By Lynda Arakawa
Advertiser Capitol Bureau
State Rep. Nobu Yonamine yesterday said he will serve out the rest of his term, two weeks after he said he intended to resign following a drunk-driving arrest.
Yonamine, 66, D-35th (Pearl City, Pacific Palisades) said he received "overwhelming" encouragement from his district since he announced he wanted to resign. He said he received several hundred letters, phone calls and e-mails of support, and that about five or six people — including one constituent — told him he should resign.
Yonamine also received support in a public meeting he held in Pearl City to discuss his arrest.
"I felt I needed to honor my contract with the people who elected me to a two-year term," he said. "And in spite of my own personal conduct, I felt that I have to learn from my mistake and improve myself and make it as positive as possible."
That includes going to counseling, he said.
"I hope that I get to know myself better. I need to gain insight into why I drink and maybe understand my behavior. ... I’m not in a state of denial. I don’t need a drink everyday, but I cannot say on the other hand that I don’t have a drinking problem."
Yonamine was arrested for drunken driving Feb. 8. Police said they stopped him driving westbound on the H-1 before the H-3 off-ramp and he failed the field sobriety test. According to police, Yonamine recorded a 0.134 blood-alcohol content. The legal limit is .08.
This was his second arrest for driving while drunk; he said he was arrested for driving under the influence in 1984, for which he paid a fine.
House Speaker Calvin Say, D-18th (Palolo, St. Louis, Kaimuki) said he was happy Yonamine decided to serve the rest of his term.
"He has a tremendous amount of knowledge and institutional history at the Legislature," he said. "He’s very knowledgeable of the process."
Yonamine has represented the Pearl City district since 1989, when Gov. John Waihee appointed him to fill out the unfinished term of the late Rep. Roland Kotani.
Yonamine said he was given a temporary driving permit. His court date has been set for March 6.
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