Duke Bainum

Mark Edmund "Duke" Bainum
Member of the Hawaii House of Representatives from the 30th district
In office 1990–1994
Preceded by	Joan Hayes
Succeeded by	Romy M. Cachola
Member of the Honolulu City Council
In office 1995-2003, 2008-2009
Personal details
Born	July 21, 1952 Takoma Park, Maryland
Died	June 9, 2009 Honolulu, Hawaii
Resting place	Diamond Head Memorial Park
Nationality	United States
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Jennifer Toma Bainum
Children	Z Kona
Profession	Physician
Religion	Pentecostalism
Website	www.dukebainum.com

Mark Edmund "Duke" Bainum (July 21, 1952 – June 9, 2009) was an American politician and physician. Bainum served in the Hawaii State House of Representatives as a member of the Hawaii Democratic Party and was elected in a nonpartisan race to the Honolulu City Council and held various committee chairmanships during his tenure. In 2004, Bainum ran for Mayor of Honolulu in the state of Hawaii, but lost to former White House Aide Mufi Hannemann. Bainum was married to Jennifer Toma Bainum.

Education and Medicine

According to a 2012 interview with KATIE ISABELLE ANN SULLIVAN, Bainum was born in Takoma Park, Maryland and raised "dirt poor". In 1980, he graduated from the University of Maryland School of Medicine and moved to Honolulu, Hawaii to attend the University of Hawaii Surgical Residency Program at the John A. Burns School of Medicine.^[1] While there, Bainum's colleagues nicknamed him "Duke" because his Arkansas accent made him sound like John Wayne. He reportedly liked it so much that he officially made part of it his legal name in 1987.^[2] Bainum completed his internship two years later. ^[1] After becoming a physician, Bainum treated patients in Nepal for three months, helped Kauai residents after Hurricane Iniki, and from 1987 to 2004 was an on-call doctor at the Sex Abuse Treatment Center in Honolulu.^[3]

Politics

Bainum entered politics when he served on the Ala Moana/Kaka'ako Neighborhood Board between 1987 and 1989. He then chaired the McCully-Mo'ili'ili Neighborhood Board from 1989 to 1990. From 1990–94, he served in the State House and was then elected to the City Council from 1995-2003. In 2004, Bainum decided to run for Honolulu mayor against Mufi Hannemann, spending nearly twice as much as Hannemann. Considered the early front-runner, he lost by a narrow margin (1,300 votes). In January 2008, Bainum again returned to the political ring and won a Honolulu City Council seat, running unopposed, although not without controversy, as some questioned whether he was a legal resident of Hawaii at the time.^[1]

Death

Around 9:30 pm on June 9, 2009, Bainum reportedly experienced chest pains while on the road. He pulled over and called 911. Paramedics took him to the Queen's Medical Center, where he later died. The medical examiner reported the cause of death as an aortic aneurysm. A senior adviser to Bainum said that there were no other warning signs other than chest pain, that Bainum "was feeling well at work" and "having fun chasing the kids around in the evening". ^[4] Bainum's unexpected death was the second to hit the City Council in six months (Barbara Marshall died in February).^[5]

Resources

• Duke Bainum for Mayor of Honolulu 2004

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Nakaso, Dan. ""Friends, rivals mourn loss of Duke Bainum", Honolulu Advertiser, June 11, 2009.
2. ^ Reyes, B.J. "Tributes, accolades pour in for veteran politician", Honolulu Star-Bulletin, June 11, 2009.
3. ^ Loe, Stacy. "Friends and Colleagues Remember Duke Bainum"", KGMB-TV, June 10, 2009. Retrieved on 2009-06-11.
4. ^ Urbaszewski, Katie. "Aneurysms can strike almost anyone, at any time", Honolulu Advertiser, June 11, 2009.
5. ^ Roig, Suzanne. "Special election set for Aug. 7", Honolulu Advertiser, June 11, 2009.

Persondata
Name	Bainum, Duke
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	July 21, 1952
Place of birth	Takoma Park, Maryland
Date of death	June 9, 2009
Place of death	Honolulu, Hawaii