Hawaii Reporter: Hawaii Reporter

Hee's Drama = Dissing Judicial=20 Nominee Fails to Stop Confirmation
The More=20 Hee Talked, The More Votes He Lost; Glenn Kim and Mark Recktenwald = Confirmed to First Circuit Court and Intermediate Court of = Appeals,=20 Respectively
By Malia Zimmerman, = 3/19/2007=20 3:21:41 PM

Honolulu Deputy Prosecutor Glenn Kim = and=20 Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Director Mark = Recktenwald sat=20 nervously in the Senate gallery at the Hawaii State Capitol on = Friday as=20 they waited for the 25-member Senate to vote on their judicial=20 nominations.=20

Selected by Gov. Linda Lingle from a list provided to her from = the=20 Judicial Selection Committee, Kim was up for First Circuit Court = Judge and=20 Recktenwald for Chief of the Intermediate Court of Appeals.=20

Kim and Recktenwald shouldn=E2=80=99t have had to be on edge, = but Senate=20 Judiciary Chair Clayton Hee made sure they were.=20

For three weeks prior, Hee made condescending statements about = them at=20 Senate Judiciary hearings and in the media, he threatened not to = =E2=80=9Cadvise=20 and consent=E2=80=9D on their nominations, and generally, acted = like a precocious=20 buffoon.=20

For the first hearing, Hee told Senate colleagues on his = committee that=20 he scheduled Glenn Kim first, for only an hour, because Kim would = have no=20 problems before the committee, whereas Hee was sure Recktenwald = would have=20 considerable trouble based on anonymous communications Hee = received.=20

Quite the opposite was true. Hee said one hour later, Hee got = negative=20 communications about Kim instead, and nothing negative about = Recktenwald=20 that could be confirmed. Hee turned his ire on Kim, spending a = full day on=20 his nomination and scheduling a second day to hear testimony on = Kim and=20 Recktenwald. At the end of a second 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. hearing, Hee = voted=20 against Kim=E2=80=99s nomination in committee and continued to = defame him to=20 colleagues and the public.

It didn=E2=80=99t matter to Hee that these men have sterling = reputations, are=20 excellent leaders and lawyers and have lived their lives with = integrity.=20

It didn=E2=80=99t matter to Hee that Recktenwald, a former = journalist, was one=20 of the few prestigious Deputy U.S. attorneys in Hawaii who went on = to=20 crack major white-collar cases, only leaving that job to become = one of=20 Gov. Linda Lingle=E2=80=99s 16 cabinet directors as head of the = Department of=20 Commerce and Consumer Affairs -- a department he reformed = considerably in=20 only 5 years.

It didn=E2=80=99t matter to Hee that Kim, a graduate of Kalani = High School,=20 received the Bronze Star in Vietnam for bravery, graduated from = the=20 University of Hawaii at the top in his law class, and received a = masters=20 and Ph.D. from Harvard, where he later taught, and currently is = the head=20 of the domestic violence unit at the City Prosecutor=E2=80=99s = office, a difficult=20 job to say the least.=20

Randy Roth, University of Hawaii Law Professor and co-author of = the=20 Broken Trust: Greed, Mismanagement and Political Manipulation = at=20 America=E2=80=99s Largest Charitable Trust, who had Kim as his = student, notes=20 over the last 32 years, he has taught approximately 2,000 law = students at=20 the William S. Richardson School of Law, and nearly 1,000 students = at=20 other law schools, including Denver University, Hamline = University,=20 Washburn University, University of Wisconsin and University of = Chicago.=20 "None of these 3,000 law students has impressed me more than has = Glenn=20 Kim."

Roth said he attended Kim's hearing before the Judiciary = Committee and=20 was embarrassed by the way the Chairman treated him: "In my = opinion, it is=20 nothing short of shameful."=20

There is no doubt by his actions this session and in recent = ones that=20 Hee thrives off drama and doesn=E2=80=99t mind stepping on someone = else=E2=80=99s hopes=20 and dreams just for kicks. Fortunately for Kim and Recktenwald, = Hee=E2=80=99s=20 notorious antics would backfire.

But leading up to that, the Senate gallery was packed with = supporters=20 of Kim and Recktenwald, including Gov. Linda Lingle, her chief of = staff=20 Bob Awana, her senior policy advisor Linda Smith and her senior = advisor of=20 communications Lenny Klompus. There was state Attorney General = Mark=20 Bennett who with Honolulu City Prosecutor Peter Carlisle and a = labor=20 leader supporter, helped lobby lawmakers behind the scenes. = Carlisle was=20 surrounded by several dozen friends of Kim from the Honolulu City=20 Prosecutors Office who took their lunch break or vacation time to = come and=20 support him.=20

Attorney General = Mark=20 Bennett, Glenn Kim and Gov. Linda Lingle breathe a = collective sigh=20 of relief after the grueling confirmation hearings for=20 Kim.

Several of spectators said they were shocked when the Senate = Democrats,=20 who make up 20 of the 25 seats, went behind closed doors into a = caucus=20 before voting on either man=E2=80=99s nomination. They were = further appalled when=20 Senate Democrats stayed behind closed doors for not one hour, not = two=20 hours, but almost two-and-a-half hours from 11:30 a.m. to 5 = minutes of 2=20 p.m. They had a complete disregard for the hungry crowd in the = gallery who=20 waited around with no estimate of when the Senate caucus would = reconvene,=20 and if they should run off and eat lunch, get a drink of water, or = feed=20 their parking meter.=20

Sources say that during that more than 2-hour, closed-door = caucus, Hee=20 made a long presentation as to why fellow Democrats should vote = against=20 Kim. The more Hee talked, the fewer Democrats sided with him and = the more=20 votes he lost. Sen. Clarence Nishihara, who while on Hee=E2=80=99s = Judiciary=20 committee voted against Kim at Hee=E2=80=99s urging, changed his = vote to a =E2=80=9Cyes=E2=80=9D=20 for Kim. One Democrat called that change = =E2=80=9Cremarkable.=E2=80=9D

Sen. Clayton Hee = objected=20 to Glenn Kim being confirmed as a judge. Hee was=20 overruled.

