Hawaii County voters will not get to decide on making the corporation counsel an elected position.
Hawaii County voters will not get to decide on making the corporation counsel an elected position.
Six votes on the County Council were needed Tuesday night on the final reading of a bill to place the question before voters in the general election, but it fell one vote short.
Had the bill passed, voters would have been asked whether they would have favored electing the county’s top civil attorney for a four-year term following the 2014 election.
Currently the corporation counsel is appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the County Council to represent both, a process that can result in friction when the legislative and executive branches are at odds with each other.
The proposed charter amendment received approval from all nine council members on May 2, when it came up for the first of three readings.
For the second reading on May 15, it received the minimum of six votes, with council members Donald Ikeda and Dennis Onishi dissenting, and Angel Pilago excused.
Tuesday, council members Fred Blas and J Yoshimoto joined Ikeda and Onishi, ensuring the bill’s defeat. Those voting in favor were Brenda Ford, Pete Hoffmann, Pilago, Brittany Smart and Chairman Dominic Yagong.