THERE is no more delicate political art than picking a successor - if not for yourself, then for a member of the Legislature. Picking a successor
to a legislative spotThe state's supreme practitioner was former Gov. John Waihee, who actually appointed 15 members of the Legislature.
Resignations, reappointments and deaths prompted the governor to name so many lawmakers.
He created new political careers that in some cases are still active. For instance Reps. Ezra Kanoho, Bertha Kawakami, Terrance Tom and Noboru Yonamine, plus Sen. Les Ihara, were all appointed by Waihee.
In most cases Waihee looked to replace the legislator with someone who had served in an elective office in the district. This was the same policy followed by Governors Burns and Ariyoshi in earlier years. This provided the community with a sense of continuity, with the new politician already up to speed on the issues and concerns of the district.
The down side, of course, is that if you replaced a senator with a House member you automatically created another vacancy.
The state Constitution also requires that the governor fill the appointment with someone from the same political party, who is qualified to hold office in that district, which means the person is a registered voter of that district.
One of Waihee's greatest early embarrassments was when he was forced to rescind the appointment of advertising executive Ray Milici in 1986.
Milici had been appointed to fill the House seat vacated by then Rep. Donna Ikeda, who was moved up to the Senate to fill the seat of Buddy Soares, who had retired.
Milici, unfortunately, actually listed his residency in a different House district and wasn't able to be appointed.
One bit of political appointment lore involves former state Sen. William "Doc" Hill, who became ill and realized he wouldn't be able to fill out his term in office.
According to Hill's friends, he lobbied then-Governor Burns to appoint his business partner, Richard Henderson, to the spot. Hill warned Burns: "If you don't appoint him, I'll come back and haunt you."
Burns acquiesced and Henderson went on to be one of the Senate's ablest members.
Now Gov. Ben Cayetano is facing the difficult decision of whom to pick to replace Sen. Richard Matsuura, who said his own battle with cancer forces his resignation.
Matsuura, who comes from the hard-charging samurai branch of the legislative tree, first asked that Cayetano name his son to fill the seat.
Cayetano declined, saying he wanted to get someone with more political experience.
LAST Wednesday Cayetano flew to Hilo to personally discuss the matter with Matsuura. After the one-hour meeting, Matsuura announced he would step down this week and suggested former state Sen. Stanley Hara, state public school union President June Motokawa or retired Hilo High School Principal Donna Saiki.
The appointment is likely to have widening reverberations in the entire state.
Matsuura sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will be the key body in the Senate debating same-sex marriage issues. Whoever is picked to fill that spot will go a long way toward determining the Senate's position on the controversial issue.
For Cayetano, the selection will be his first legislative appointment and one of the most crucial decisions of his first term.
