Petitioning starts
to oust Mansho

Mililani residents seek
voter signatures to advance
recall and impeachment efforts

By Gordon Y.K. Pang
Star-Bulletin

Organizers of an effort to oust Councilwoman Rene Mansho persuaded the first people to sign petitions yesterday.

Mililani resident Raymond Gibo said two petitions are being distributed simultaneously, one calling for a recall and the other for impeachment.

Voters in Mansho's 1st Council District, which includes upper Waipahu, Mililani, Wahiawa and the North Shore, are being asked to sign both, he said.

Mansho said this morning she was disappointed by the movement.

"Very clearly I have stated I want to complete my term in office," she said. "I feel I am still effective in representing my constituents on the City Council."

Mansho said she is still chair of the customer services committee, which deals with important outreach agencies such as satellite city halls and the Hawaiian Humane Society, and is vice chair of the transportation committee.

She said voters in her district should also know that it would cost about $300,000 to hold a recall vote and another $300,000 for a separate election to select a replacement. She said she believes the recall movement is not worth the effort since she only has 18 months left in her term.

The movement comes on the heels of Mansho's recent acknowledgments that she violated rules of both the state Campaign Spending Commission and the city Ethics Commission. She has paid $80,000 in fines and reimbursements and has been stripped of most of her leadership positions on the Council.

Mansho's fate would lie ultimately with the voters in her district under a recall and with the Hawaii Supreme Court under an impeachment proceeding.

The recall process requires that 10 percent of the 1st district's registered voters in the 1998 Council election sign the petition before the issue can be placed on a ballot. City Clerk Genny Wong calculated that number at 5,303 voters, or one-tenth of the number eligible to vote in September 1998. The signatures must be gathered in 60 days; yesterday's initial signatures triggered the clock.

Under impeachment procedures, signatures of 1,000 registered voters in a Council district must be handed over to the Supreme Court. The court must then decide whether to hear the petition.

The goal, he said, is to gather 7,000 signatures to ensure enough to qualify on the recall side.

Gibo said he and his wife are former supporters of Mansho who have grown disenchanted with her actions.

"If she was new at this, we can understand, maybe she didn't know all the ropes," he said. "But she's been around a long time and should have known better."

He's hoping that Mansho can make way for someone else who can better represent the district because "she really can't help the community anymore," he said.

"She's more like a lame duck."

The movement has established a hotline for those who want to sign petitions or help gather signatures.

The number is 625-6960.