During the “Justice Reinvestment” press conference earlier Tuesday (Jan. 17), Gov. Neil Abercrombie turned most of the hosting duties over to Jodie Maesaka-Hirata, his Public Safety director.

That made sense, as “JRI” is Maesaka-Hirata’s kuleana. But then, the governor actually sat down in a chair near reporters and watched most of the press conference from the sides before returning for the final Q&A.

One other thing: He whispered to state Sen. Sam Slom, asking him to speak during the presser even though Slom was not on the program. The Republican from Hawaii Kai dutifully did as the governor asked.