Aloha Madam Chair and County Council,
Aloha Madam Chair and County Council,
I am writing you in concern about the appointment of Bobby Jean Leithead-Todd as Director of Environmental Management. This nomination comes inspite of the fact that in 2010 Hawaii County residents voted in favor of a charter amendment to require that “the director shall have had a minimum of five years of administrative experience in a related field and an engineering degree or a degree in a related field”.
As the council, you have the obligation to uphold the will of the voters. We are also in the middle of a waste crisis and need firm, experienced leadership. I have friends that served in the county under this appointee and they were under severe stress because of the lack of leadership during their time. I have a degree in natural resource planning and understand the issues are not simple or easy, however, to make informed decisions, a firm educational background about the issues becomes a very important tool.
Leithead-Todd has an undergraduate in English and therefore does not qualify under the Charter Amendment that passed in 2010 requiring a degree in a related field.
Steve Sakala
Registered voter,
South Kona