Hawaii’s process for filling vacant legislative seats is getting closer scrutiny

Gov. Josh Green is calling for changes to the process of filling legislative vacancies after being forced to choose a new senator for Waianae just a little over a week before the primary election.

The current law requires the governor to make an appointment 60 days after a seat becomes vacant. Former Sen. Maile Shimabukuro resigned in late May and endorsed Rep. Cedric Gates, who is running for her seat and was on the shortlist to replace Shimabukuro.

Green initially said he would only announce an appointment after the primary election to avoid influencing the outcome. But on Tuesday he named Cross Crabbe to the seat. Crabbe is Gates’ office manager and is running for the House seat currently held by Gates.

The other two choices were Gates and Stacelynn Eli, who are competing against each other in the primary election for Senate District 22.

“It is my constitutional obligation to support free and fair elections, and this was the only path to maintain that integrity,” Green said in a press release announcing Crabbe’s appointment.

The governor said he would propose a bill to extend the selection window from 60 days to 120 days to avoid instances where a governor’s selection of a candidate to fill a vacancy might unduly influence the outcome of an election.

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