State Supreme Court says election board erred in not hearing challenge

The Hawaii Island Board of Registration, which considers election disputes, erred when it refused to hear a Kapaau resident’s complaint about a candidate in the 2014 election, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

Lanric Hyland had challenged the residency status of Ron Gonzales, who unsuccessfully ran against Kohala Councilwoman Margaret Wille that year. County Clerk Stewart Maeda denied the challenge and Hyland appealed first to the Board of Registration and then to the Intermediate Court of Appeals, which sided with the clerk and Board of Registration.

The Supreme Court, in a unanimous opinion issued Thursday, said the Board of Registration should not have determined that Hyland’s petition wasn’t filed within the 10-day window without taking into account a federal holiday and mailing times between the Big Island and the state Elections Office in Pearl City.

“The local board’s narrow interpretation of its jurisdiction is particularly concerning given that claims under (state law) involve the integrity of the electoral process and the right to vote,” Associate Justice Richard W. Pollack wrote in the opinion that was signed by all five members of the court.

The court returned the case back to the Board of Registration for further consideration.

Hyland’s attorney, Robert H. Thomas, said the issue is one of equal protection and due process.

“There is no rational basis for Oahu challengers to have the full ten days, but their neighbor island counterparts who rely on the mail less time,” he argued in court filings.

While it’s far too late for the decision to have an impact on the 2014 election, the opinion is important because it sets a precedent, Hyland said Friday.

“It’s moot, but it’s nice because they made such a landmark decision,” Hyland said, “and others won’t have to suffer that level of misdirection.”

The complaint questioned whether Gonzales planned to move permanently to Waikoloa, or was just using a Waikoloa address as a convenience so he could run in District 9 instead of facing off against District 1 incumbent Councilwoman Valerie Poindexter.

At issue are Gonzales’ statements that he changed his residency earlier in 2014 to a Waikoloa address where he had been renting a room since 2011, when he and his family moved to Honokaa so his children could attend Honokaa High School, his alma mater. Hyland contends Gonzales actually lived with his wife and children in Honokaa, not in the district where he was running for office.

Gonzales resigned from the Windward Planning Commission, which required a North Hilo/Hamakua residence, on May 1, 2014, although he apparently changed his voter registration to his Waikoloa address April 1 of that year, according to documents obtained by West Hawaii Today.

It’s not known what the next step might be.

“It’s going to be up to the Board of Registration if they convene a hearing,” said Lincoln Ashida, who represented Gonzales. “They may find it’s moot at this point. It happened long ago, and the election is over.”

A spokeswoman for the state Office of Elections, which administers the boards of registration, said Friday the opinion was still being considered by the Office of the Attorney General.

The opinion was the second recent victory for Hyland, best known for his successful ethics complaint against former Mayor Billy Kenoi.

After a hearing before the county Board of Ethics, Kenoi in November admitted he violated the purchasing policy by misusing his county-issued purchasing card.

Email Nancy Cook Lauer at ncook-lauer@westhawaiitoday.com.