Cecil Heftel
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Cecil Landau Heftel, popularly known as Cec Heftel (September 30, 1924- ), is a politician and businessman from Hawai'i. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1976 to 1986 for the First Congressional District, encompassing most of urban Honolulu.
Early years
Heftel was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1924 where he attended public schools. He then moved to Tempe, Arizona to study at the Arizona State University where he obtained his bachelor's degree in 1951. Heftel moved on to the University of Utah and New York University for graduate work. He settled in Honolulu and established Heftel Broadcasting. He owned KGMB-AM-FM-TV and several other television and radio stations across the country. From 1943 to 1946, Heftel left his business to serve in the United States Army.
Political career
Upon returning to his business in Honolulu, Heftel decided to run for political office. He became a delegate to the 1972 Hawai'i State Democratic Convention. There, he was elected in caucus to become a delegate to the Democratic National Convention. Four years later, he was elected to Congress from the First District and was reelected four more times. He resigned on July 19, 1986 to run for governor, but lost the Democratic primary to John Waihee. Heftel blamed the loss on a smear campaign against him. After 18 years out of the spotlight, the 80-year-old Heftel made a successful return to elective politics by being elected in November 2004 to the state Board of Education for the Oahu-At Large seat.
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