Gov. David Ige has withdrawn his nomination of Elizabeth Kim to serve as state labor director after learning that under the Hawaii Constitution any officer he picks must have resided in the state for the year preceding appointment, a key Ige adviser said Tuesday.
The adminstration first learned of the language in the Constitution on Monday when the Honolulu Star-Advertiser asked Ige’s communications director, Cindy McMillan, whether it would apply to Kim’s nomination. The administration, with the help of the Department of the Attorney General, then researched the issue for about 24 hours before concluding her appointment would violate the Constitution, said Mike McCartney, Ige’s chief of staff.
Article V, Section 6, of the Constitution, which discusses "executive and administrative offices and departments," states that any officer appointed by the governor to lead a state department or office "shall have been a resident of this (s)tate for at least one year immediately preceding that person’s appointment."
State officials could not find any previous case in which the section came into play and affected a nomination, McCartney said.
Kim has been an appointee of President Barack Obama’s and working in Washington, D.C., as the director of the Office of the Executive Secretariat within the U.S. Department of Labor, essentially heading a high-level team that advises the labor secretary and deputy secretary.
Kim was not born in Hawaii, but spent her intermediate and high school years here, graduating from Kaiser High School, McCartney said. She attended college on the mainland and has worked largely in Washington. Kim has not resided in Hawaii since her high school years, he said. Kim’s parents live in Hawaii.
McCartney took responsibility for the error. "I should have caught it. I didn’t see that provision," he said. "It’s clear. It’s not productive to argue about it. I think we’ve got to get on with our work."
Language in the Hawaii Revised Statutes requiring Hawaii residency of state and county employees was repealed by the state Legislature in 2000after the provision was successfully challenged as violating the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution. But the Hawaii Constitution is clear when it comes to appointed officers, McCartney said.
"There’s a differentiation between employees and officers who are appointed by the governor and have to have the advice and consent of the Senate."
The administration is now seeking other candidates to head the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. Dwight Takamine, the holdover labor director from the Abercrombie administration, is expected to continue in that role for the time being.
Meanwhile, McCartney said, Kim badly wants to come back to Hawaii and work for the administration, and Ige wants her involved in some way. "So we’re exploring ways that Ms. Kim can continue service in our administration because these are the kind of people we want to attract and bring to government. I’m disappointed that (the nomination) didn’t work out … (but) we’ll try to find a place in the administration where she can serve in a different capacity."
Asked whether the administration considered letting Kim serve as acting labor director for a year while she gained her residency requirement, McCartney said, "We can’t do that. She has to go in where she’s an employee, not an officer, so there are some positions we are looking at."
McCartney called the situation unfortunate and said Kim’s selection was valued by the governor. "We want talented people like her to come home and help."
Given that desire, the administration might look into the possibility of proposing a change to eliminate the one-year residency requirement for state officers.
But changing any language in the state Constitution requires an amendment that needs to be voted on by Hawaii’s electorate, and the issue gets on the ballot only if two-thirds of both the House and Senate approve it. Those who crafted the Constitution must have had a reason to include such a provision, and any change would be a serious matter, McCartney said.
