An independent judiciary is vital to our democracy. One of the more important roles that the state Intermediate Court of Appeals (ICA) plays is to review the actions of government agencies.

Gov. David Ige’s nomination of Keith Hiraoka to serve on the ICA is completely inappropriate.

Hiraoka chaired Ige’s campaign for governor four years ago. He is one of the governor’s best friends. Asking Hiraoka to judge the actions of the Ige adminis- tration undermines our government’s system of checks and balances.

I publicly supported Ige for governor four years ago and still do today. But this nomination is simply wrong.

David Kimo Frankel

Wilhelmina Rise

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