LIHUE >> Kauai residents are in the throes of an election the likes of which never have been seen before in Hawaii in a couple of ways: Issues of fairness dog
Kauai utilities electionBalloting for the co-op board lacks
The candidates
the usual procedural safeguardsBy Anthony Sommer
tsommer@starbulletin.com
>> It is the first election ever in the state for the "permanent" board of directors of an electric cooperative. The Kauai Island Utility Co-op purchased Kauai Electric from Citizens Telecommunications last fall. Every other electric company in Hawaii remains an investor-owned utility. Balloting by mail or personal delivery started the first of the month. The votes will be counted Saturday.A group of business leaders favoring the co-op and county government, which opposed it, battled for 40 months over whether to establish the cooperative and purchase Kauai Electric.>> Because the utility is a nonprofit corporation rather than a government body, the election lacks many of the procedural safeguards of an election to a public office. There are no requirements to disclose campaign donations or expenditures. There is not even a method for conducting a recount in the event of a dispute.
"It's a huge experiment in democracy," said JoAnn Yukimura, former mayor, cooperative "interim" board member and current County Council member.
The emphasis is on the word "experiment."
The "interim" board, which was not elected and was the policy-making body during the purchase phase, tried repeatedly to keep all or at least some of its members in place on the "permanent" board after the sale.
The Hawaii Public Utilities Commission would have none of it and ordered an immediate election for all the directors' positions in its order last fall approving the sale. Many of the candidates are members of the "interim" board.
KIUC's legal counsel, Kauai lawyer David Proudfoot, asserts: "It's the board of directors of a business, not a government legislative body."
For starters, not everyone can vote.
Early on, the interim cooperative board decided on a "one-man, one-vote" policy so that large customers would not dominate the election. Every one of the electric company's 22,500 customers gets one vote, whether it's a single apartment dweller or a major resort.
The problem arises when several people -- spouses, roommates, tenants -- are using electricity from the same meter. The only one who can vote is the person whose name is on the electric bill. The rest are disenfranchised, even though they pay as much or more of the cost as the person who gets to mark the ballot.
Environmental activist Ray Chuan pointed out another problem: There are no campaign financing disclosures. There would be no way to tell if special interests donated to board candidates hoping for a break in rates or for purchases of equipment, he said.
Like a county council, the KIUC board of directors will approve an annual budget of about $100 million (versus $60 million for Kauai County government) and set policy for the electric company.
The election process has no provision for challenges. The election is being run by Election Systems and Services Inc., the company that contracts with the state for public office elections. But even though the people and equipment are the same, the rules aren't.
What happens if a candidate loses by a single vote?
There is no provision for asking for a recount or challenging "spoiled ballots." And spoiling a ballot is easy to do.
If a voter doesn't use black ink and completely fill in the oval next to the candidate's name, it will be spit back by the voting machine and not counted. No pencil or blue ink or partial filling of the space will be allowed.
The ballot also must be placed inside a "secret" envelope, and that goes inside a second "mailing" envelope.
If a voter doesn't use both envelopes, the ballot will be discarded.
Under the rules, if there are disputes or challenges they will be resolved by the "interim" board of directors, many of whom are candidates.
Gregg Gardiner, who chairs the interim board and who is a candidate for the "permanent" board, vowed to consider every ballot "even if it is to my detriment.
"If someone used a pencil instead of black ink or only one envelope instead of two and it's clear who they intended to vote for, their votes will be counted," Gardiner said. "I would fight for the right of any candidate to challenge the outcome of the election."
Proudfoot, the board's attorney, disagreed. If the ballot isn't properly filled out and mailed, it will be considered "spoiled" and discarded, he said. There are no rules allowing a candidate to challenge those decisions, he said.
"In some ways, not having all this stuff is better," Proudfoot said. "If you have a lot of regulations and laws, there will always be challenges. There is no constitutional right to a recount in a private election."
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Here's the list of 31 candidates in the election for the nine seats on the Kauai Island Utility board of directors: 31 candidates vie
for Kauai utility board>> Ron Agor, Kauai architect.
>> John Bandemann, retired Kauai Electric Co. employee.
>> Walt Barnes, electrical engineer working for AT&T Labs.
>> George Birchard, a former specialist in high-level radioactive waste disposal for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Holds a doctorate in geochemistry.
>> Ben Bohach, semi-retired trade school instructor.
>> Fran Brennan, retired executive vice president of an insurance company.
>> Vincent Costner, retired Kauai Electric Co. employee.
>> Robin Puanani Danner, employed by Native Hawaiian Advancement.
>> Brian Davis, project manager for large construction company.
>> Ryan de la Pena, a computer engineer working as network systems supervisor at the Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility.
>> Dennis Esaki, a geologist and urban planner, president of Esaki Surveying and Mapping Inc.
>> Ming Fang, a former chiropractor and airline public relations specialist, currently a farmer.
>> Gregg Gardiner, publisher of tourism magazines and chairman of the "interim" KIUC board of directors.
>> Scott Giarman, executive director of the Kauai United Way.
>> David Hamman, locksmith.
>> Randall J. Hee, mechanical engineer and manager of the new Kauai Power Partners Plant, which sells electricity to KIUC.
>> John Hoff, a contractor and teacher at Kauai High School. Unsuccessful candidate for state representative and Kauai County Council.
>> Mark Hubbard, human resources consultant.
>> Adam Killerman, provided no biographical material.
>> Ronald D. Kouchi, insurance salesman and 20-year veteran of the Kauai County Council.
>> Ale Lomosad, retired Kauai Fire Dept. fire chief (1990-1995).
>> Paul Lucas, aerospace engineer and owner of a solar energy company.
>> James D. Mayfield, Bank of Hawaii business banking manager for Kauai.
>> Abel Medeiros, retired sugar company executive and former state representative and Kauai County Council member.
>> Rohit J. Mehta, holds a doctorate in engineering, consultant to many electric companies.
>> Nicolas D. Morrison, restaurant owner.
>> Gerry Murdock, engineer and retired corporate executive with General Electric, Exxon Mobil and Asia Power Group. Currently sells real estate.
>> Monroe Franklin Richman, a medical doctor who also holds an advanced degree in physics.
>> Athey Spence, retired Kauai Electric Co. employee.
>> Susan Stayton, an electrical engineer and former Kauai County energy coordinator. She now works for a software consulting company.
>> Saburo Yoshioka, retired Kauai businessman.
County of Kauai
