HILO — Hawaii Island will start 2017 with two state-level leadership positions still waiting to be filled. ADVERTISING HILO — Hawaii Island will start 2017 with two state-level leadership positions still waiting to be filled. Applications for candidates to fill
HILO — Hawaii Island will start 2017 with two state-level leadership positions still waiting to be filled.
Applications for candidates to fill one of the two Hawaii County seats on the University of Hawaii Board of Regents were due Sept. 30. The seat was vacated by the early September resignation of Barry Mizuno, who died Nov. 26.
But a lack of a quorum on the Regents Candidate Advisory Council has left the applications still to be evaluated. The board, which at capacity has seven voting and one nonvoting member, is short four voting members.
That means Gov. David Ige must appoint at least one new member to the advisory council, have the council review candidates for the Regents post and send names of three candidates to him. Ige will then pick a candidate, who must then be confirmed by the state Senate.
Ige also must appoint someone to fill the House District 2 seat vacated by the Nov. 15 death of Rep. Clift Tsuji. The governor is required to choose, within 60 calendar days from the vacancy, from a list of three selected by the political party of the official leaving the seat. Friday marked the 45th day.
Some fear the long delays could indicate Ige is tone deaf to the special challenges of serving on the Legislature from the neighbor islands, and the pressure neighbor island institutions such as universities feel competing for state dollars with facilities closer to the center of power on Oahu.
With the state poised to settle its biennial budget and looming issues for the University of Hawaii at Hilo such as the Thirty Meter Telescope, there’s no time to waste getting the posts filled, they said.
“You lose that voice at the table,” said state Sen. Kai Kahele, a Democrat representing the Hilo area.
“It’s a major concern for us,” said Jerry Chang, director of UHH university relations.
Chang, as well as Hawaii County Regent Wayne Higaki, said the Board of Regents tends to take a statewide look at issues, so that helps overcome the representation shortfall.
“The beauty of the way it works today is all of the regents represent the entire state,” said Higaki. “But it’s always better to have the full complement. … It’s better to have both regents representing the island.”
Kahele said he remembers the scramble his father, the late state Sen. Gil Kahele, went through when former Gov. Neil Abercrombie appointed him just four days before the legislative session began. The session begins Jan. 18 this year.
“The more time you give someone the better,” Kahele said, adding that the new lawmaker needs time to get office space, staff and a place to live. “It’s a sacrifice to serve on Oahu.”
It won’t be long now, Ige spokeswoman Cindy McMillan said Friday.
“The governor has talked with each of the nominees to fill the late Rep. Tsuji’s seat,” McMillan said Friday in an emailed response. “He recognizes the need to allow the new representative time to prepare for the upcoming legislative session and will be making an appointment shortly.”
The more complicated process to get a new regent in place means the appointee would unlikely be in place in time for the Board of Regents Jan. 12 meeting, where a committee is set to discuss the University of Hawaii at Hilo’s planned aviation program.
“The governor understands that the university plays a critical role in the community and is thoughtfully considering the candidates for the advisory council,” McMillan said. “He is planning to make appointments early in the new year.”
