Posted on: Friday, June 21, 2002

New 'Mirikitani' law a welcome change

One of the few good things to come out of the sad case of former City Councilman Andy Mirikitani is a change in the law that should eliminate the ability of tarnished elected officials to hold on to their office.

The new law, signed by acting Gov. Mazie Hirono, requires that if a person is convicted of a crime that disqualifies that person from holding office, he or she should step down immediately.

Under the previous law, the person did not have to step down until sentencing. That was the case with Mirikitani, who stayed in his council seat for five months after his federal felony conviction on corruption charges.

There is logic to the old system. That's because a finding of guilty by a judge or jury is not the end of that particular case. The conviction becomes legally relevant only upon sentencing. Until that time, there is the possibility — small though it might be — that the conviction could be overturned on technical or other grounds.

But that circumstance is rare. And it is far outweighed by the harm done to the public business by allowing a person convicted of a felony to continue serving. In Mirkitani's case, for instance, he was badly wounded and had little influence on the activities of the City Council. His district would have been far better served by a replacement.

In an ideal world, a person would resign voluntarily after a felony conviction. We now know this is not the case, and this law will remedy a situation that badly undermined public confidence in the political process.