Lingle appointee
will not heed calls
to step down

Harbin says criticism over
her party switch and unpaid
taxes is mudslinging "politics"

Newly sworn-in state Rep. Beverly Wolff Harbin said yesterday that she was committed to serving out her term, despite intense public scrutiny into her personal finances and calls from her own party to step down.

Harbin was sworn in Monday after Gov. Linda Lingle appointed her to succeed Kenneth Hiraki, who resigned to become a lobbyist for Hawaiian Telcom. The Republican governor was required to appoint a Democrat to replace Hiraki, because he was a Democrat. But the Democratic Party has accused Lingle of handpicking one of her own.

Democratic Party spokesman Tom Brower said Harbin joined the party just three days after Hiraki announced his plans to resign in July, and noted that she ran in the House Republican primary in 1980, losing to Donna Ikeda.

"Simply put, she is a Democrat in name only," the party said in a statement.

Harbin, whose term expires in November 2006, said she has deep roots as a Democrat and accused the party of being threatened by her desire to change the "status quo."

"Am I surprised? Of course, not. Anybody that has any type of intelligence or knowledge and any type of passion for our state is considered a threat to the imploding old-boy network," she said.

Even Hawaii's most prominent Democrat, U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, sharply criticized Lingle, saying he was "deeply saddened and very much disappointed."

"The governor's appointment does a great disservice to the citizens and residents ... and minimizes their constitutional right to meaningful representation in the Hawaii state Legislature," Inouye said.

Lingle chose Harbin over four candidates recommended by the Democratic Party. She said Harbin was selected because of her extensive small-business background and because she has worked, lived and been active in the 28th House District (Kakaako, downtown).

Adding to the controversy, Harbin and her husband failed to pay $125,000 in state taxes relating to their auto repair shop that closed in 2000. The state has filed tax liens against the Harbins.

Lingle's chief of staff, Bob Awana, has said Harbin would not have been appointed had the information been disclosed during the interview process. Financial records are not part of a background check.

Brower said: "The governor knew Harbin was a registered voter on the Big Island, knew Harbin just joined the Democratic Party.

"If the Lingle administration knew this, why should we believe when it said it doesn't know the rest of Harbin's background?" he said.

Harbin said she expected the mudslinging. "Politics is a game of picking on each other. This is why people don't get involved in politics. I knew just by getting my name out there, there was going to be consequences," she said.

Harbin explained that she ran as a Republican more than two decades ago to oppose a Kalanianaole Highway expansion project that was supported by a Democrat.

Calls to resign "made me mad," she said. "I'm a three-generation Portuguese person, and you know what? I don't sit down and take crap from anybody," she said.