Editorial
Mirikitani replacement must be professional

As we bid an impatient farewell to prison-bound Honolulu City Councilman Andy Mirikitani, here's our wish list for his replacement:

Honesty, integrity, stability, a sincere commitment to public service and no doubletalk or funny stuff.

Not that the ethical lapses of some on the City Council haven't provided titillating copy, what with charges of corruption, conflicts of interest and resume fudging, among other controversies.

But haven't we had enough?

In the last year alone, we've marveled at Mirikitani's public corruption charges for paying bonuses of more than $26,000 in 1999 to then-aides Cynthia McMillan and Jonn Serikawa and receiving kickbacks of $6,844.

Rene Mansho admitted to violations of state campaign spending and city ethics rules for misusing campaign money and city employees' time.

And let's not forget Council Chairman Jon Yoshimura's campaign spending violations and long-after-the-fact confession that he hit a parked car and fled, then lied that he had not had a drink.

Granted, all three have accomplished good work while in office, but the scandals and antics are threatening to eclipse the merits. It's no accident that spoofs on various council members featured largely in this year's Gridiron media satire show.

As it stands, a special election for Mirikitani's district of Manoa, Makiki, McCully-Mo'ili'ili and Ala Moana is less than six weeks away. The filing deadline for nomination papers is Dec. 17.

Those vying for the position include former state Sen. Ann Kobayashi, former state Rep. Sam Aiona, former City Councilman Kekoa Kaapu and professor-entrepreneur John Steelquist.

That's not a bad start.

We're not asking for anyone superhuman, just someone who takes his or her job seriously and does not manipulate the public trust, someone who can take the focus off scandal at Honolulu Hale and restore professionalism.