Name: Ross Gavin McCallen
State and Seat: Hawaii–1
Political Party: Democratic
Avatar: Jan Leyers
Major Caucus: New Democrats
Date of Birth: March 31, 1958
Place of Birth: Allentown, Pennsylvania
Current Place of Residence: Kailua, Hawaii
Family:
-Son of Harry and Barbara (née McIntyre) McCallen
-Married to the former Barbara Everland (b. February 1961; m. August 1985-present)
-Daughters Iris (b. February 1988) and Kalea (b. June 1994)
Educational History:
-Diploma; Louis E. Dieruff High School; Allentown, PA; class of 1976
-B.S., economics; United States Air Force Academy; El Paso County, CO; class of 1980
-Juris Doctor; William S. Richardson School of Law, University of Hawaii; Honolulu, HI; class of 1986
Occupational History:
-Contracting officer; United States Air Force; Hickam Air Force Base, HI; 1980-86
-Discharged with rank with First Lieutenant (O-2)
-Junior attorney; Tiguan and Associates Veterans Law; Pearl City, HI; 1986-88
-Deputy Attorney General; State of Hawaii Department of the Attorney General; Honolulu, HI; 1988-96
-Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Hawaii; United States Department of Justice; Honolulu, HI; 1996-2001
-United States Attorney for the District of Hawaii; United States Department of Justice; Honolulu, HI; 2001-05
-Attorney at law; Janis and Starnes Law Firm; Kailua, HI; 2005-12
Political History:
-Hawaii State Senator for District 24; 2006-12
-United States Senator for Hawaii; 2013-present
Biographical Sketch:
Ross Gavin McCallen was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, where his father was a line supervisor for Mack Trucks and his mother was a nurse. Ross's father was an immigrant from Aberdeen, Scotland, while his mother was born in the U.S. to a Scottish father and Irish mother. Ross attended public schooling and graduated from Louis E. Dieruff High School. In his final year of school, Ross was awarded an appointment to the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA), having been officially nominated by U.S. Senator Richard Schweiker. Ross received a bachelor’s degree in economics from the Academy in 1980.
Upon his graduation from USAFA, Ross was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Air Force and assigned as a contracting officer at Hickam Air Force Base on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. He provided ground support for the Air Force during Operation Urgent Fury in Grenada in 1983. He was honorably discharged from the Air Force in 1986, retiring with the rank of First Lieutenant.
Ross has resided on Oahu since being stationed there in 1980. In 1985, he married Brenda Everland, a fellow transplant from the Mainland; they welcomed daughters in 1988 and 1994. Having previously been “somewhat conservative but mostly apolitical,” he gradually became more progressive and registered as a Democrat in 1992, prior to voting for presidential candidate Bill Clinton.
Ross’s civilian career began with a brief stint with a veterans’ service law firm in Pearl City, before joining the Attorney General’s Office, working primarily in environmental law. He remained in that role until 1996, when he was appointed an Assistant United States Attorney for Hawaii. In 2001, President George W. Bush appointed Ross to head the office as U.S. Attorney, receiving a favorable recommendation from Senator Daniel Inouye. Ross served in this office until mid-2005, when he resigned due to his disagreements with the new Attorney General, Alberto Gonzales. He later said, “I worked as a Democrat inside the Bush Administration – albeit it in a far-away capacity – hoping to be a force for good, but what Gonzales presided over was not conscionable to participate in.”
In 2006, feeling that he needed to become more politically active, he ran for the state Senate’s 24th district, which included his adopted hometown of Kailua. He won the Democratic primary to succeed Republican Bob Hogue, who left the Senate to run for Congress. Ross won the general election and, per Hawaii law, began service immediately. He was re-elected without difficulty in 2010. While in the Senate, his biggest legislative victories were in education, including securing more funding for pre-kindergarten.
Ross filed to run for the U.S. Senate shortly after incumbent Daniel Akaka announced his retirement. He originally ran for the United States Senate with low expectations, figuring he stood little chance in the heavily blue state to win a Democratic primary, and doing it primarily in hopes of attaining greater name recognition. To his surprise, numerous prominent Democrats such as Colleen Hanabusa and Mufi Hannemann declined to run, and Ross was successful over his main rival, former Congressman Ed Case, who was described by Daily Kos as a “villain.” In the general election, he faced off against former governor Linda Lingle, and he sought to avoid negative campaign ads while touting commitment to clean energy and job creation. While some polling showed the rivals within five points of each other, Ross ultimately won the election with 63% of the vote.
Ross and his family reside in Oahu’s Kailua CDP. He has two Terrier dogs, Nani and Timber. Ross and Brenda also maintain an apartment in Aspen Hill, Maryland, which they use as their Beltway residence. Having primarily Scottish ancestry, Ross has been actively involved with the Caledonian Society of Hawaii and the Hawaiian Scottish Association since the 1990s, and regularly competes in the annual Highland Games organized by the latter, usually competing in either hammer throw or caber toss.
Official Senate Press Office of Ross McCallen (D-HI): Honolulu, HI; and Washington, D.C. Honolulu spokesperson: Seanna Nishimura Washington spokesperson: Cara L. Parker Press Office of HolomuaPAC, the official PAC of Ross McCallen: Lihue, HI Chief spokesperson: Annalee Marrero
