Nov. 30 vote set Chief elections officer Dwayne Yoshina has set the dates for two special elections due to the death of U.S. Rep. Patsy Mink.
to finish Mink term
The state sets dates for 2 special
elections to fill her House seatBy Crystal Kua
ckua@starbulletin.comThe first special election, scheduled for Nov. 30, will fill the remainder of Mink's current term, which ends Jan. 3.
The second special election would be held Jan. 4 only if Mink posthumously wins the Nov. 5 general election. Mink's death came too late for her name to be removed from the general election ballot and for a replacement candidate to be named.
Meanwhile, funeral services for Mink have been set.
Mink's body will lie in state at the Capitol courtyard from 4 p.m. Thursday.
A service will begin 10 a.m. Friday, and a private burial will follow at the National Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl.
Flags will fly at half-staff until sunset on Friday.
As a result of Mink's death, her Washington and Honolulu office will come under the supervision of U.S. House Clerk Jeff Trandahl.
The offices will continue to be open to serve constituents.
House rules call for the clerk to manage the offices when a House member dies, resigns or is expelled. The clerk's authority does not extend to voting representation.
The office will remain under the jurisdiction of the clerk until a successor is elected to fill the vacant seat.
The winner of the Nov. 30 election will fill the remaining term, from Dec. 1 to Jan. 3, when the 108th Congress begins.
"You cannot appoint a House member, so you have to hold a separate election," said Lee Hamilton, a former Democratic Indiana congressman who is now director of the Center on Congress, a congressional think tank at Indiana University at Bloomington.
"We're required by law to run a special election," said state Elections Office spokesman Rex Quidilla.
The election will be held in the 2nd Congressional District, which includes the Leeward, Windward and North Shore parts of Oahu and all the neighbor islands.
Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Candidates interested in running for the temporary seat can file nomination papers between tomorrow and Oct. 15.
In 1986, Neil Abercrombie won a special election for the 1st District to fill the remaining three months of the term of then-U.S. Rep. Cec Heftel, who left his seat to run for governor.
Abercrombie, however, lost the Democratic primary for the right to represent the district for the regular two-year term. Republican Pat Saiki eventually won the seat.
When Saiki ran for the U.S. Senate in 1990, Abercrombie easily won her U.S. House seat.
Meanwhile, a Jan. 4 special election would be held only if Mink wins the general election. Democrats are urging voters to cast ballots for Mink as a tribute to her public service. Quidilla said the cost for each election is about $2 million.
"It's a ballpark figure just based upon a single election, the running cost of our office to prepare," he said. "It may cost that much, but hopefully it won't cost much more, though. What we're looking at is finding ways to streamline the process."
Republican state Rep. Bob McDermott, who is among Mink's opponents in the general election, said he is not sure if he will run in the special election.
"I'm just focused on this election and trying to win it right now," said McDermott, who is in Washington, D.C., trying to raise money for his campaign. He said he has a major fund-raiser scheduled for Thursday.
"We're getting a lot of attention," he said. "This is a seat ... that's gone from being a long shot to a seat we can win."
If Mink wins, it will not be the first time that a dead person has been elected in a congressional race.
"It happens but it doesn't happen frequently," said Hamilton, who entered Congress the same year as Mink.
He pointed to the most recent and famous case, in which John Ashcroft, the current U.S. attorney general, lost his U.S. Senate seat to Missouri Democratic Gov. Mel Carnahan, who died in a plane crash less than a month before.
After Carnahan received more votes than Ashcroft, the new Missouri governor appointed Carnahan's widow, Jean, to the seat.
But members to the U.S. House are elected and not appointed.
"Historically, it's rooted in the idea that the House of Representatives is the people's house, and you cannot enter the people's house without the people approving your presence there by a vote," Hamilton said.
He said Hawaii's representation in Congress is important, especially given the upcoming crucial votes.
"Ordinarily, Congress adjourns the early part of October before an election in November," he said. "This year, because of the mess they have on the budget, and the Iraqi war resolution and the Department of Homeland Security and a lot of other matters, they are not going to get out the first week of October."
Hamilton and Mink entered Congress in 1965 as part of a group dubbed the "Great Society Congress," which passed much of President Lyndon Johnson's congressional package that year.
"She had a great heart -- very able person, very persistent," Hamilton said. "She stood up to the best of 'em and was able to hold her own, if not do better than that. I have enormous admiration for Patsy. I've lost a great friend and colleague."
