The winner of at least one important Hawaiʻi legislative seat will not be decided in Saturday’s primary.

That’s because Gov. Josh Green is expected to announce as early as Sunday his pick to fill the Senate District 18 seat that has been vacant since Michelle Kidani retired suddenly June 30.

Several people who have been involved in the selection process say the new senator is likely to be Danielle Bass, the sustainability coordinator for the state Office of Planning and Sustainable Development.

But the appointment has some Democrats grumbling about a confusing appointment process, a lack of public involvement in electing a public official and the fact that Bass was a legislative manager for former Rep. Ryan Yamane before becoming sustainability coordinator in 2017, when the position was created.

Leo Asuncion Jr. was director of the planning office when Bass was hired and welcomed her to the position, saying, “Danielle’s experience in public policy and advocacy, legislative management, grants and project management, and community involvement will certainly contribute towards the state’s progress in meeting and achieving our sustainability goals.”

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Yamane and Asuncion, you no doubt heard, were indicted July 24 along with Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke and two others in a state public corruption investigation. All except one have pleaded not guilty to bribery charges. That person, Tobi Solidum, is thought to be in the Phillipines.

Voters in District 18 (Mililani Town, Waipio Gentry, Crestview, Waikele, a portion of Waipahu, Village Park and Royal Kunia) were already shut out of having an open primary for Kidani’s replacement because the senator, who was having health problems, did not announce her retirement until it was too late for candidates to file to run for the seat.

Bass was one of three people who applied for the vacant seat last month to the Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi Oʻahu County Committee. The other two are Sechyi Laiu, a senior Hawaiʻi civil service administrator, and Beth Fukumoto, a former Republican state representative who joined the Democratic Party in 2017.

The governor will pick one to fill the seat temporarily, only until Nov. 3, the day of the general election.

Meanwhile, the political parties — not the district’s voters — will each pick a candidate to run in the general election. The ballot is expected to include a Democrat, a Republican, a Libertarian and a Green. The state elections office also will come up with a nonpartisan candidate.

But Bass is considered the Democratic frontrunner to be on that ballot in November, too.

Oʻahu Democrats are expected to meet Aug. 19 to select their candidate, and the 23-member area district council that will make that decision includes Bass and several family members.

Fukumoto and her family members are also on the council but appear to lack the votes to select her.

In another twist, the Hawaiʻi Republican Party is considering nominating Lauren Matsumoto to be on the Nov. 3 ballot. Matsumoto, a veteran legislator and the minority leader in the Hawaiʻi House of Representatives, is considered a strong candidate who would appeal in a district where the GOP has already shown traction.

It’s unclear whether Matsumoto, who is unopposed for reelection this year, will run for the Senate. But a Hawaiʻi attorney general opinion released July 1 suggests that Matsumoto could resign her seat and still run in the general election.

Rep. Trish La Chica, a Democrat whose House District 37 shares areas of Senate District 18, could in theory also be allowed to run — as long as nonpartisan candidate Emil Svrcina does not clear a vote threshold to advance to the general.

But in another illustration of how incestuous the political process is, La Chica’s Democratic primary opponent is Trevor Nagamine, another member of the district council.

Oʻahu County Chair Lynn Robinson Onderko confirmed Friday that La Chica (whose husband is also on the district council) recused herself from the process to select a general election candidate.

The district council plans to meet by Zoom on Aug. 19 — the deadline for people to apply for the seat — and give candidates 3 minutes each to speak.

Each member of the selection body will then cast a vote for only one candidate. Bass is said to have a lock on a majority of the votes, according to people who have been involved in the process.

The Green and Libertarian parties will also get to choose a general election candidate for District 18, but no member of either party has ever been elected to the Hawaiʻi Legislature. Same goes for a nonpartisan candidate, even though an NP candidate will also be on the ballot by means of a lottery run by the Hawaiʻi Office of Elections.

As if that weren’t convoluted enough, Kidani’s replacement is likely to influence leadership coalitions in the Senate, where Ron Kouchi is president and Donovan Dela Cruz is running for another term Saturday. The 25-member Senate could well have a few new faces when it convenes in January.

Three well-known Democrats I spoke with said the whole process looks shady at a time when favoritism and inside deals are making headlines. (Not to mention getting people indicted.)

“There’s got to be a better way to handle resignations,” one party member told me. “It’s a dumb system.”

That it is, and undemocratic.

But the party and AG have little room to maneuver, as a new law this year established the replacement process.

The Legislature, of course, could change the law. Stay tuned.