Gov. Josh Green would rather not have filled the West Oahu Senate seat vacated in May by Maile Shimabukuro, with voting now underway for the Aug. 10 primary election — but he’s come to believe it’s his “constitutional obligation,” he said. On Tuesday, he appointed Cross Crabbe to the interim seat; vying to replace Shimabukuro are state Rep. Cedric Gates and Stacelynn Eli.

Current law requires a governor to fill a vacant legislative seat within 60 days — but Green said he will propose legislation to extend the appointment window to 120 days. Meanwhile, Crabbe is up against Desire De Soto and Philip Ganaban in the primary to fill the House seat being vacated by Gates.