Appointees Resist Hawaii Gov's Resignation Request
06/20/2011
Gov. Neil Abercrombie's request that all 28 people he didn't appoint to five key boards and commissions step down has thrown the members into an uproar.
Civil Beat reached 15 of the 28 members Monday. Several said they are inclined to resist the governor's wishes, and at least four said they're staying. Many declined to speak on the record, some citing concern about reprisal.
While all 28 members were appointed by former Gov. Linda Lingle, some of the members are Democrats. All the members were unanimously approved by the Democrat-controlled state Senate and received glowing praise from many prominent members of the party.
"I am completely mystified," attorney Kenneth Marcus, who was twice approved to serve on the Aloha Stadium Authority, told Civil Beat. "I am a lifelong Democrat and I supported Abercrombie in the last election. I have no reason to believe that there is anything that he wants with respect to the stadium that I would not support — in part because he has never discussed this with us. We don't know what it is he would like to see us do that we are not doing."
