Lingle Cabinet Gov. Linda Lingle's choice of two Republican Party officials to be the next state attorney general and the director of the Hawaiian Home Lands Department should not be an obstacle for Senate confirmation, Democratic Senate leaders said.
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By Crystal Kua
ckua@starbulletin.comMark Bennett, a former assistant U.S. attorney now in private practice who has also served as Hawaii Republican Party attorney since earlier this year, was named attorney general yesterday.
Micah Kane, the GOP party chairman and former government affairs liaison with the Building Industry Association of Hawaii, is being tapped to lead the Hawaiian Home Lands Department.
Both men will earn $85,302 a year.
Senate President Robert Bunda said their status with the Republican Party will not automatically be a mark against them when they come up for confirmation before the Democrat-controlled state Senate.
"Things might surface later, but at the same time I haven't heard anything, I haven't seen anything ... or haven't read anything that goes to the contrary, so in that light I'm sure that they are good candidates," Bunda said.
Bennett is a partner in the law firm of McCorriston Miller Mukai MacKinnon. Prior to joining the firm, Bennett was an assistant U.S. attorney.
"I've had a lot of experience working and taking charge of difficult legal cases, solving difficult legal problems, and I'm going to try to be hands-on with the legal problems and the big cases and try to bring the experience that I've had in ... 23 years as a lawyer," Bennett said.
City Prosecutor Peter Carlisle said that Bennett's experience in private practice and in government work makes him a perfect candidate for attorney general, a position that handles both criminal and civil work.
Carlisle also described Bennett as a "courtroom guy" with plenty of trial experience who also has a thorough understanding of the law.
Mark Bennett
Position: Attorney general
Age: 49
Education: Cornell Law School, Ithaca, N.Y.; Union College, Schenectady, N.Y.
Current position: Partner with the law firm of McCorriston Miller Mukai MacKinnon since 1991; Hawaii Republican Party attorney since early 2002
Previous experience: Assistant U.S. attorney in Hawaii and Washington, D.C.
"I think he's a terrific choice. I'm enthusiastic about it and am looking forward to working with him," Carlisle said.
Bennett said there are major cases facing the state, including the Sacred Falls lawsuit and the ceded-lands dispute, and he plans to "immediately begin work on solving some of the difficult problems that are posed by those and other cases."
Bennett represented Texaco in the Cayetano administration's antitrust lawsuit against oil companies. He said he will take no part in any decision on whether to continue a lawsuit by the state against those companies.
Other cases in which Bennett or his firm faced off against the state included a suit against the tobacco industry, the Bishop Estate investigation and the Felix consent decree.
"There are probably other types of cases that I have a conflict in. I wouldn't view them as particularly major, but what I intend to do in the next couple of days is write to the acting attorney general, Rick Keller, listing the cases that I believe that I have a conflict in and asking him to set up the proper screen procedures," Bennett said.
State Sen. Colleen Hanabusa, chairwoman of the Senate Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs Committee, which will likely hold confirmation hearings on both nominations, said that Bennett's conflicts are inevitable, and she does not think it is going to pose a problem.
"The conflicts are going to be there. I don't see how they could possibly not be there in some form or another when you take an attorney from private practice," said Hanabusa, an attorney. "I don't believe it's going to be a major stumbling block for him, but, notwithstanding, he is going to have to address it."
Meanwhile, Kane said that getting 20,000 native Hawaiians on homestead land is his priority. "Our goal right now in five years is to get the current applicants on the land and to set a strategy."
Micah Kane
Position: Director of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands
Age: 33
Education: University of Hawaii-Manoa; Menlo College, Atherton, Calif.
Current position: Chairman of the Hawaii Republican Party
Previous experience: Executive director of the Hawaii Republican Party; government affairs liaison with Building Industry Association of Hawaii
Lingle said that Kane, who is part Hawaiian, understood what she wanted to do with Hawaiian homelands.
"My feeling is that this land belongs to the Hawaiian people. The state is supposed to act in a responsible manner in making sure it reaches the people," Lingle said.
Lingle said a lack of infrastructure should not deter putting people on the land.
Hanabusa said that she does not think that Kane's position as GOP chairman is the main concern. "I think the issue that we must look at in terms of dealing with Mr. Kane's appointment is clearly his commitment to the native Hawaiians," she said.
Tony Sang, chairman of the State Council of Hawaiian Homestead Associations, said he is taking a wait-and-see attitude on Kane, whom he called "the new kid on the block."
"We need to touch base with him, see where he's at, and he'll inform us and we'll inform him and make sure that both of us are in the same canoe," Sang said.
Lingle has now made three Cabinet appointments -- the first was former Maui Budget Director Georgina Kawamura as state budget director -- and plans to announce two more later this week.
State of Hawaii
