The death of state Sen. Gil Kahele on Tuesday could leave Hilo without a Senate representative for several weeks of the legislative session as Democratic Party officials interview applicants for the District 1 seat.
Gov. David Ige will be responsible for picking a replacement for Kahele, who came to the Legislature in 2011 as an appointment by then-Gov. Neil Abercrombie, following a nomination process held by county party officials.
Party bylaws require officials to have at least three nominees for the governor to consider within 21 days of a notice of vacancy, though county party Chairman Phil Barnes said he would like to have that process finished before the deadline.
“The sooner we get the process wrapped up, the better it will be for the people in Senate District 1,” he said.
Still, Barnes doesn’t expect a shortage of applicants given the party’s strength in the Hilo area.
“It’s a district that’s very active, always has been,” he said. “A lot of party leaders come out of that district.”
Responsibility for interviewing the candidates, who must be Democratic Party members within the district, will fall to local precinct and district officers. Barnes referred to the interview process as “speed dating.”
This will be the first time the county party has gone through it since Richard Creagan was appointed to replace former South Kona Rep. Denny Coffman in 2014.
At the time, party officials faced criticism for the closed nature of the party election and allegations of backroom deal making. The county party adopted new rules in 2014 aimed at making the process more transparent.
Barnes said the party is not looking to repeat those mistakes.
“We’re committed to making this an extremely transparent process,” he said. “We want to be above board as much as possible.”
An appointment won’t guarantee anyone the seat for long.
While Kahele’s term was to last until 2018, the vacancy will mean the seat will be up for grabs again during this year’s election.
“It will be a pretty short term,” Barnes said.