SHHHH

SHHHH: There was a plethora of reported jaw dropping among Governor Linda Lingle and her cronies over the “Hawaii State Bar Association's board of directors' rating of appeals Judge Katherine Leonard as ‘unqualified’ to be Hawaii's next chief justice”.

Strangely enough the news of the rejection of Leonard by the bar wasn’t Starvetizer courts reporter Ken Kobayashi’s lede but instead he stressed the professed outrage of Lingle and her republican cronies in the legislature over the secrecy of the bar’s vote.

But we’ve got a lowered mandible ourselves over Lingle’s colossal nerve to criticize the closed vote, especially considering her own legacy of clandestine operations and the notorious way judges in Hawai`i wield their retaliatory sway over attorneys and others in the judiciary, according to many we’ve spoken to over the years.

Lingle and her administration’s abuse of Hawai`i open records laws has been notorious but for those who want to hear the ultimate story of fear and loathing they need turn no farther than legislative staffer Doug White’s recently revived Poinography blog.

Doug finally explained what he was up to in the year plus absence of his popular blog by telling one of those hilarious-if-it-wasn’t-so-serious tales of the runaround he got over a simple record request of the Lingle administration- not to mention the invoice for his temerity in requesting the records for Lingle’s requests for input on the bills she threatened to veto after the 2009 legislative session.

In My UIPA saga – a $1582.15, twelve month struggle White recounts the evasions, lies, delays and the incredible barriers he experienced at the hands of the Lingle administration making any charges of secrecy from her a joke.

We won’t even attempt to truncate the tale- you’ve got to read it for yourself as well as the indexing and posting of the results which White is busily compiling which are already painting a picture of consultation with everyone who is guaranteed to support her position and avoidance of anyone who might dissent.

Also notable is the lack of consultation with the Lt. Governor and current gubernatorial candidate Duke Aiona regarding which we’ll allow you to draw your own conclusions.

Lingle’s legacy of covert governance and feigned outrage over every perceived slight takes a backseat to no other past state administration’s- and that’s saying a lot.