Sunday, January 18, 2015
Calvin Say’s seat still in play—challengers ask for House review
by Larry Geller
Even while the media have played scant attention, the challenge to Calvin Say’s seat in the state House continues. On Friday plaintiffs in an ongoing lawsuit transmitted a letter to Speaker of the House Joseph P. Souki through their attorney, Lance Collins, asking for the House to take up their challenge—a request which has been denied twice before:
[Plaintiffs] renew their original request made to you on February 22, 2013 and on October 6, 2014 that the House investigate the qualifications of Say to possess the title to office of representative for the twentieth district.
The letter and attached documents are below.
The letter chronicles the earlier challenges and would be good background to initiate a House investigation if Souki were inclined to do that.
Underlying each challenge has been the basic right of citizens to be represented by an elected official who resides in their district. That right is spelled out in Article III, Section 3 of the Hawaii Constitution. Members of the Hawaii House of Representatives must have been residents of Hawaii for more than three years, must have attained the age of majority, and must live in their respective house districts.
While some citizens may have voted to re-elect Say, that does not negate the rights of others who would have the opportunity to vote for someone else to represent them should Say be found to be holding his seat improperly.
The documents are easy reading, have a look. Also, between the lines is the likelihood that should the House refuse again to investigate, the plaintiffs would continue on with their legal action.
Download Letter to House Speaker Joseph Souki 1-16-20150 re Say challenge.pdf from Disappeared News
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