Mark Edmund "Duke" Bainum (July 21, 1952 – June 9, 2009) was an

American politician The politics of the United States function within a framework of a constitutional federal republic and presidential system, with three distinct branches that share powers. These are: the U.S. Congress which forms the legislative branch, a bic ...

and

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

. Bainum served in the

Hawaii State House of Representatives The Hawaii House of Representatives is the lower house of the Hawaii State Legislature. Pursuant to Article III, Section 3 of the Constitution of Hawaii, amended during the 1978 constitutional convention, the House of Representatives consists ...

as a member of the

Hawaii Democratic Party The Democratic Party of Hawaii ( haw, ʻAoʻao Demokalaka o Hawaiʻi) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the state of Hawaii. The party is a centralized organization established to promote the party platform as drafted in convention b ...

and was elected in a nonpartisan race to the

Honolulu City Council Honolulu City Council is the legislature of the City and County of Honolulu, the capital and largest city in Hawai'i, the fiftieth state in the United States. The City and County of Honolulu is a municipal corporation that manages government asp ...

and held various committee chairmanships during his tenure. In 2004, Bainum ran for

Mayor of Honolulu The mayor of Honolulu is the chief executive officer of the City and County of Honolulu. An office established in 1900 and modified in 1907, the mayor of Honolulu is elected by universal suffrage of residents of Honolulu to no more than two four ...

in the state of

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

, but lost to former White House Aide

Mufi Hannemann Muliufi Francis Hannemann (born July 16, 1954) is an American politician, businessman, and non-profit executive. He was elected twice as Mayor of Honolulu in 2004 and 2008. Hannemann has served as a special assistant in Washington, D.C., with t ...

. Bainum was married to Jennifer Toma Bainum.

Education and medical career

According to a 2012 interview with Katie Sullivan, Bainum was born in

Takoma Park, Maryland Takoma Park is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It is a suburb of Washington, D.C., Washington, and part of the Washington metropolitan area. Founded in 1883 and incorporated in 1890, Takoma Park, informally called "Azalea C ...

to Irvin C. Bainum, a

banker A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

, and Evea J. Bainum, and raised "dirt poor" with his older brother Timothy. His paternal uncle, Stewart W. Bainum, Sr., was the founder of

Choice Hotels Choice Hotels International, Inc. is an American multinational hospitality company based in Rockville, Maryland. The company, which is one of the largest hotel chains in the world, owns several hotel brands ranging from upscale to economy. As of ...

, a hotel chain, and HCR Manor Care, a retirement facility chain. In 1980, he graduated from the

University of Maryland School of Medicine The University of Maryland School of Medicine (abbreviated UMSOM), located in Baltimore City, Maryland, U.S., is the medical school of the University of Maryland, Baltimore and is affiliated with the University of Maryland Medical Center and Me ...

and moved to

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island o ...

to attend the University of Hawaii Surgical Residency Program at the John A. Burns School of Medicine.Nakaso, Dan.
"Friends, rivals mourn loss of Duke Bainum
", ''Honolulu Advertiser'', June 11, 2009. While there, Bainum's colleagues nicknamed him "Duke" because his

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

accent made him sound like

John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Gol ...

. He reportedly liked it so much that he officially made part of it his legal name in 1987.Reyes, B.J
"Tributes, accolades pour in for veteran politician"
''Honolulu Star-Bulletin, June 11, 2009. Bainum completed his internship two years later. After becoming a physician, Bainum treated patients in

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

for three months, helped

Kauai Kauai, () anglicized as Kauai ( ), is geologically the second-oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands (after Niʻihau). With an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), it is the fourth-largest of these islands and the 21st largest island ...

residents after

Hurricane Iniki Hurricane Iniki ( ; Hawaiian: ''iniki'' meaning "strong and piercing wind") was the most powerful hurricane to strike Hawaii in recorded history. Forming on September 5, 1992, during the strong 1990–1995 El Niño, Iniki was one of eleven Centr ...

, and from 1987 to 2004 was an on-call doctor at the Sex Abuse Treatment Center in Honolulu.

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

, 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 Honolulu City Council seat District 5, running unopposed, although not without controversy, as some questioned whether he was a legal resident of Hawaii at the time.

Religion

Bainum attended

New Hope Christian Fellowship New Hope Christian Fellowship is a Pentecostal church based in Honolulu, Hawaii. It is affiliated with the Foursquare Church. Overview The church was started by Pastor Wayne Cordeiro in 1996. It has planted more than 120 churches. In 2023 it h ...

and was an

Evangelical Christian Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual exper ...

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 An aortic aneurysm is an enlargement (dilatation) of the aorta to greater than 1.5 times normal size. They usually cause no symptoms except when ruptured. Occasionally, there may be abdominal, back, or leg pain. The prevalence of abdominal aortic ...

. 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"''. Bainum's unexpected death was the second to hit the City Council in six months ( Barbara Marshall died in February).Roig, Suzanne.
"Special election set for Aug. 7"
, ''Honolulu Advertiser'', June 11, 2009.

Resources

Duke Bainum for Mayor of Honolulu 2004

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bainum, Duke 1952 births 2009 deaths Democratic Party members of the Hawaii House of Representatives University of Maryland, Baltimore alumni People from Takoma Park, Maryland Deaths from aortic aneurysm Honolulu City Council members 20th-century American politicians