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Harris cools campaign The Hawaii Supreme Court will decide if Mayor Jeremy Harris must resign before proceeding with his gubernatorial candidacy because of a resign-to-run constitutional amendment that its authors acknowledge is vaguely worded.
pending court appeal
The mayor announces fund raising
Opponents say Harris has only himself to blame Resign-to-run issue awaits Supreme Court action
and spending are on holdBy Gordon Y.K. Pang
gpang@starbulletin.comHarris, considered the top Democratic contender for governor this fall, announced yesterday that he is suspending his campaign pending appeal of Circuit Judge Sabrina McKenna's decision on Monday that he could not hold office and be a candidate.
"We will cancel the fund-raiser we had planned for the 19th, we will cancel the fund-raiser we had planned on the Big island on the 21st, we have taken our Web site off the Internet. We won't be holding any organizational meetings, I won't be giving any speeches -- we will suspend the campaign," Harris said.
He added that he will also not raise or spend any campaign funds and he will lock his gubernatorial campaign headquarters at Ward Warehouse until the Supreme Court rules.
The mayor has repeatedly said that he will resign from office when he files his papers on or near the July 23 deadline. Asked yesterday what he would do know if the Supreme Court rules against him, Harris would not say if he would resign or abandon his gubernatorial plans.
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"I'll cross that bridge when I come to it," the mayor said, who noted he is confident the Supreme Court will rule in his favor.Harris said it would be "irresponsible" to resign now because he had promised to help the City Council in its annual budget deliberations, which began this week and run through June.
Robert Klein, a Harris attorney and former Supreme Court justice, said he hopes the high court will agree to an expedited hearing and have arguments heard on the matter soon.
Klein noted that the state Office of Elections, the Department of the Attorney General and others have concluded that the resignation requirement is triggered by the filing of nomination papers.
McKenna was ruling on a case filed by former judge and state Rep. Russell Blair, who argued that the mayor should have resigned when he filed campaign-spending organizational papers to run for governor in May 2001.
The ruling also said Harris' term, which expires at the beginning of 2004, does not end until after the winner of the gubernatorial campaign takes office in December.
That means other elected city officials eyeing state office this year, including Council members John DeSoto and Jon Yoshimura, may also be caught in a similar quandary. Both men, whose terms end in January 2003, have filed campaign-spending organizational papers for the lieutenant governor's post, which begins in December.
McKenna granted a stay, or delay, in her decision late yesterday, but Harris campaign officials said that would have no bearing on the mayor's decision to put the campaign on hold.
"She granted us this stay, but we had this other ruling (by McKenna) and he doesn't intend to go against that at this time," said campaign spokeswoman Ruth Ann Becker. "He's taking the high road on this."
The resign-to-run amendment has raised questions since it was adopted in 1978.
Members of the 1978 state Constitutional Convention said they left the language vague in hopes that the state Legislature, or some other authority, would clarify the details.
"We did not come to a decision on when a candidate became a candidate," said Wallace Weatherwax, who chaired the convention committee that reviewed the resign-to-run law.
Weatherwax, now the administrator for the city Liquor Commission, said the delegates kept in mind that their duty was to reframe the state Constitution, not create legislation that should be left up to the Legislature.
State Rep. Helene Hale, also a delegate, said she does not agree with McKenna's decision because no one else has had a problem with the existing interpretation.
But Hale acknowledged the Constitution was left vague not just with the resign-to-run law but in a lot of areas.
William Paty, president of the convention, said delegates "wanted to level the playing field" so that incumbents, such as former Mayor Frank Fasi, who often ran for governor, would not have an unfair advantage over other candidates.
Paty said discussion took place about better defining the resign-to-run law, but delegates could not come to a consensus.
Dan Boylan, a history professor at the University of Hawaii at West Oahu and a political analyst, said he does not think it is fair that any candidate should be forced to resign to run.
"What's more democratic than the idea that a person uses one office to get another?" Boylan said.
"I think anyone holding one office and seeking another one is going to be a better mayor or congressman or whatever because they want the next office."
