HONOLULU — A special panel of state lawmakers decided Rep. Calvin Say meets the qualifications to serve in the House of Representatives, saying there was no compelling evidence behind a group of voters’ claims that Say doesn’t live in the district he represents.
The state House committee was formed to investigate the latest challenge to former Speaker Say’s residency.
The panel voted unanimously Friday to keep Say seated in the House after a hearing that lasted less than 10 minutes.
“There was no compelling evidence brought to the attention of the committee, presented at the hearing or discovered by the committee during its investigation into the matter that persuaded the committee to conclude that Speaker Emeritus Say was not a resident of the 20th District,” Rep. Karl Rhoads said. “Therefore, your special committee finds that Speaker Emeritus Say is qualified to sit as the member representing the 20th District. No further action is recommended.”
The recommendation now goes to the full House for a vote.
“We’re disappointed, but it’s not unexpected,” said attorney Lance Collins, who represents voters who challenged Say’s residency. “In terms of court cases, the only court cases that are investigated this quickly and determined this quickly are parking tickets. So, if that’s the level of investigation the House is going to do, I don’t know if that’s really an investigation.”
It was the first time the state Legislature has taken up a challenge to one of its lawmakers’ qualifications.
Voters have been challenging Say about where he lives since 2006, saying he lives in Pauoa Valley, not Palolo Valley, where he grew up and owns a home. Say has said that when he was speaker and chairman of the House Finance Committee, he spent more time in his family’s home in Pauoa Valley, where his wife and sons now reside. But he says he now lives in the Palolo home, and he always intended to return there.
Say did not attend the hearing Friday, but he issued a statement after the vote.
“The House special committee has done its due diligence and found, like other investigative bodies before it, that there is no basis for this challenge,” Say said. “For me, I hope we can finally put this behind us and get on with the people’s business. Throughout the nine years of these challenges, I have seen these matters put squarely in the hands of my constituents and they have seen fit to return me to office each time.”
After the meeting, Rhoads explained there was nothing in the evidence that was even close to proving Say abandoned his residency in Palolo Valley. Say never rented the home out, and he kept belongings there that one would keep in a home, Rhoads said.
Rhoads said people can have two houses, and the law isn’t as black and white as people might want it to be.
“How can you really prove it? You’d have to put like a camera in the guy’s bedroom or something,” Rhoads said, adding that there’s no budget for such a camera and it would be incredibly intrusive.
