State Rep: "Many High-School Students Are More Qualified Than I Am"

Here's one more item for our Democratic Party house-cleaning effort. Downtown Honolulu and Chinatown are represented in the State House by Bev Harbin, a Democrat appointed to the job by Governor Linda Lingle over the strenuous objections of the state Democratic Party. The appointment was required to go to a Democrat, but the Governor played it strategically keeping the best interests of the Republican Party in mind above all else. But Harbin's right-wing opinions are not the only problem -- she's also totally unprepared for elective office. She recently admitted on her blog that many high school students would be more qualified for the job than her, while trying to resign from nearly all of her committee appointments. I sincerely wish I was making this up. And there's more.

If you don't know the background, that District 28 seat was heavily contested in the last election. The Republicans had targeted a number of House seats in their coordinated campaign, including State Rep. Ken Hiraki. Hiraki beat the Republican, Colin Wong, as part of a major statewide victory for the Democrats who actually picked up 5 House seats with an already overwhelming majority. But Wong had been groomed for the seat and when Ken Hiraki resigned for a job as a lobbyist, the Governor had a tough choice. She was required to appoint a Democrat but needed someone who wouldn't hurt Wong's chances in the next election. So she hedged her bets, ignored the wishes of the voters in that district, and appointed Bev Harbin, a conservative small-business lobbyist with a tendancy toward rabble-rousing who would keep the seat warm and wouldn't oppose Wong.

But following the President's lead, Lingle skipped a lot of the vetting process and went on gut instinct. Within 24 hours of the appointment, a local TV station aired news of Harbin's unpaid state tax debts, and shortly after her misdemeanor conviction for writing bad checks. But she was already sworn in by that time, and Harbin refused demands from the Governor and the Democrats that she resign. Since day one she's been constantly embroiled in petty controversies of her own devising. The media has stopped paying attention, so I didn't know this most recent one untill I read it on her own blog -- In March she attempted to resign from four committee appointments saying she only wants to have to work on the needs of her constituents and the small-business community.

But how could she possibly be representing her constituents? Harbin wanted to resign from the Committee on Education, so she's not taking care of her constituents who have children in the public schools. She wanted to resign from the Committee on Higher Education, so she's not interested in the small business owners looking for well educated employees. She wanted to resign from the Committee on Energy & Environmental Protection so she's not taking care of her constituents who are concerned about protecting our environment -- one of the world's most valuable coastlines. And she wanted to resign from the Committee on Hawaiian Affairs, so she's not interested in the issues of Native Hawaiians.

The job of a state legislator is not to be the subject matter expert on every issue that comes before them, but it is to listen to the experts and their constituents and learn enough to make a good decision. I think it's clear that Governor Lingle put the Republican Party's strategic interests above the interests of the people in the District, because Harbin has clearly not been willing or able to do the job.

Harbin is challenged in the primary by Karl Rhoads, a neighborhood activist and former John Kerry intern. Rhoads has been part of the neighborhood watch and active in the community. He's intelligent and conscientious. He understands the issues and I know he'll work hard for the businesses and residents in this district.

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