Actor George Takei, most famous for his role as Hikaru Sulu in the original Star Trek series, has declared his support for Hawaii Rep. Colleen Hanabusa (D) in her campaign for U.S. Senate.
Takei, a proponent of gay rights and Japanese-American relations, was friends with Hawaii's late and beloved Sen. Daniel Inouye. Inouye's dying wish was for Rep. Hanabusa to succeed him in the Senate, but Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie appointed then Lt. Governor Brian Schatz instead.
The rivalry between the Hanabusa and Schatz camps has been fierce ever since. Hawaii's Democratic Primary for Senate is not for another 11 months, but the campaign is already underway in Hawaii. (Schatz has a strong lead in fundraising with support from national figures like Al Gore and Michael Bloomberg.)
The Hanabusa campaign sent an email on Monday, in which Takei said that he knows Hanabusa will “continue to fight hard for what’s right.”
During my childhood, my family and I were interned in Rohwer prison camp in the swamps of southeast Arkansas and in Tule Lake in northern California because we looked like the people who bombed Pearl Harbor.
Like my family, Colleen Hanabusa’s grandfathers were also sent to internment camps. Listening to her grandfathers’ stories about that experience inspired Colleen at an early age to end discrimination and fight for equality.
Takei has also supported Hawaii Sen. Mazie Hirono in her Senate campaign.
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