Decision forthcoming to fill 2 state House vacancies

Jan. 24—A social worker, a fire commissioner and a couple of current or former County Council members are in the running to fill two vacant seats in Hawaii's Legislature.

A social worker, a fire commissioner and a couple of current or former County Council members are in the running to fill two vacant seats in Hawaii's Legislature.

The two vacancies in the House of Representatives were created in December when Gov. Josh Green appointed then-Reps. Ryan Yamane and James Tokioka, both Democrats representing parts of Oahu and Kauai, respectively, to positions in Green's administration.

Green said last week that he planned to decide and reveal who he names to fill the two vacancies a week following Monday's State of the State address, in part to give the Legislature time to settle in after Wednesday's opening session and November's election, which added many new lawmakers.

"The reason I am waiting that extra week although we have two months is because they've been doing a lot of work, " he said. "I am so appreciative of the hard work that Speaker (Scott ) Saiki has done to organize his House, and he deserves to have that moment to settle in before I have to fill those seats."

Under state law the governor is to pick a replacement lawmaker for a vacated seat within 60 days from a list of three candidates selected by the political party to which the prior incumbent belonged.

Oahu Democratic Party officials about two weeks ago sent Green names of three possible appointees for the Waipio-Mililani district previously represented by Yamane, who had served in the House since 2005 and was named deputy director of the Department of Human Resources Development.

One of the three nominees was Ron Menor, who died unexpectedly last week after a medical emergency at the age of 67.

The governor praised the former state lawmaker and Honolulu Council member as a dedicated public servant.

Because of Menor's death, Green is left to choose between Charlotte Nekota and Trish La Chica.

Nekota, a longtime Honolulu Fire Commission member who is executive director of the Hawaii Optometric Association, has served in the Legislature before.

In mid-2000 she was appointed by then-Gov. Ben Cayetano to fill a House seat vacated by Menor, whom Caye ­tano had appointed to fill a Senate seat vacated by Randy Iwase after Iwase left his Senate seat to join a state board. At that time Nekota had been Iwase's office manager and senior aide for 10 years. In the 2000 election, Nekota lost to Republican challenger Guy Ontai.

La Chica previously held public-policy positions at AlohaCare and the Hawaii Public Health Institute, and until July had been executive director of the City Office of Housing and Homelessness. Two years ago she unsuccessfully ran to represent a neighboring House district to the one Yamane represented. In that 2020 race, La Chica lost to Republican Val Okimoto, who left the Legislature in 2022 to compete for a City Council seat that she won in a contest with Menor.

For the Kauai vacancy, a list of three nominees was sent to Green on Friday to replace Tokioka, who was named deputy director of the Department of Transportation's Airports Division and was initially elected in 2006 to the House district now representing Wailua-Lihue after then-Rep. Ezra Kanoho retired.

The three candidates are :—Mason Chock Jr., a co-founding member and former executive director of the nonprofit Leadership Kauai who spent nine years on the Kauai County Council.—Luke Evslin, a current Kauai County Council member first elected in 2018.—Nikki Cristobal, co-founder and executive director of the nonprofit Kama ­waelualani, who also has served as a social worker and clinical specialist through Child & Family Service for foster youth and survivors of domestic violence.------Staff writer Tori DeJournett contributed to this report.