Star-Bulletin reporters Rick Daysog and Richard Borreca contributed to this report. BACK TO TOP
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Jeremy Harris' decision to temporarily suspend his gubernatorial bid and his suggestion that his campaign is being set up did not impress his Democratic opponents, who say he should choose immediately between being mayor and running for governor. Opponents say Harris
has only himself to blameBy Richard Borreca
rborreca@starbulletin.com"There has been a concerted effort to throw as many tacks in our path ... we recognized early on this was an effort to divert our attention, our resources on this issue and to try to slow down the momentum of the campaign," Harris said yesterday in announcing that he would appeal a Circuit Court decision that he must resign before running for governor.
Previously, Harris has said that forces within the Democratic Party wanted him to fail, but yesterday, during a news conference on the steps of City Hall, Harris would not say who he thought was responsible.
The lawsuit triggering the Monday ruling was brought by former legislator and District Judge Russell Blair, who said he was doing it because Harris was violating the constitutional requirement to step down from one office before running for another.
Harris' opponent D.G. "Andy" Anderson said Harris should stop "looking for technicalities."
"He says this is part of a smear. First it was the Democratic Party, then it was Walter Heen (former Democratic party chairman now working on Anderson's campaign), then it was Russell Blair and now it is the judge. These people all can't be in bed together," Anderson said.
University of Hawaii political scientist Ira Rohter disagreed and noted that the Harris campaign may actually benefit in the long run because the judge's decision could be seen as picking on Harris.
"My contrarian position is that this is kind of odd. He is being picked on for doing something that has been on the books for 20 years. It adds credibility that there is some sort of cabal that is trying to have Jeremy not become governor," said Rohter, who is also an organizer for the Hawaii Green Party.
But state Rep. Ed Case (D, Manoa), who is also running for governor as a Democrat, said Harris should just make up his mind - either resign to run for governor or stay as mayor.
"I think he should have made that choice a long time ago. He should fulfill his duties as mayor, which he signed up for a full four-year term, or he should resign and continue his campaign for governor," Case said.
Democratic party chairwoman Lorraine Akiba praised Harris' decision to put his campaign on hold as he appeals the court's decision. "It is the good and prudent decision. He is taking the high road," she said.
"He is fulfilling his obligation as mayor. He has a commitment to his campaign and the state and he also has a commitment to the law," Akiba said.
Meanwhile, Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono, who was going to run for governor, then backed out and decided to run for Harris's spot as mayor of Honolulu, said she still expects to run for mayor.
Asked if she would reconsider her gubernatorial campaign if Harris does not abandon Honolulu Hale, Hirono said that would be speculation.
When pressed if she would rule out a run for governor, Hirono said "no."
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Circuit Judge Sabrina McKenna's decision yesterday to stay -- or delay -- her Monday ruling that Mayor Jeremy Harris must resign to run for governor capped a dizzying 24 hours of legal and political moves. Resign-to-run issue
awaits Supreme Court actionBy Rick Daysog
rdaysog@starbulletin.comEarly yesterday afternoon, Harris announced he would suspend his campaign as he appealed McKenna's order that he should resign. A few hours later in an emergency hearing, McKenna stayed her Monday afternoon decision, saying the stay was necessary to preserve the status quo as the Supreme Court took up Harris' appeal.
"The court agrees ... that there is great public interest and that this should be decided by the state Supreme Court as soon as possible," McKenna said.
"Judge McKenna's granting of a stay is a step in the right direction," said Rick Tsujimura, co-chairman of the Harris campaign. "However, we will not reinstate the campaign until we've gotten a final ruling from the state Supreme Court so that this cloud is permanently removed."
Russell Blair, a retired state district judge and former state senator, initially sued Harris, saying state law requires him to step down as mayor after he filed his organizational papers last year.
William McCorriston, an attorney for the Harris campaign, said McKenna's ruling on Monday not only impacts the Harris campaign but also affects thousands of voters. It also affects local politicians such as Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono and City Councilmen Jon Yoshimura and Duke Bainum who are running for a different office.
"There is a heightened public interest in having this matter resolved by the appellate court in a heightened and expeditious matter," McCorriston said. "I don't think that there is a question that this is a matter of public concern."
William Deeley, Blair's attorney, argued against the stay, saying there is no guarantee that the Supreme Court will take up the matter immediately. Deeley argued that granting a full stay would undercut McKenna's decision Monday that Harris is in violation of the law.
"This is a unique situation where the status quo is against the law," Deeley said.
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