Gov. Josh Green is refusing to appoint a senator to the vacant District 22 seat until after the Aug. 10 primary election.
When Sen. Maile Shimabukuro resigned from her West O‘ahu seat in May, Green had 60 days to appoint someone to replace her for the remaining months of her term.
But he must choose from the three names given to him by the state’s Democratic Party since Shimabukuro was a Democrat.
The party put forward current state Rep. Cedric Gates, former state Rep. Stacelynn Eli, and Cross Makani Crabbe.
The problem? They’re all running for office in the August election.
Gates and Eli are running against each other for Shimabukuro's District 22 Senate seat, and Makani Crabbe is running in a crowded House race for Gates’ current House District 45 seat.
Green explained it would be unethical to choose any of them before the primary.
"This particular circumstance has never arisen before where all of the nominees for an open seat are active candidates within two weeks of an election," he said. "I respect the voters too much to weigh in that way and to probably through actions determine who they will choose to give someone a leg up."
Green added that he is not allowed to ask the Democratic Party for different names.
Senate President Ron Kouchi disagreed that Green could wait until after the primary election to appoint the position.
"By not filling the vacant Senate District 22 seat until after the primary elections on Aug. 10, 2024, from names provided by the Democratic Party, Gov. Green is taking away the 'political power' from the people of Senate District 22 and depriving them from having a senator from the Democratic Party for over two months," Kouchi said in a statement.
If he is forced to appoint someone, Green has committed to Crabbe. He said Crabbe would be the fairest choice because he is running for a House seat.
Green will likely ask for a constitutional amendment to fix this problem in the next session.
