Three public schoolteachers who say they won the votes to lead the Hawaii State Teachers Association are demanding answers from HSTA over its decision to reject the election results.
The trio issued a statement Thursday expressing frustration with the HSTA’s lack of transparency regarding the vote and threatened to sue the union as early as next week to compel it to "accept the results of the election that was conducted."
The HSTA’s board of directors voted over the weekend to reject the results of ballots cast for a new union president and other state officers, and announced it would hold a new election June 2.
In a brief memo to the union’s 13,500 members late Saturday night, Executive Director Wilbert Holck said the board decided to "redo elections for all races … due to irregularities in the voting process."
Teachers voted electronically and by mail for two weeks in April for all races, and again earlier this month by mail for a runoff election for vice president.
Outgoing HSTA President Wil Okabe said Thursday in a statement to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that "serious discrepancies" were reported in the election and voting process, including "numerous reports … that teachers did not receive their ballots either by mail or email." He added that there were reports of potential campaign violations by candidates and of mishandling of ballots.
"I am extremely disappointed that some candidates running for HSTA offices have chosen to violate HSTA’s procedures and protocol with their recent public announcements," Okabe said, "and instead have chosen to disrespect the decision made by their fellow teachers on the HSTA board."
Campbell High School teacher Corey Rosenlee, an outspoken advocate for improving teaching conditions, ran for president against current HSTA Vice President Joan Lewis, who teaches at Kapolei High.
Rosenlee said he was elected president and that his running mates, King Kamehameha III Elementary teacher Justin Hughey and Mililani High teacher Amy Perusso, were elected vice president and secretary-treasurer, respectively.
Rosenlee said he and Perusso each won their races outright by more than 150 votes, noting that only 26 percent of members voted. Rosenlee said Hughey won a runoff election against current HSTA Secretary-treasurer Colleen Pasco, but added that the union hasn’t released that vote count.
Under union rules, election results must be disseminated once the HSTA board’s Elections Committee certifies them. The trio contends the results of the election were certified on or about May 2, while the runoff election results were certified on or about Saturday.
"Suing the HSTA is the last thing we wanted to do but it is our only recourse," Rosenlee said in a statement released Thursday. "How else can we hope to obtain justice for those who supported us?"
Rosenlee’s group said the union has failed to provide evidence of voting irregularities or specify the need for a new election by way of physical voting at polling locations.
"The new election … lacks transparency and is patently unfair," Rosenlee said. "It is designed to impede and discourage teachers from voting by making them travel to polling locations that have not even been announced, immediately after the end of their work day, during rush hour, when many of them may need to pick up their own children or may be supervising school activities such as graduation ceremonies, or grading year-end assignments."
Okabe contends the re-vote will ensure teachers have a fair opportunity to participate in the election.
"I want to assure everyone that the HSTA board is acting in the best interests of their fellow teachers to ensure a fair election," he said.
