West Hawaii received long-awaited and big-ticket items this legislative session, but the island as a whole lost some political sway in the Senate shakeup that followed in the wake.
With the ouster of former Senate President Donna Mercado Kim, Sens. Josh Green of Kona and Russell Ruderman of Puna — Democrats and members of the “Chess Club” faction that had supported Kim — were also removed from their roles as heads of the health and agriculture committees, respectively.
Although Ruderman declined to say much on the record about the shakeup, he was clearly upset by the power shift.
“We were on the losing end of a very secretive reorganization,” Ruderman said. “It’s a huge blow; it’s a huge disappointment.”
Green — who accomplished much of his top agenda during a session he calls his best ever — was more tempered in his reaction, acknowledging his diminished influence on the state’s health issues but saying he was glad to retain his position as majority floor leader, which will allow him to continue to help set legislative priorities.
“I’ve been running the health committee for a decade, and I’m comfortable with other people taking leadership positions,” he said.
Green pointed to successful bills for $55 million for the Kona Judiciary Complex, insurance coverage for children with autism, a system of medical marijuana dispensaries and a long-awaited bill that allows the state’s struggling hospitals to begin entering public-private partnerships. If those priorities hadn’t been accomplished, removal from the seat would have packed more of a sting, he said.
“Sometimes we have our differences of opinion and we pick sides,” Green said. “I’m hard-headed and I fought hard for my position.”
“I’m going to work hard on the same issues of increasing access to health care,” he said.
With the sizable power that committee chairs possess to hear or kill bills, the shift is a loss for the Big Island, said Todd Belt, a professor of U.S. politics at the University of Hawaii at Hilo.
“They are generally the chief negotiators in conference committee,” Belt said. “Agriculture is huge here, and losing that committee (chairmanship) is a big impact.”
The news wasn’t all bad in the shakeup. District 4 Sen. Lorraine Inouye, a Democrat, has been picked to chair the new combined committee on transportation and energy. With the NextEra Energy takeover of Hawaiian Electric Co., that chairmanship will be important in the coming year, Belt said.
Ruderman, who headed the Committee on Agriculture since last year’s election, said he ran his committee in a very fair and capable manner. Leveraging that post, the senator worked unsuccessfully for truth-in-labeling bills for Hawaii-grown products. He also pushed for an aquarium fishing ban and elections office reforms.
Besides increasing his activity on several national health councils, Green said he will also work to ensure the Kona Judiciary Complex is built and the Queen Kaahumanu Highway is widened.
“Without someone watching, those projects can just drift,” he said.