Posted on: Friday, June 28, 2002

Maui begins choosing successor to councilman

By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Maui County Bureau

WAILUKU, Maui — The Maui County Council will meet at 9 a.m. Monday to consider naming a replacement for council chairman Patrick Kawano of Moloka'i, who died Saturday following a long illness.

Under the Maui County Charter, the council must fill the empty seat within 30 days of the vacancy or the task of picking a new member will fall to the mayor.

Acting chairman Dain Kane said Monday's meeting will start the process of filling the vacancy, but exactly how it will be done remains unclear.

County clerk Roy Hiraga said he expects the meeting to be devoted largely to agreeing on a selection process, followed by at least one more meeting to consider names.

In 1996, following the death of East Maui Councilman Tom Morrow, the council opened the appointment process to various candidates. However, council members deadlocked on the top two candidates — Robert Carroll and J. Kalani English — and former mayor Linda Lingle ended up choosing Carroll, who served out the tail end of Morrow's term.

When Morrow, who died just days before the November 1996 election, won re-election posthumously, the newly elected council was faced with making a new appointment. This time, they chose English, who would go on to become a state senator.

Kawano, first elected to the council in 1986, was not eligible for re-election in November because of term limits. Before his death, he reportedly expressed support for his executive assistant, Danny Mateo, to succeed him.

Moloka'i community activist DeGray Vanderbilt said he's also interested in the appointment. Vanderbilt, who is considering running for the seat in any case, said he hopes the council opens the selection process up to the public.

The council on Monday is also scheduled to select a new chairman and vice chairman.

Gov. Ben Cayetano yesterday announced that state flags will be flown at half-staff today and tomorrow in honor of Kawano.