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

American politician In the United States, politics functions within a framework of a constitutional federal democratic republic with a presidential system. The three distinct branches share powers: Congress, which forms the legislative branch, a bicameral legis ...

and

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

. Bainum served in the Hawaii State House of Representatives as a member of the

Hawaii Democratic Party The Democratic Party of Hawaii (DPH; ) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party in the state of Hawaii. It is currently the dominant party in the state, and is one of the strongest affiliates of the national D ...

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 a ...

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 fo ...

in the state of Hawaii, 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 ...

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 North Bethesda, Maryland. The company, which is one of the largest hotel chains in the world, owns various hotel brands ranging from upscale to economy. ...

, 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 ...

and moved to

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

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 West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

accent made him sound like

John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne, was an American actor. Nicknamed "Duke", he became a Pop icon, popular icon through his starring roles in films which were produced during Hollywood' ...

. 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, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

for three months, helped

Kauai Kauai (), anglicized as Kauai ( or ), is one of the main Hawaiian Islands. It has an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), making it the fourth-largest of the islands and the 21st-largest island in the United States. Kauai lies 73 m ...

residents after

Hurricane Iniki Hurricane Iniki ( ; Hawaiian: ''iniki'' meaning "strong and piercing wind") was a hurricane that struck the island of Kauai on September 11, 1992. It was the most powerful hurricane to strike Hawaii in recorded history, and the only hurricane to ...

, 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 and was an

Evangelical Christian Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

Death

Around 9:30 pm on June 9, 2009, Bainum reportedly experienced chest pains while driving. 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. Typically, there are no symptoms except when the aneurysm dissects or ruptures, which causes sudden, severe pain in the abdomen and lower back ...

. 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 School of Medicine alumni People from Takoma Park, Maryland Deaths from aortic aneurysm Honolulu City Council members John A. Burns School of Medicine alumni 20th-century members of the Hawaii State Legislature