EDITORIAL
Mansho resignation leaves political void

Former Honolulu Councilwoman Rene Mansho did the right thing yesterday by stepping down from her post representing Waipi'o-Mililani-North Shore.

Whether her decision was the right move as she moves forward with her potential criminal problems remains to be known.

Mansho explained she has personal issues to resolve that would be a distraction if she remained on the council. You can say that in spades. She faces an impeachment petition and has had to pay $40,000 each to the city and the Campaign Spending Commission to settle various probes involving alleged misuse of city money and staff time and various allegations of campaign violations.

And preparations have been under way for a grand jury to look into criminal charges involving some of those same activities.

Given all that, it would take a superwoman to keep her focus on city business.

It is possible that Mansho's resignation will have some impact on the possible criminal charges. The grand jury that was to convene yesterday was put on hold the same evening Mansho advised her colleagues that she would resign.

All that will work itself out. In the meantime, the important task is to find someone to take up Mansho's work at the council. The remaining council members have 30 days to choose a replacement, and Chairman John DeSoto says he wants to get the job done quickly. The important thing is to find someone of impeccable integrity and with deep understanding of the needs and issues of the district.

The list of potential replacements appears to have several who meet those criteria well.

One other qualification for a replacement comes to mind as well: The replacement should be someone who — as did Mansho — supports the current organizational lineup at the council. That lineup, with Ann Kobayashi as budget chair, has been impressively aggressive as it begins the work of writing a new city budget. That important work could be interrupted if leadership changed on the council and a different budget chair stepped in.

If the remaining eight members of the council cannot make a choice, the decision goes to Mayor Jeremy Harris, who understandably would want someone who is at least sympathetic to his point of view on budget issues.

Under some scenarios, the remaining eight are divided four-four, so the ninth vote is crucial.