(BIVN) – Congressman-elect Kaialiʻi Kahele has announced his resignation from the Hawaiʻi State Senate effective December 16, Hawaiʻi County Democrats say, allowing the official search for his replacement to begin.

From the Hawaiʻi County Democrats:

The Hawaiʻi County Committee is charged with providing Governor David Y. Ige with a list of three prospective appointees. According to HRS 17-3 (b)(3), the appointee shall be, at the time of the appointment, and shall have been for at least six months immediately prior to the appointment, a member of the Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi. The appointee shall, at the time of the appointment, be a resident of Senate District 1.

Pursuant to the Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi Bylaws, Article IX, Section 5, nominees will be chosen by a 45-member selection body comprised of the officers of Precinct Clubs 01-07, 01-08, 01-09, 02-01, 02-02, 02-03, 02-04, 02-05, and 03-01, as well as the District Officers of House Districts 1, 2, and 3 who reside within Senate District 1.

The selection body will meet electronically on Wednesday, December 23, at 6:00 p.m. to identify three names to forward on to the Governor.

State Senate District 1 serves Hilo. Kahele has occupied the seat since 2016 after the death of his father, Senator Gil Kahele, created a vacancy. On November 3, 2020, Kahele was elected to the United States House of Representatives.

The Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi previously said that – pursuant to State law – Congressman-elect Kahele is not required to vacate his State Senate seat at any time before January 3rd. “However, Congressman-elect Kahele and his staff have already been preparing to vacate the office,” the party stated on December 11, attempting to clarify news reports suggesting the process was moving too slowly. “His planned mid-December resignation will provide the appointed member time to prepare for the legislative session,” the Democrats wrote.

Now that the resignation is official, the Democratic Party call for candidates has been issued. It reads:

Pursuant to Section 5 of Article IX of the Bylaws of the Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi, prospective candidates must be “members in good standing” of the Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi and provide a written application to the District Chairs, All correspondence should be sent to Jeff McKnight, County Secretary, sd1vacancy2020@gmail.com, for dissemination to the appropriate selection body (i.e., District Chairs, officers of the District Councils and Precinct Clubs affected.) The written application must include the following:

1. Credentials and reasons for consideration for appointment to the position;

2. Evidence of party participation; No more than 3 pages total for credentials, reasons for consideration and evidence of party participation. You may also include an optional headshot in your submission.

3. Verified signatures* of at least five (5) Democratic Party members within the District where the vacancy has occurred. [During this time of COVID-19 precaution, candidates may submit a list of at least five (5) party members within the District with email verifications from each signatory to meet this requirement.] *Signatories shall submit an email to the Hawaii County Democratic Party (via: sd1vacancy2020@gmail.com) to confirm proof of identity. Please have all signatories CC the candidates email when they send their submission. The submission shall include the name of the candidate in the subject line with the following statement in the body of the email: “I am affixing my signature to the nomination form of “Name of Candidate” who is seeking an interim appointment to Senate District 1”.

Applicants who wish to be considered as one of the three prospective candidates to be submitted to Governor David Y. Ige must submit their written applications by email by Saturday, December 19, 2020, at 6:00 p.m. HST, to Jeff McKnight, County Secretary, sd1vacancy2020@gmail.com. Please be sure to include your name in the subject line. A confirmation of receipt email will be transmitted within 12 hours. If you do not receive a confirmation of receipt or have issues with accessibility then please call or email Jeff McKnight at (808) 854-9950.

Mahalo,
Michael Janovsky
Chair, District 1

Micah Alameda
Chair, District 2

Katie Kamelamela
Chair. District 3