The man who is not facing charges for allegedly running over a woman without stopping shares the name — and blood — of one of the state’s top legislators.

But the high-ranking official, House Speaker Calvin Say, D-Palolo, maintains that he lacks political pull on Kaua‘i, stressing that he hasn’t spoken to his cousin, Byron Say, for more than 10 years.

“I don’t have any authority at the county level,” Calvin Say said yesterday. “I’m just a state public policy maker.”

Calvin Say’s uncle, Sun Kwong “Pauly” Say, of Hanalei, a former taro farmer, fisherman and Kaua‘i Police Commissioner for five years, was the well-known family member on the island, Calvin Say said.

“Pauly” Say died Jan. 6, 2004, at the age of 70.

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(Source: Amanda C. Gregg, Kauai Garden Island News)