The state House will consider a request to investigate last month’s arrest of state Rep. Sharon Har on suspicion of drunken driving and citations for driving in the wrong direction on one-way South Beretania Street and for driving without insurance shortly after 10 on a Monday night.
Har was on the House floor Thursday when “Miscellaneous Communication 1001” was read into the record, “petitioning the House to investigate and appropriately act upon an incident involving a member of the House.”
Har’s name was not mentioned on the House floor. House Speaker Scott Saiki deferred the request until Wednesday to decide how to proceed.
Har’s attorney, Howard Luke, had no comment on the request.
Har (D, Kapolei-Makakilo) represents House District 42. The request to investigate her was sent by 11 members of the Democratic Party’s District 42 Council, said Mike Golojuch Sr., the party’s District 42 chairman.
Golojuch’s son, Michael Golojuch Jr., ran unsuccessfully against Har for the seat she now holds, and his father acknowledged “there
always can be that perception” that the request for the House to investigate Har can be seen as payback.
But Golojuch said the
decision to write a letter to Saiki was approved by nine members of the council and opposed by two members, who argued that the request should come from the
Hawaii Democratic Party, Golojuch said. In all, the
District 42 Council has 13 members, but only 11 participated in the March 5 phone call, he said.
“None of us have any
intentions of running against her,” Golojuch said. “Some thought we should go through a formal route through the Democratic Party.”
Har’s statement following her arrest and a subsequent newsletter she sent to constituents raises questions about what happened that night, Golojuch said.
In both statements Har — a 52-year-old mother of
twin 3-year-old girls — said that she had been taking prescription cough medication with codeine for an
upper respiratory illness that had lasted several weeks.
“On Feb. 22, 2021, after a late evening at work, I had a beer with my dinner,” she said in her initial statement. “This, in conjunction with my medication, contributed to my impaired driving.
In her follow-up message to constituents, Har wrote, “After working late that night, I did have a beer with dinner. While I did not realize it at the time, it is obvious that this decision, coupled with my medication and long work hours, is something I will regret for the rest of my life.”
But Golojuch said Har’s statement is not supported by Honolulu Police Department reports of her arrest at 10:07 p.m. in the parking lot of Territorial Savings Bank — coupled with HPD body cam footage — that are
raising speculation in her district.
In one HPD report, officer Christopher Morgado wrote, “Sharon related that she is not currently taking prescription medication. … Sharon spoke with a slow, slurred speech, and had red, glassy eyes. I could smell a strong odor of a consumed alcoholic type beverage coming from within the vehicle, and would get stronger as she spoke.”
Har, an attorney, refused to take a field sobriety test or a breath and blood test that would determine her blood alcohol content. She had earlier shepherded the creation of Hawaii’s interlock ignition program for drunken drivers and helped draft other stiffer penalties she now faces.
By refusing a blood or breath test, Har faces a mandatory revocation of her driver’s license for two years. If she had taken either test, Har would have faced only a one-year revocation of her license when she goes before the state’s Administrative Driver’s License
Revocation Office, a civil procedure that’s independent from her criminal court case. Har’s next criminal court hearing is scheduled for April 20.
Thanks to Har’s efforts, she also faces the possibility of having to pay for an interlock ignition system in order to drive as a potential first-time offender.