Pro-marijuana activists
fall short in bid to oust
Big Island lawmakers

By Rod Thompson
Big Island correspondent

HILO -- Judge Riki May Amano has thrown out an attempt by marijuana legalization activists and others to impeach Mayor Stephen Yamashiro and six County Council members, but left open the possibility that they could try again.

The activists want the officials removed because of their alleged failure to abide by a provision of the County Charter, which calls for all programs, including marijuana eradication, to be reviewed at least once every four years.

Legalization advocates raise the issue every year, and Council members respond every year that they review the program when they vote to accept federal eradication money.

In a hearing yesterday, Amano agreed with lawyers for the government officials that those seeking impeachment had not obtained a minimum of 100 verifiable signatures.

Impeachment seeker Jonathan Adler said the leaders of the group obtained 205 signatures, some of them on a mail-in form clipped out of a newspaper.

From those, the group submitted 124 signatures which they were able to verify as being registered voters.

Bobby Jean Leithead-Todd, a councilwoman who was subject to the impeachment action, told the judge that only five people submitted verifiable addresses.

Impeachment seeker Roger Christie told Amano he was willing to try again to cure "deficiencies" in the impeachment attempt.

Both Adler and Christie are known for advocating marijuana legalization.

The list was signed by others such as Del Pranke, who served in the past with a citizens watchdog group reviewing police actions, and by environmentalists, such as Rene Siracusa of the Green Party.