Since the Honolulu prosecutor’s job became an elected position in 1981, voters have seen few strong challenges at the polls. Only three people have held the nonpartisan office. Charles Marsland and Peter Carlisle, serving for eight years and 14 years, respectively; and Keith Kaneshiro, with a total of nearly 17 years, starting in the late 1980s.
Three years ago, when Kaneshiro ran for re-election, he handily beat a little-known opponent. Next year’s election will be different — and that’s a good thing. Candidate priorities will vary, but all can be expected to underscore restoring trust to the office as the most pressing matter.
Already in the running are: one-time Deputy Prosecutor Megan Kau, former Deputy Prosecutor R.J. Brown, Deputy Public Defender Jacquelyn Esser, and one-time U.S. Attorney Steve Alm, who announced his candidacy last week. While there is no term limit for the post, Kaneshiro, who has been on paid leave since March — after receiving an investigation target letter from the U.S. Department of Justice — is not expected to run.
And in the wake of controversies rocking the office in the past few years, Kaneshiro is the subject of an impeachment effort. Signature certification of 500 voters is needed to proceed with consideration of impeachment on grounds of malfeasance (wrongdoing), misfeasance (a transgression) or nonfeasance (failure to perform an act required by law).
Among the impeachment petition’s most compelling arguments: Kaneshiro’s failure to take reasonable or necessary administrative action against his former deputy, Katherine Kealoha, to protect the integrity of any prosecution she was involved in after it became known the FBI was investigating her for potential criminal wrongdoing.
Businessman Tracy Yoshimura has filed a second petition in Circuit Court seeking Kaneshiro’s removal, after a judge dismissed the first try due to the city clerk’s objection to including online electronic signatures. This time around, some signatures were submitted on paper and others on a more secure electronic platform that’s widely used in business.
That should satisfy Honolulu Hale since electronic signatures are not specifically prohibited by law, and they’re now a go-to for many financial and government transactions.
For the sake of fairness to voters, the court should swiftly move forward on deciding this time-sensitive petition’s validity. If proceedings wrap up after Dec. 31 with a ruling to remove Kaneshiro, voters would be denied an opportunity to pick his replacement in a special election.
That’s because, according to the City Charter, if there’s a prosecuting attorney vacancy while there’s at least a year left in the term, a special election is held. If less than a year, the first deputy serves. If the first deputy is found to be unqualified, the mayor and City Council appoint someone.
Further, given that the City Charter’s vague guidance on impeachment specifies little beyond the court venue and required signatures, more clarity is needed to set in place a time clock for proceedings.
Last week, Acting Prosecuting Attorney Dwight Nadamoto was subpoenaed by the FBI and spent roughly three hours before a grand jury. U.S. attorneys who won public corruption convictions against Katherine Kealoha and her husband, former city Police Chief Louis Kealoha, have now turned their attention to possible wrongdoing by Kaneshiro and others.
Given the cloud over this important public safety- focused office, voter selection of even a short-termed acting prosecuting attorney is the best option for taking a much-needed step toward rebuilding public confidence.
