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William Kenoi recall, Hawaii County, Hawaii (2015)
| Hawaii County Mayor recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2015 Recalls in Hawaii Hawaii recall laws Mayoral recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall William Kenoi in Hawaii County, Hawaii, from his position as mayor was launched on April 23, 2015. The signature deadline for this recall petition passed without any signatures being submitted.[1][2]
Kenoi was accused of using a county government credit card for personal expenses.[2]
Background
Attorney General Doug Chin opened an investigation of Kenoi according to the accusations. Responding to Chin's investigation, Kenoi stated:
| “ | I respect the decision by the Department of the Attorney General, and will cooperate fully as the process unfolds. I remain committed to the people of Hawaii Island and to my responsibilities as mayor. I deeply regret the pain that this investigation will cause to my family and to the fine people of our community. I do not anticipate making further public statements regarding this matter.[3] | ” |
| —Mayor William Kenoi[2] | ||
Former Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle (I) called on Kenoi to resign.[2]
After the investigation was launched, Kenoi released his credit card records. The records showed that Kenoi paid back $31,112.59 of the $129,580 he had charged to the account since 2009. His account was canceled.[4]
Recall supporters
Russell Doi filed the recall petition and the required affidavit with the board of elections on April 23, 2015.[4]
Speaking of the allegations against William Kenoi concerning the use of his county credit card, Doi said, “That’s only one small portion of the pie that Billy did. We need to show that we care about this county and not let Billy run wild.”[4]
Doi said he's was also motivated by concern over the "blind eye turned" on the conduct of the Hawaii police department by the mayor. Doi cited his own personal experience of police violence.[4]
Speaking of the task of collecting over 15,000 signatures to qualify the recall for a vote, Doi said, “Even if I don’t pull it off, somebody else can try again. This is not a one-shot proposition.”[4]
Recall opponents
Response from William Kenoi
Peter Boylan, Kenoi's representative, insisted that the mayor would not try to hamper or invalidate the recall petition preemptively. He said, "Although we haven’t seen the petition, we certainly respect the process.”[4]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Recall campaigns in Hawaii
According to the Hawaii County Charter, valid signatures equal to 25 percent of the votes cast for mayor at the last county election needed to be collected and submitted within 120 days of an official initial filing to get the recall certified for the ballot. This number amounted to 15,544 signatures for Kenoi. Since the recall petition and required affidavit was filed on April 23, 2015, signatures needed to be submitted by August 21, 2015, to qualify the recall for the ballot. Moreover, the county charter required that voters equal to at least 50 percent of the electors that voted in the last county mayoral election cast a vote on the recall for the result to be valid. Ultimately, no signature petitions were submitted by the signature submission deadline, and the recall did not go to a vote.[1][2][5]
Impeachment alternative
Former Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle said that a successful petition for impeachment would be much easier to achieve, since it required signatures equal to only 2 percent of the votes cast in the last county election, amounting to about 2,100 signatures. After a successful impeachment petition, a judge, rather than the voters, would determine whether Kenoi retained his position or not.[2]
See also
External links
Additional reading
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "William + Kenoi + recall"
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Ballotpedia staff writer Josh Altic, "Telphone interview with Hawaii County Elections Office," September 24, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Hawaii News Now, "Impeachment talk targets Kenoi," April 14, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 West Hawaii Today, "Recall petition launched against Kenoi," April 29, 2015
- ↑ Hawaii County Government, "Hawaii County Charter, Article XII, Chapter 1," accessed May 5, 2015
