A Circuit Court judge has ordered state Rep. Calvin Say to prove that he lives in the Palolo state House district he has represented since he was first elected in 1976.
The former House speaker has insisted that a 10th Avenue home in Palolo is his residence even through he also spends time at a Pauoa Valley home for family reasons.
But six voters in Say’s House district have challenged his residency, and Judge Karen Nakasone, after reviewing the complaint, has placed the burden on Say to answer in a court hearing Aug. 8 — one day before the Aug. 9 primary.
The Intermediate Court of Appeals ruled in April that the Circuit Court has the jurisdiction to determine whether lawmakers are qualified voters of the districts they represent, a requirement of the state Constitution. Nakasone had initially held that the city clerk, and not the court, had jurisdiction over the issue.
Three previously unsuccessful complaints against Say had focused on his voter registration, while the complaint now before the court is about his residency.
"We’ve got a lot of people in Palolo that haven’t seen him the last 30 years living at his house," said Lance Collins, a Maui attorney who represents the voters from Say’s district.
Say said that he would likely present the same evidence about his residency as he did when he prevailed in the earlier complaints. He questioned when, after multiple challenges, "enough is enough."
The former speaker called it "a sad commentary as far as where things are moving."
If Nakasone were to rule that Say does not live in the House district he represents, he could be ousted. But Say could ask for a stay while he appeals the court’s ruling to a higher court.
A court ruling against Say could cast a cloud over the primary and general elections. Say is unopposed in the Democratic primary but faces Julia Allen, a Republican, and Keiko Bonk, a Green Party candidate, in the November general election.
"We would just wait and receive instructions from the court," said Rex Quidilla, a spokesman for the state Office of Elections.
Say (D, Palolo-St. Louis Heights-Kaimuki) served as House speaker for 14 years, the longest run since statehood. House Speaker Joseph Souki (D, Waihee-Waiehu-Wailuku) and a coalition of dissident Democrats and minority Republicans toppled Say last year.
Say had viewed the residency challenges as a vestige of the political maneuvering, by both Democrats and Republicans, to remove him from power. He said, in jest, that after the leadership shake-up last year, he is no longer "the big cheese."
