Small-business advocate
to fill Hiraki’s seat

Beverly Wolff Harbin, a longtime advocate for small business, was appointed by Gov. Linda Lingle yesterday to fill the vacancy in the state House created by Rep. Ken Hiraki's move to the private sector.

Harbin, president and chief executive of the Employers' Chamber of Commerce, is to be sworn in Monday as the representative for the 28th District, which includes downtown, Kakaako, Iwilei and parts of Makiki. She said she has no plans to seek re-election next year, when the term expires.

"There's a whole group of young people out there that should be allowed to step in," said Harbin, 60. "My goal is to give this district one year of good, solid representation and then allow the younger generation to take over."

She said she will continue to be an advocate for small business while also working on issues such as health care, workers' compensation, the state's gasoline price cap law and the general excise tax.

"I'm 100 percent a small-business advocate," she said. "Instead of just being an advocate and constantly trying to get the voice of business across, I'll be able to talk to my fellow Democrats as a peer on the special issues that are confronting the small-business community."

House Speaker Calvin Say (D, St. Louis Heights-Wilhelmina Rise) welcomed Harbin to the Legislature and said he looked forward to working with her.

"She is well known in the community as a small-business advocate, and I hope that she will be a productive contributor to the House on small-business issues," he said.

Hiraki, who had represented the district for 19 years, resigned Sept. 1 to become a lobbyist for Hawaiian Telcom.

By law, Lingle was required 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.

Harbin was not among the four nominees for the vacancy presented to the governor by the Democratic Party of Hawaii.

Party Chairman Brickwood Galuteria said "there is a sense of disappointment" that Lingle did not choose one of the party's nominees, but he thanked her for moving quickly to provide representation for the residents of the district.

"She (Harbin) seems very excited about joining the majority, and she looks forward to working with her fellow Democrats," Galuteria said. "She brings an interesting perspective to the majority as well."

Some party members complained about Harbin's appointment, noting that she did not become a member of the party until July 18, three days after Hiraki announced his intention to resign.

In submitting its list of nominees to the governor, Oahu County Committee Chairman Jimmy Toyama said the party was looking for candidates who were members of the party on the day of Hiraki's announcement.

"Personally, I'm very disappointed in the governor's decision because the party had, clearly, a process in place, and the people that we recommended were longtime residents of the district and also members of the party for a long time," Toyama said.

Harbin noted that she has worked closely with Democrats in the past, including former Gov. Ben Cayetano, who she said had encouraged her to seek the House seat.

Hiraki was the second Democrat to leave the House this year. In January, Sol Kahoohalahala left his seat, representing the Lanai-Molokai district, to become executive director of the Kahoolawe Island Reserve Commission. He was replaced by Mele Carroll, who had been Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa's chief legislative liaison.