Governor of Hawaii

The Governor of Hawaii, also called Ke Kia‘aina o Hawai‘i, is the chief executive of the State of Hawaii and its various agencies and departments, as provided in the Hawaii State Constitution Article V, Sections 1 through 6. It is a directly elected position, votes being cast by popular suffrage of residents of the state. The governor is responsible for enacting laws passed by the Hawaii State Legislature and upholding rulings of the Hawaii State Judiciary. The role includes being commander-in-chief of the armed forces of Hawaii and having the power to use those forces to execute laws, suppress insurrection and violence and repel invasion. The Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii becomes acting governor upon the governor's absence from the state or disability from discharging duties. Historically, the Governor of Hawaii has been from either the Democratic Party of Hawaii or Hawaii Republican Party.

Authority

Unlike all but one other state in the Union, Hawaii has only one elected statewide officer in the Governor of Hawaii. Also, the Governor of Hawaii has wide-reaching authority comparably stronger than the other governors in the Union. The government of Hawaii is more centralized than that of most other states, with little authority devolved to the counties, and unlike other states there are no local school districts. It is because of this central authority that the Governor of Hawaii is considered the most powerful executive of the governors in the United States. The governorship of Hawaii has often been characterized by the Honolulu Advertiser, Honolulu Star-Bulletin and various other local media as an elected monarchy. Included within the governor's sphere of jurisdiction is the power to appoint all judges of the various courts within the Hawaii judicial system. Hawaii is the only state that has no direct voter involvement in either the selection or retention of judges.

Related Topics:
Counties - School district - United States - Honolulu Advertiser - Honolulu Star-Bulletin - Monarchy - Judge

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The State of Hawaii does not have fixed cabinet positions and departments. By law, the Governor of Hawaii has the power to create his or her cabinet and departments as needed as long as the executive department is composed of no more than twenty bodies and cabinet members. The Governor of Hawaii is also empowered to remove cabinet officers at will, with the exception of the Attorney General of Hawaii, who must be removed by an act of the Hawaii State Senate.

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