Dems nominate 4
for House post

But the final choice rests with
Lingle to replace Rep. Hiraki

CORRECTION Saturday, August 20, 2005 » Karl Rhoads, 42, is among the Hawaii Democratic Party's four nominees to replace outgoing state Rep. Ken Hiraki. A Page A5 article in some editions yesterday misspelled his name and did not include his age. The Honolulu Star-Bulletin strives to make its news report fair and accurate. If you have a question or comment about news coverage, call Editor Frank Bridgewater at 529-4791 or email him at corrections@starbulletin.com.

State Democrats presented Gov. Linda Lingle yesterday with a list of four nominees to replace outgoing state Rep. Ken Hiraki.

While she is not obligated to select from the list presented by the Hawaii Democratic Party, Lingle is required by law to select a Democrat, and party officials said they hope she will give their nominees favorable consideration.

"We feel that she should pay special attention to the names that we recommend," said Jimmy Toyama, chairman of the party's Oahu County Committee. "We went through ... a careful selection process to give her the best names possible in the Democratic rank and file."

The party's nominees to replace Hiraki include:

Hiraki, a Democrat who served the Kakaako-Downtown district for 19 years, announced last month he would leave office Sept. 1 to become a lobbyist for Hawaiian Telcom.

By law, Lingle has 60 days from then to appoint a new legislator who is a member of the same party and who is a voter living in the same district as the person being replaced.

Although she has until Oct. 31, Lingle has said she plans to make a final decision by Sept. 9 in order to minimize the time residents of the district go without representation. Her office had asked that all resumes and nominations to replace Hiraki be submitted by the close of business yesterday.

Hiraki also served as chairman of the House Consumer Protection Committee. He said yesterday that House Speaker Calvin Say is still evaluating candidates.