HILO — In a case of justice grinding slowly but exceedingly fine, the Hawaii Island Board of Registration on Tuesday is scheduled to pick up a 2014 election dispute that first took a trip to the Hawaii Supreme Court.
The case, involving a candidate who ran unsuccessfully against then-Kohala Councilwoman Margaret Wille, is long past moot. Wille won the 2014 election, but then lost the 2016 election by 77 votes to current Kohala Councilman Tim Richards.
It’s nonetheless important because it sets the framework for future disputes about candidates and the election process, said Kapaau resident Lanric Hyland, who filed the complaint.
The Board of Registration, composed of residents Philip G. Matlage, David A. Yonan and Andrew A.T. Chun, is scheduled to meet at 1:45 p.m. Tuesday in council chambers in Hilo. The board will choose a chairman and then hold a pre-hearing conference clarifying issues and setting procedure to hear the merits of the case.
Members are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate. Each board of registration is given all of the powers and authority for the summoning and examining of witnesses and the maintenance of order, including the power to punish for contempt and award witness fees, by law given to circuit courts.
At issue is whether County Clerk Stewart Maeda ruled properly when he determined that Ron Gonzales lived in council District 9 when he ran against Wille.
The Board of Registration, which was supposed to hear the 2014 dispute, instead ruled that Hyland did not file the complaint in time.
Hyland said Friday it’s important the Board of Registration fulfill its obligation so future voters won’t have to go through the course of legal appeals he did.
“I’d like to see some public acknowledgment that what they did was wrong,” Hyland said. “I want to see them rule that Stewart was wrong.”
Maeda did not return a voice-mail phone message by press time Friday.
The state Supreme Court ruled earlier this year the Board of Registration erred when it refused to hear the complaint. The court sent it back for a hearing.
“The local board’s narrow interpretation of its jurisdiction is particularly concerning given that claims under (state law) involve the integrity of the electoral process and the right to vote,” Associate Justice Richard W. Pollack wrote in the opinion that was signed by all five members of the court.
Hyland’s attorney, Robert H. Thomas, had argued the issue is one of equal protection and due process.
“There is no rational basis for Oahu challengers to have the full 10 days, but their neighbor island counterparts who rely on the mail less time,” he argued in court filings.
The complaint questioned whether Gonzales planned to move permanently to Waikoloa, or was just using a Waikoloa address as a convenience so he could run in District 9 instead of facing off against District 1 incumbent Councilwoman Valerie Poindexter.