Four years ago, Gov. Neil Abercrombie launched one of his first controversies, demanding that appointees to boards and commissions leave.
Abercrombie, the new governor, started his term by demanding resignations from members of the state Public Utilities Commission, Land Use Commission, Public Housing Authority and Board of Land and Natural Resources, plus the Stadium Authority.
Four years ago, Abercrombie said the launching of his "New Day in Hawaii Plan" needed new people, not appointees of GOP Gov. Linda Lingle, to make it click.
The rules are that members of the governor’s Cabinet serve at the pleasure of the appointing governor and they work as long as the governor is in office. Abercrombie’s last day in office comes on Dec. 1.
The only exceptions are the chairs of the Board of Agriculture, the Land and Natural Resources and the Hawaiian Homes Commission, who are on a calendar year, so their terms end on Dec. 31.
Back in 2011, Abercrombie’s demands were ignored by some board and commission members, who argued that they were appointed to a term of office and had developed their own knowledge and expertise and the system was not designed to be a patronage festival.
After learning that he could not force the resignations, Abercrombie said he was just asking for courtesy departures.
"The people of Hawaii voted for a change in direction; a New Day. I need the opportunity to move forward with a team dedicated to that proposition," Abercrombie said in 2011.
As it happens, Hawaii’s newest New Day does not include Abercrombie, but some of his appointees will remain.
The question is for how long.
Earlier this month, Abercrombie made four nominations to the University of Hawaii Board of Regents.
On July 11, he named three to the Board of Land and Natural Resources.
And in June, Abercrombie put interim appointees on the BLNR and the board of directors of the Hawaii Tourism Authority.
Those are all big, shiny, important boards with a lot of power.
But, without Abercrombie as the incumbent, they exist in office only if the new governor so wishes.
If the Legislature were in session, the interim appointees would get a hearing and the state Senate would vote for or against confirmation.
Because the Legislature is not in session and because much of the Senate actively campaigned against Abercrombie in the primary, the lawmakers are unlikely to help the governor out and call themselves back into session or agree to a session before noon on Dec. 1 to vote for Abercrombie nominees.
So the new governor — Republican James "Duke" Aiona, Democrat David Ige or Independent Mufi Hannemann — will decide what to do with those interim appointees.
According to Senate advisers and those with legal experience in state government, the new governor can easily withdraw the Abercrombie appointments and substitute his own nominees.
Some other boards are further complicated because many have board members who are also members of the Cabinet. For instance, the Hawaii Community Development Authority will have two members of the new governor’s Cabinet plus two other picks by the new governor on its nine-member board.
At the end of this election, all of Abercrombie’s recent interim appointees are far from a sure thing.
Richard Borreca writes on politics on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Reach him at rborreca@staradvertiser.com.
