Hawaii Judiciary responds to Trevor Ozawa’s conflict of interest allegation

If Honolulu City Council candidate Trevor Ozawa thought Hawaii Supreme Court justices had conflicts of interest with his opponent Tommy Waters, he could have objected before they participated in deciding on Waters’ election challenge, the state Judiciary said.

One day after the court invalidated the result of the November general election that put Ozawa ahead of Waters by 22 votes in the race for the Council’s District 4 seat, thereby triggering a “do over” special election, Ozawa said, “The amount of conflict that this court has with my opponent is outrageous.”

Ozawa said Waters nominated Justices Sabrina Mc­Kenna, Richard Pollack and Michael Wilson to the state’s high court when Waters was vice chairman of the Judicial Selection Commission.

The Judiciary said Sunday that Waters joined the Judicial Selection Commission in April 2011, after McKenna was already appointed to the Supreme Court. It also said Waters did not nominate Pollack and Wilson, but was one of nine members of the Judicial Selection Commission that submitted lists of finalists to fill vacancies on the court. It was then-Gov. Neil Abercrombie who made the nominations and the state Senate that confirmed them.

Ozawa also said one of McKenna’s law clerks rents housing from the lawyer representing 39 East Honolulu voters who also challenged the November election results.

McKenna disclosed in a notice to all parties that a staff member of hers lives on property owned by the lawyer, but that clerk has not and will not perform work on the case, the Judiciary said.

The Judiciary noted that Ozawa did not raise objections to Pollack’s and Wilson’s participation when the court rejected Waters’ challenge to the 2014 election, which Ozawa won by 41 votes.