Gov. Linda Lingle and Democratic leaders in the state House of Representatives are caught in an unusual stalemate with new state Rep. Bev Harbin, who has refused calls by the Republican governor to resign and is no longer embraced — if she ever truly was — by Democrats in her own party.

Lingle is powerless to rescind her appointment of Harbin to fill a vacancy in House District 28 (Iwilei, Downtown, Makiki). Harbin's mistake — she failed to tell the governor's staff about $125,000 in state tax debts and misdemeanor criminal convictions for writing bad checks — does not disqualify her from office.

Some at the state Capitol said they hoped an outcry from Harbin's constituents would cause her to reconsider, while political observers could not recall a similar situation.

"It's pretty bizarre," said Neal Milner, a political science professor at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa, who believes the appointment could undermine the governor's image. Restoring trust and integrity in government was a leading theme of Lingle's 2002 campaign.

"It's not going to help," Milner said. "The fact that they did such a bad job of vetting this person is counter to the kind of image she (Lingle) has."

But Sam Aiona, the state Republican Party chairman, said he does not think Lingle's reputation has been damaged. "If the governor knew then what she knows now, she wouldn't have appointed her," he said.

Lingle explained yesterday in a radio interview that she asked Harbin to resign because she felt Harbin misrepresented herself while being considered for the appointment. House leaders would likely not attempt to censure or expel Harbin for her past behavior, but might act if the governor were to claim the appointment was obtained through fraud. Under that option, a House select committee would likely be named to review the appointment and recommend any punishment.

Other Democrats said they want to change the appointment process. State Rep. Brian Schatz, D-25th (Makiki, Tantalus), said he would propose legislation next session to require the governor to fill vacancies from candidates recommended by the political parties. Lingle was required under state law to replace former Rep. Ken Hiraki with another Democrat, but she had the option of choosing Harbin, a small-business advocate, over the four candidates recommended by the Democratic Party of Hawai'i.

Earlier this year, when Lingle appointed Mele Carroll to replace former state Rep. Sol Kaho'ohalahala in House District 13, which covers East Maui, Moloka'i and Lana'i, she had first set up a bipartisan screening panel that included top Democrats on Maui. Russell Pang, a spokesman for Lingle, said the panel was used because it was the first time the governor had to fill a legislative vacancy and because the district spans three islands.

Lingle publicly invited Democrats to apply to replace Hiraki but did not use a similar screening panel, mainly because the governor had been through the process before and the Ho-nolulu district was smaller, Pang said. But some Democrats believe that the governor purposely snubbed their recommendations for political reasons.

"She had established a process and she disregarded it this time," Schatz said.

Harbin joined the party only after learning of Hiraki's resignation and initially said she would not run when the term expires in 2006, which would create an open seat in a district where Republican Collin Wong barely lost to Hiraki in 2004. Lingle has said she chose Harbin because she would bring another small-business perspective to the Legislature.

Schatz said the circumstances of Harbin's appointment and the disclosures about her past will make it difficult for her to function as a lawmaker. "I question whether the district has effective representation," he said.

People who live and work in the district also said Harbin has become a distraction.

"I think to be fair to the community she is supposed to represent, she should resign," said John Breinich, chairman of the Ala Moana-Kaka'ako Neighborhood Board, who was not speaking for the board. "It just puts us in a very bad position because I don't know how effective she can be."

Lynne Matusow, a Democratic activist who leads the Downtown Neighborhood Board, said Harbin has lost her credibility.

"People want her out," said Matusow, who was not speaking for the board. "She doesn't seem to understand the difference between right and wrong."

Reach Derrick DePledge at ddepledge@honoluluadvertiser.com.