The majority of Senators just didn=E2=80=99t see why Hee was so = passionately=20 against Kim, even after they considered two = =E2=80=9Cwhistleblowers=E2=80=9D who came=20 forward to say they didn=E2=80=99t like Kim. The Democrats, who = refused to side=20 with Hee, said they didn=E2=80=99t have any solid examples of = Kim=E2=80=99s alleged bad=20 attitude and noted more than 100 testimonies in his favor, along = with the=20 unanimous endorsements of the Hawaii Bar Association, the Judicial = Selection Commission and the governor. They refused to disclose = their=20 votes in caucus, despite Hee's request.

Those who did side with Hee said they=E2=80=99d already = promised their vote to=20 him, or wanted to appease the two =E2=80=9Cwhistleblowers=E2=80=9D = who came forward.

Former Senate President Robert Bunda didn=E2=80=99t even bother = to go into the=20 Democrats=E2=80=99 caucus -- he already knew he and his faction = would support Kim.=20 Bunda worked busily at his desk and chatted briefly with the 5 = Republicans=20 who were frozen out of the Democrats=E2=80=99 secret discussion. = All Republicans=20 supported both Hee and Kim.=20

Sen. Sam Slom = votes in=20 favor of confirming Glenn Kim as a=20 judge.

For the final vote, Recktenwald received unanimous support by = all 25=20 Senators - Hee had abandoned an attempt to "diss" Recktenwald.=20

Mark Recktenwald = shines in=20 his confirmation = hearings.

Instead, Hee launched into a nearly 30 minute speech on why Kim = wasn=E2=80=99t=20 a good choice for judge, saying repeatedly =E2=80=9Cwith all due = respect,=E2=80=9D but=20 several other Senators jumped up and passionately gave Kim their = ringing=20 endorsement.=20

On the final vote, Hee only received the support of 8 other = Senators.=20 Sixteen Senate members voted in favor of Kim. The gallery of = supporters=20 gave the Senate a standing ovation.

Fans in the stands = (Gallery) at the state Senate give the Senators a standing = ovation=20 for confirming Glenn Kim as a=20 judge.

It is an extremely rare occurrence in the Senate for the Senate = Democrats to so strongly go against a chair=E2=80=99s suggestion, = but some said=20 they don=E2=80=99t feel close to Hee, quite the contrary, and so = didn=E2=80=99t mind=20 voting their conscience.=20

Some political junkies speculate on what this might do to = Senate=20 factions, several that split their vote for and against Kim -- or = what=20 this vote might do to Colleen Hanabusa=E2=80=99s power as Senate = President.

As one gallery observer said, "Hawaii Politics 101: If you = shoot, no=20 miss."=20

But Senate Democrats say, although the vote was significant and = rare,=20 it had the =E2=80=9CHee factor=E2=80=9D thrown in, and frankly, = many of the Democrats are=20 not fans of his.

But the Kim-Recktenwald nominations, which ultimately succeeded = after=20 wasted weeks, unnecessary stress, just plain meanness on = Hee=E2=80=99s part, and a=20 "grueling" experience, as Kim says, is just one act in a session = long=20 drama.

Several of the governor=E2=80=99s appointees to boards, = commissions,=20 directorships and University Board of Regents, must pass muster = this=20 session.=20

The next "victim" on the Senate Democrats=E2=80=99 list is = Iwalani White, a=20 former deputy prosecutor who is now up for reappointment as the = director=20 of the state Public Safety division.=20

White=E2=80=99s initial confirmation hearings are scheduled = this week. Senate=20 Committee Chair Wil Espero, through Senate President Hanabusa, has = already=20 issued 9 subpoenas to witnesses planning to speak against her. = Senate=20 Democrats say White=E2=80=99s confirmation hearings are expected = to be=20 considerably worse than that of Kim=E2=80=99s and = Recktenwald=E2=80=99s, and in the end,=20 she will not likely be reappointed.

After White=E2=80=99s future is determined, a whole new drama = will unfold over=20 the confirmation of the University of Hawaii Board of Regents -- = the very=20 group who this attack-political trend started over when Hee was = chair of=20 the Senate Higher Education Committee.

One thing for sure -- those in the gallery and committee = hearings for=20 Kim/Recktenwald said Friday they don=E2=80=99t plan on accepting = any public=20 service positions, no matter how miniscule or how great, if it = will force=20 them to get the approval of the Senate. Most believe they would = never have=20 the "judicial temperament" that Hee says candidates must - = especially if=20 they had to endure Hee's ridiculous theatrics.=20

VOTES AGAINST KIM

Senators Clayton Hee, Kalani English, Gary Hooser, David = Ige,=20 Russell Kokubun, Norman Sakamoto, Jill Tokuda, Shan Tsutsui and = Colleen=20 Hanabusa

VOTES FOR KIM

Senators Robert Bunda, Loraine Inouye, Roz Baker, Suzie Chun = Oakland, Wil Espero, Carol Fukunaga, Les Ihara, Donna Mercado Kim, = Clarence Nishihara, Ron Menor, Brian Taniguchi, Sam Slom, Fred = Hemmings,=20 Gordon Trimble, Mike Gabbard, and Paul Whalen.

Reach Malia Zimmerman, editor and president of Hawaii = Reporter, can=20 be reached via email at mailto:Malia@hawaiireporter.com

Blonde=20 Uprising...