On the eve of her re-election bid, U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, District 2, announced she has been activated by the Hawaii Army National Guard. ADVERTISING On the eve of her re-election bid, U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, District 2,
On the eve of her re-election bid, U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, District 2, announced she has been activated by the Hawaii Army National Guard.
The congresswoman serves as a military police captain in the Guard, and will be supporting the state’s response to the ongoing Kilauea lava flow.
“She will join about 80 National Guard soldiers and airmen already on the ground,” stated a press release issued by her office Monday afternoon.
The congresswoman’s activation is likely to last about a week, according to Hawaii National Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Charles Anthony.
During that time, she will be unable to respond to media requests or make public statements related to her official congressional duties, according to her office.
A Gabbard spokeswoman said she couldn’t discuss anything more than what was contained in the two-paragraph press release, including information concerning the timing of the activation.
“Beginning Tuesday rather than Wednesday, I’m sure she’s looking at the congressional calendar in terms of her getting back to D.C. to do various votes on various bills, and I think she will be trying to maximize her time on the ground to be as effective as possible as a soldier,” Anthony said when asked the same question.
He said he expected Gabbard to report for duty today at the National Guard command post in Pahoa.
“In uniform,” he added.
“She won’t be Representative Gabbard, she’ll be Captain Gabbard, and she will be doing duties commensurate with her position and her training,” he said when asked how the congresswoman would be viewed in the field by the National Guard. “She had a lot of experience in Kuwait knowing how to police a very large area with limited resources, which is kind of what we’re looking at in Pahoa, too.”
After two years representing the Big Island in Washington, Gabbard is the clear front-runner in her bid to win re-election today in the District 2 U.S. House race. She faces Republican Kawika Crowley and Libertarian Joe Kent.
In response to the timing of the congresswoman’s activation, Crowley said Monday afternoon that while it appeared strange, he didn’t see it having much effect on the election one way or another.
“I don’t think it’s going to affect things either way on the election. I’m still going to get my butt kicked,” he said with a laugh. “I’m not a fool thinking, ‘This is going to turn the election around for her.’ Had this happened a week ago, I think that would be something to think about, but the fact that it’s a day before the election, I don’t think it’s an issue.”
Crowley went on to wish Gabbard well.
“I commend her for her service,” he said. “Everybody does. I don’t care if its the Coast Guard, the Army, the Marines, you are in a position that’s very, very vulnerable in all aspects.”
The congresswoman’s offices in Hawaii and Washington, D.C., will remain open to serve constituents during the unspecified time period of her service, according to Monday’s press release.
Email Colin M. Stewart at cstewart@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
