Chin should resign to run, Hanabusa says

U.S. Rep. Colleen Hana­busa says Attorney General Douglas Chin should resign from his job as the state’s top law enforcement officer to make his run for Congress, and Gov. David Ige on Thursday said he expects Chin will resign if that would be “in the best interest of the people of Hawaii.”

Hanabusa plans to vacate the 1st Congressional District seat representing urban Honolulu to challenge Ige for governor this year, and Chin announced last month he plans to campaign for the seat in Congress that Hanabusa now holds.

“I think that given the nature of what he is running for, and as somebody who knows what it takes to run for Congress, I think he should resign,” Hanabusa said. “But that’s just my opinion. I think the most important thing is he’s got to think of the integrity of the office.”

Ige said last month he did not ask Chin to resign, but said in a brief written statement Thursday that “the Attorney General is a unique position, and once appointed, the AG cannot be removed except by the Senate. I believe Doug will do the right thing and step down if that’s in the best interest of the people of Hawaii.”

A spokesman for Chin’s campaign said Thursday that Chin “has made a decision about whether he will continue serving as attorney general, and he will make an announcement this Sunday when he is not working.”

Chin was appointed by Ige in 2015, and political observers say he has been one of the administration’s most prominent and popular figures among Hawaii’s heavily Democratic voters.

He established a national profile as Hawaii attorney general by filing a series of legal challenges to the policies of President Donald Trump, including Trump’s efforts to restrict immigration. Chin is the son of Chinese immigrants, and has said his legal scraps with the Trump administration prompted him to run for Congress.

It certainly would be to Chin’s political advantage to remain as attorney general during the campaign because his official responsibilities would help keep him in the public eye.

However, Hanabusa said Thursday the job of attorney general has special status in state government and that Ige should at least consult with the state Senate if he intends to allow Chin to remain in office while he campaigns.

In addition to serving as Hawaii’s top law enforcement officer, Chin also provides legal representation to the judicial and legislative branches of state government as well as the Ige administration.

“One branch should not have the right to veto the other branches because once he got selected and confirmed, he is the AG for everyone,” she said.

Hanabusa said Chin’s candidacy also will raise potential conflicts as Chin ventures out to raise money for his campaign.

He most likely will need national political action committee money to help finance his bid for Congress, and labor has the largest PACs, she said. But before Chin can qualify for most national labor PAC funding, he will need to win the support of the unions’ local chapters, she said.

Chin will probably also need to raise money from corporate interests even as the Attorney General’s Office may be handling litigation or other legal matters involving the local unions or those private interests, she said.

“It looks like an inherent conflict of interest, right?” she asked. “His main challenge is going to be raising money. The attorney general, raising money in this climate? How are you going to do that?”

Hanabusa, meanwhile, says she will not resign, and plans to serve out her own term in Congress as she campaigns for governor this year. She said she can manage both roles, and did so before when she ran for U.S. Senate in 2014.