THE LABRADOR’S LABYRINTH

THE LABRADOR’S LABYRINTH: We now have a new administration on Kaua`i and though it was probably illegal for once and future Council Chair and current fleeting Mayor Kaipo Asing to delay taking office there is one thing that there’s no disputing if you read the Kaua`i County charter.

Kaua`i was without a Mayor for the 11 days between when Asing was “appointed” mayor and the day he took his oath of office.

While Administrative Assistant Gary Heu legally took office after the death of Mayor Bryan Baptiste, the Charter is clear on one thing- he ceased to be mayor when Asing was selected, no matter when Asing thinks he took office.

Section 7.06 of the Kaua`i County Charter states:

(I)n case of a vacancy in the office of the mayor, until a new mayor is appointed or elected, the administrative assistant shall act as mayor.

As we harped upon a few weeks back Asing and the County Attorney he carries around in his pocket gave some mumbo jumbo about the resignation from the council and swearing-in allowing him to apparently be both Council Chair and Mayor.

The charter makes it quite apparent that the new appointee becomes mayor upon the selection or “appointment” by the council but it does not state this in so many words

So of course when Kaipo “so sue me” Asing and his fellow Minotaur “Judge”- County Attorney Matthew Pyun saw that they could make up some cockamamie excuse to hold onto power long enough to allow Asing to pass legislation as a Council member and then sign it as mayor, they punched a hole in the wall, called it a loophole and dragged the county through it.

Apparently, according to Pyun’s First Deputy Harrison Kawate the Charter doesn’t count because “general practice” calls for something different than that which is described under the actual law.

The only excuse they didn’t use is that the Charter didn’t specifically require him to ask “mother may I’ before he took his baby steps between appointment and ceremonial inauguration before taking the giant one from the council chambers across the street into the dark recesses of the Round Building.

We did however hear a rumor that the decision was based on the lack a “Simon Says” provision in the Charter.

Even assuming this perversion of justice in the name of paternalism- Kaipo’s singular obsession- is legal or even moot now that the deed is done, the Charter is extremely clear that Hue ceased to be Mayor when Asing was appointed not when the appointee took office. It says “the administrative assistant shall act as mayor... until a new mayor is appointed”.

Unless Webster’s and our understanding of the word “until” is inaccurate the concept creates a timeline when something ceases to be true- in this case Hue’s `okole’s placement in the mayor’s seat.

So what? “What” is that any action by Heu during those 11 days is null and void for official purposes. And anyone effected by any official documents he might have signed may now consider them to be invalid.

The traditional secrecy and incompetence of the administration on Kaua`i may prevent us from ever finding out what official actions were taken in the last 11 days of the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it Heu administration but we will be reporting on our request for the information.


We’ll leave you with the apparent anthem of Kaua`i County Government http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69b2Fcd4m5A



The Minotaur Song
by the Incredible String Band

Straight from the shoulder
I think like a soldier
I know what's right and what's wrong
He knows what's right and what's wrong.

I'm the original discriminating buffalo man
And I'll do what's wrong as long as I can
He'll do what's wrong as long as he can

I live in a labyrinth under the sea
Down in the dark as dark as can be
I like the dark as dark as can be
He likes the dark as dark as can be

I'll even attack you or eat you whole
Down in the dark my bone mills roll
Porridge for my porridge bowl
Porridge for his porridge bowl

I'm strong as the earth from which I'm born
He's strong as the earth from which he's born
I can't dream well because of my horns
He can't dream well because of his horns

Moo

I'm strong as the earth from which I'm born
He's strong as the earth from which he's born
I can't dream well because of my horns
He can't dream well because of his horns

A minotaur gets very sore
His features they are such a bore
His habits are predicta-bull
Aggressively relia-bull, bull, bull

I'm strong as the earth from which I'm born
He's strong as the earth from which he's born
I can't dream well because of my horns
He can't dream well because of his horns

I'm the original discriminating buffalo man
And I'll do what's wrong as long as I can
He'll do what's wrong as long as he can