Gov. Josh Green faces only bad options in making an interim appointment to fill a vacant West Oahu state Senate seat, and his plan to wait until after the Aug. 10 primary election is a fair solution — even if it bends the law.

Democratic Sen. Maile Shimabukuro resigned May 31 from her District 22 seat (Ko Olina, Nanakuli, Maili, Waianae, Makaha, Makua) in the apparent hope Green would appoint her preferred successor, state Rep. Cedric Gates, to finish the term and have the edge of running as the incumbent in the Democratic primary against former Rep. Stacelynn Eli to fill the seat permanently.

But Green balked at taking sides in the primary. He said he wouldn’t fill the seat until afterward even though it runs afoul of a legal requirement that he fill vacancies within 60 days, which would be July 30, from three candidates provided by the Democratic Party.

The party’s list included Gates, Eli and Cross Makani Crabbe, Gates’ office manager, who is running in a crowded primary for the House seat Gates is leaving.

Green complained the party didn’t give him the option to appoint an interim senator not running in the primary. He said his higher obligation under the state Constitution is to ensure fair elections by letting voters decide without his thumb on the scale.

Senate President Ron Kouchi objected, however, and demanded Green follow the law. The governor said if he’s forced to make an appointment on July 30 he’ll name Crabbe, which would keep the Senate race level but potentially influence the House election.

As Shakespeare might say, Green is hoist with his own petard.

A governor once could choose whomever he or she wished as interim legislator, as long as the appointee was from the same political party as the departed lawmaker. But when Linda Lingle was elected Hawaii’s first Republican governor in 40 years, the Democratic Legislature, which included Green, passed laws to handcuff her — including the rule that interim legislators come from a party-supplied list. Green ended up handcuffing himself.

In another irony, Kouchi was among the first beneficiaries of the change, in a situation similar to today’s. He joined the Senate in 2010 when Lingle named him from the party’s list shortly before his primary against John Yamane for a Kauai seat vacated by Gary Hooser.

Kouchi’s objections to Green’s move are as much about Senate politics as the law.

In the factionalized Senate it’s always challenging for leaders to keep control. Shimabukuro was a Kouchi supporter and sought to hand him a like-minded successor. Green’s refusal to play ball likely has a bit to do with the Kouchi group’s bullying of his appointees last session.

Any or all interim candidates could end this by dropping out and asking the party to give Green candidates not on the primary ballot. District 22 could be represented immediately, and voters could choose the permanent senator from a level field.

Otherwise, the best of the bad choices is to allow Green to use reasonable judgment to keep this election fair. Then amend the law, as he suggests, to pause future interim legislative appointments within 120 days of elections.

Reach David Shapiro at volcanicash@gmail.com.