2006-07-14 Letter to Constance Kiriu re Hawaii's Resign to Run Law and Charter Provisions Pertaining to Vacancies in County Elected Offices

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I Honorable Constance Kiriu July 14, 2006 Page 2 Resignation from Public Office Section 7. Any elected public officer shall resign from that office before being eligible as a candidate for another public office, if the term of the office sought begins before the end of the term of the office held. As this issue involves the offices of both the Mayor and Council, we present to you our analysis and recommendations based upon the following possible likely (and even unlikely) scenarios. 1. If the Mayor, whose term does not expire until December 2008, desires to run for the Office of the Governor, must he resign his mayoral position before filing his gubernatorial nomination papers? Yes. Hawai'i's "resign to run" provision in the State Constitution is triggered by a candidate filing nomination papers for the sought elected office. Simply pulling nomination papers, or filing a gubernatorial campaign spending organizational report, in and of itself, is insufficient to trigger this requirement. Blair v. Harris, 98 Hawai'i 176, 45 P.3d 798 (2002). 2. If the Mayor resigns his office prior to July 25, 2006, the State deadline for filing nomination papers for elected office for the primary election, what happens? The Managing Director shall succeed to the Office of the Mayor. The County Clerk will then file an election proclamation, and the following requirements found in Article V, Section 5-1.4 of the Hawaii County Charter (2000) (hereinafter "Charter") are engaged: ...The Council shall,through its clerk, immediately issue an election I proclamation, announcing that a successor will be elected as prescribed in section 13-27.1 The proclamation shall also announce the date for the close of filing of Section 13-27 of the Charter provides as follows: County Election. (a) No person shall be a candidate for more than one elective office in the same election. If no person is elected to a county office, the county council shall appoint a person to fill such office. County elections shall be conducted in accordance with the election laws of the state insofar as applicable. (b) All county elective officers--mayor, council members and prosecuting attorney-- shall be elected in nonpartisan special elections. Such special elections shall be held with the primary and general elections of the applicable year. (c) First special election. The first special election shall be held with the regularly scheduled primary election. Any candidate for mayor, prosecuting attorney or council 4 receiving a majority of all votes validly cast for candidates for that office, excluding blank and spoiled ballots,shall be deemed elected. If there is only one candidate for the office, that candidate shall be deemed elected regardless of the number of votes received. f i i