The confirmation of Mark Recktenwald as Hawaii’s new Supreme Court chief justice was everything the state Senate’s Aug. 6 vote against would-be CJ Katherine Leonard was not.

There was no mention about lack of administrative experience, no worries about ratings from the Hawaii State Bar Association, no mention of which law school the nominee graduated from, no hint of politics and gender influencing the vote.

Recktenwald’s confirmation — a 22-0 vote, with only Democrat Les Ihara Jr. absent — only took a few minutes. No long and winding oratory from Democrat Clayton Hee and Republican Sam Slom this time.

Gov. Linda Lingle didn’t even bother to attend the vote, which was held in the State Capitol Auditorium because the Senate chamber is being used to prepare for the Sept. 18 primary vote.

Afterwards, each senator embraced the new CJ and posed for photos. It was like a wedding, or even a coronation — and the polar opposite of Leonard’s public humiliation.

It was only one month ago that Brian Taniguchi, chairman of the judiciary committee, told his colleagues, “I have serious doubt that Judge Leonard can lead the judiciary at this point in her career. The chief justice positon is so important that it is not one that someone can grow into.”

Today, Democrat Taniguchi hummed a different tune: “We were assured from, and numerous people testified that, he will serve well in his capacity as chief justice…We are entrusting Justice Recktenwald with great responsibility, and I am convinced he can do the job.”

Another Democrat, Kalani English, who was traveling during the Leonard vote, said of Recktenwald, “With Mark’s leadership and his ability to bring people together, we will see a strong judiciary that is very receptive to the innovation of our times…My support comes from my relationship working with him. It takes a great person to change their mind, and this is what I have seen in Mr. Recktenwald in issues in the past when he was DCCA (Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs) director. That is a mark of a great person.”

Don’t take Democrats’ word for it. Here’s Sen. Slom on Hawaii’s new CJ:

“You can look at the measure of a man on educational environment, and that is superior, from his experience, and it is superior, and his writing ability, and it is superior,” said Slom, who had fought in vain to save Leonard’s nomination. “But more important than all of that was his relationship with his peers. Even people he had ruled against respected him because of his fairness. I think that the nomination of (Justice) Recktenwald at this time represents the right man at the right time for the right job.”

To the surprise of no one familiar with Slom’s locutionary predilection, he continued, “I think that we can safely say that (Justice) Recktenwald as chief justice will be a beacon for true judicial reform in the state of Hawaii. His passion is for alternative dispute resolution, something that will touch everyone in the community. So I wholeheartedly endorse his confirmation.”

Meet the New Bosses

In a statement released after the Senate vote, Lingle did a little gushing of her own.

“Over the past year as a Supreme Court Associate Justice and two years prior as Chief Judge of the Intermediate Court of Appeals, Chief Justice-Designee Recktenwald’s performance has been exceptional,” she said. “The public’s comments and testimony — from individuals in the legal community and across the political spectrum — gave us further insight into his strong legal intellect, thoughtful leadership and upstanding character.”

Lingle did not bother to mention that Recktenwald was not her first pick. Nor did she recall her complaint after the Leonard nomination was torpedoed that the Senate had been hypocritical in asking for more women on the bench.

Recktenwald, 54, is Hawaii’s fifth chief justice since statehood — all of them men. He’s also the first new CJ in 17 years and the first haole to lead the high court.

Recktenwald is a graduate of Harvard University and the University of Chicago Law School. He replaces Ronald Moon, who retired Tuesday. (By law, Hawaii justices must retire at age 70.)

His term, which can be renewed, is for 10 years.

The judiciary is one of two branches of government — and maybe three — that will see a leadership change this year.

The term-limited Lingle must step down by Dec. 6. State Senate President Colleen Hanabusa is running for Congress this year, while state House Speaker Calvin Say is up for re-election.