Council members urge quick resignation

By Robbie Dingeman
Advertiser City Hall Writer

Two of Andy Mirikitani's fellow City Council members called for him to immediately resign following his conviction yesterday in a federal public corruption case.

Mirikitani was convicted of six felony counts, but won't have to leave his office until he is sentenced Dec. 4. Mirikitani declined to say whether he will step down, but councilmen Duke Bainum and Steve Holmes urged the three-term councilman to leave office right away.

"I think what's best for his constituents is to resign at this time," Bainum said.

Bainum said the people of the district have concerns about traffic, parks and power lines, and deserve to be represented by someone who can focus on those issues.

"Five months is a long time," Bainum said. "It'd be very hard to concentrate with a sentence of that magnitude pending."

Holmes said Mirikitani's presence on the council will create a "very awkward position."

"The best thing would be for him to resign now," Holmes said.

Council Chairman Jon Yoshimura and council member John Henry Felix last night weren't ready to urge Mirikitani's immediate resignation. Yoshimura said he wants to first talk to Mirikitani and other council members. Felix said Mirikitani's political and legal career might be over, but it's up to Mirikitani, a lawyer, on whether he should step down.

Constituents speak out

At the Manoa Marketplace last night, several of Mirikitani's constituents said they weren't surprised by the verdict, and they called for his immediate resignation.

Clift Imai, of Makiki, felt that "justice was served" and said Mirikitani has a lot of explaining to do.

"I would think that he owes an explanation to his constituents and probably resign," Imai said. "He's got to live with this, and not only him, but the rest of the council members have to work with him. (The conviction) makes it hard on them to work with him."

Paul Ables of Makiki said he has never voted for Mirikitani and said he's glad the jury found the council member guilty.

"I just didn't like the way he approached things," Ables said. "He should step down now. I don't think his continued presence is going to be helpful in making decisions at the City Council. Things he does are going to be suspect."

But Jan-Michelle Sawyer of Manoa said Mirikitani should be allowed to "close his affairs" on the council and then resign. Sawyer said she voted for Mirikitani.

"If his attorneys talk to him straight and say this is serious and we're not getting out of this, then ideally I would like to see him take care of the public affairs that he was working on and resign early," Sawyer said. "To me, that's the honorable thing to do."

Special election on the way

Under state law, Mirikitani must leave office when he is sentenced Dec. 4 in federal Judge Helen Gillmor's courtroom. His departure will set up a special election to pick a council member representing Manoa, Mo'ili'ili, McCully, Tantalus, Makiki, Pawa'a, Ala Moana and Kewalo to fill the rest the rest of Mirikitani's term, which expires Jan. 2, 2003.

The special election would be held on a Saturday and would cost the city about $225,000, according to city Clerk Genny Wong.

Among those taking a look at replacing him are former state Rep. Sam Aiona, former state Sen. Ann Kobayashi and state Rep. Terry Nui Yoshinaga.

Kobayashi said she is seriously considering the race. Aiona, a businessman, also said he's seriously looking at it. Yoshinaga said she is keeping her options open.

If Mirikitani chooses to remain in his seat, he may lose even more of his authority on the nine-member council.

His previous encounters with colleagues and controversy already reduced his sphere of influence, leaving him with the chairmanship of the relatively minor Cultural Affairs Committee.

Deadlocks may occur

The special election would be held about two months after Mirikitani leaves office and the winner wouldn't be sworn in until at least 20 days after the election, according to the city Charter and state law.

Holmes points out that during the period between Mirikitani's departure and the swearing in of his successor, the council would be left with eight members, who could end up deadlocked 4-4 on various issues.

Mirikitani has been a swing vote during the years, playing a key role on various issues. These include his support for the restoration of the Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium and converting condominium leasehold land to fee simple ownership.

John Breinich, chairman of the Ala Moana/Kaka'ako Neighborhood Board, said a vacancy will affect many of the people who live in the densely populated urban district.

"It would be difficult for a large part of the Honolulu district to not have council member representation," Breinich said. "The sooner that the seat is filled to represent this area, the better."

Advertiser staff writer Curtis Lum contributed to this report.