of the House Transportation Committee. “When others at committee meetings are signing letters to constituents or reading newspapers, she is taking notes.”

Her cautious formality on policy issues has not gone unnoticed by other key Congressional leaders.

“Hirono’s leadership and vision have been invaluable to the Education and Labor Committee,” said California Democratic Rep. George Miller, chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. “She is a passionate advocate for children…especially for expanding quality early-learning opportunities.”

An example is her sponsorship of a broad new initiative aimed at raising quality in the early learning and care programs that serve children from birth through age 5. The initiative would channel $8 billion over eight years to states with plans to improve standards, training and oversight of programs serving infants, toddlers and preschoolers. To qualify for grants, states would have to demonstrate that they have established or improved what the bill calls a “governance structure” for their networks of child care centers and pre-kindergarten programs.

In an e-mail, outgoing U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie said Hirono “has worked hard to develop good working relationships and alliances on Capitol Hill. She has established herself as a strong advocate for early childhood education, particularly through her sponsorship of the PRE-K Act [Providing Resources Early for Kids], which would direct the Secretary of Education to award matching grants to states to enhance state-funded preschool programs. The bill has attracted wide support, including mine, and the White House is working with her on its inclusion in next year’s education reform bill.”

A green leader for a green district

Along the way, she has been credited with helping to push policies that develop new, cleaner energy technologies, to reduce greenhouse gases and its dependence on foreign oil.

“She has been terrific for the environment,” said Robert Harris, director of the Sierra Club in Hawaii. “Nationally, we tracked five bills that have significant environmental impact. She supported all of them. Overall, she is one of the best we’ve ever had.”

None of this surprises Ben Cayetano, who was governor of Hawaii for the eight years that Hirono served as lieutenant governor, from 1994 to 2002.

“She is in her element,” Cayetano said in a telephone interview. “In the legislative arena, she is very good. She is a hard worker who is straightforward and honest. She is nobody’s spear carrier. She has her own opinion and expresses it.”

The other side of the isle

Ed Case, Hirono’s predecessor in the 2nd Congressional District, notes that Hirono has done a good job with some of the challenges of moving from local politics to congressional politics.

“One of the challenges she had was getting to know the [district], which is difficult to absorb in a short period of time,” he said. “It’s a lot of different communities on different islands. That takes some getting used to. You have to devote the personal time to it. And from what I can tell, she picked up the responsibility and carried it forward positively.”

But not all reaction to Hirono’s performance is glowing. Not surprisingly, much of the criticism aimed at Hirono comes from Republican challengers. Honolulu City Council member Charles Djou, a Republican who is revving up his campaign for the 2010 race for the 1st Congressional District seat, is less complimentary: “Mazie is a far more passive member of Congress than I would be. She has been remarkably quiet. She has not put herself in front of major issues.”

John Willoughby, 51, an airline pilot and retired military officer turned candidate for Hirono’s, said he probably would not be running for Hirono’s seat had she gotten involved earlier to help prevent Aloha Airlines from going out of business or done more to improve the economic outlook for small businesses.

“I think she has been totally ineffective,” said Willoughby, who launched his campaign in October. “I don’t see Mazie raising a finger to help small businesses. I don’t see her coming up with any plans to help bolster revenues for local governments or provide tax cuts to businesses and individuals to allow them to keep more of the money they earn.”

Another one of Hirono’s would-be challengers in the upcoming election is Marc Hodges, president of the Maui Tea Party, which is part of a protest movement that started out as a handful of people blogging about their anger over federal spending–the bailouts and the $787 billion stimulus package.

“Mazie Hirono should be standing up for us in Washington, D.C.,” Hodges said. “Instead, she’s helping Washington and international elites stand on top of us. Her support for Wall Street bailouts, massive new federal debt, government takeover of American manufacturing and health care are dragging down our nation’s economy, pulling the rug out from under small businesses, and taking money away from the very people who we depend on as our visitors.”

Mazie on Mazie

During a wide-ranging conversation, Hirono reflected upon her challenges and accomplishments– from her sensitivity to the perception that she is losing her personal connection with constituents, to her view that the federal government must move aggressively to help solve the revenue-based problems that have states like Hawaii on the verge of inability to provide essential services like unemployment benefits.

“We need to create jobs and get our economy going,” Hirono said. “The economic package that Congress passed was a great start, but we need to do more.”

Hirono says she’s focused on the need to keep U.S. infrastructure from further deterioration, which would require an investment that Hirono believes could perk up economies and create tens of thousands of new construction jobs.

Earlier this year, Hawaii received $246 million in federal stimulus money for transportation projects. For every $1 million in stimulus funds pumped into the state, 12.9 jobs are created or preserved, according to the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.

“Investment in infrastructure is one of the best moves we can make to stimulate the economy,” said Hirono.

Step two on her priority list is educational reform. To help make the case, she recently accompanied Assistant U.S. Education Secretary Peter Cunningham to the Waimanalo Elementary and Intermediate School. They visited the school as part of a nationwide “listening and learning” tour, which included conversations with students, teachers, parents and community members.

A tougher but still crucial task for her came when the health care debate reached full fury. Hirono played a role in trying to sell constituents on the need for health care reform. The effort was intended to drive home the message that revamping the health care system will protect consumers by ending unpopular insurance industry practices, like refusing patients with pre-existing conditions.

“I believe that this [legislation] will be a watershed moment for our country,” Hirono said, adding that it was a “great privilege” for her to vote for overhauling the health care system.

Larry Sabato, an oft-quoted political scientist at the University of Virginia, said Hirono’s job is more thankless than glamorous, adding that serving Hawaii in Congress can’t be easy. He cited the travel distance and time-zone differences between Hawaii and Washington, D.C.

“Few consider these practical problems, but they matter,” Sabato said. “I have had California representatives tell me that their job is far more difficult than their colleagues who live in close proximity to D.C. It’s much worse for a Hawaii representative. Therefore, I wouldn’t call the job glamorous by a long shot. It’s hard, tiring work. Yes, there are delightful perks such as good pay and benefits, attending White House functions and having an impact on the nation via legislative actions. But the toll on one’s health and well-being is considerable.”

In the end, Sabato said, voters will judge Hirono on her voting record.

“That’s the most important aspect of the job,” he said. “Is she voting the way the district as a whole would want? And second, today’s legislator is an ombudsman–a red tape cutter–for constituents. How is her constituency service? Are people who contact her office treated fairly, and do the congresswoman and her staff address legitimate problems with efficiency and effectiveness?”

We’ll see. Hirono is up for re-election next year, and voters’ perceptions are the ones that count.