The Senate Committee on Labor and Technology confirmed a slate of gubernatorial nominees at a March 7 hearing in Conference Room 224 at the State Capitol. In a single decision-making sequence the committee adopted recommendations to advise and consent for multiple governor’s messages covering appointments to state boards and advisory bodies.

Key confirmations included:
- Kelly Oeoka, nominated to the Hawaii Technology Development Corporation (HTDC), term to expire June 30, 2028. The committee adopted the recommendation to advise and consent for GM 660; Chair Aquino, Senator Ihara and Senator Moriwaki recorded “aye” votes during the decision on this item.
- Fonokalafi (Fono) Meci, nominated to the Hoisting Machine Operators Advisory Board, term to expire June 30, 2028 (GM 529). Committee recommendation: advise and consent (adopted).
- Ken Louie, reappointment to the Hawaii Workforce Development Council (GM 502). Committee recommendation: advise and consent (adopted).
- Jared Higashi, nomination(s) to the Hawaii Workforce Development Council covering two related messages (GM 581 and GM 690) for staggered terms; committee recommendation: advise and consent for both messages (adopted).
- Eric Nocchi (recorded in transcript variously as “Eric Nocchi/Nucci/Noguchi”), nominated to the board of trustees of the Deferred Compensation Plan (GM 571). Committee recommendation: advise and consent (adopted). Transcript contains name variants; committee adopted recommendation.
- Tai Nohara, nominated to the Deferred Compensation Plan board (GM 667); committee recommendation: advise and consent (adopted).
- David Louie, nominated to the Employees’ Retirement System board (term to Jan. 1, 2030; GM 560). Numerous elected officials and former governors testified in his support; committee recommendation: advise and consent (adopted).
- Christine Sekuda (GM 641), confirmed as state chief information officer; see separate article for detailed coverage of her testimony on AI, data governance and training.
- Dwight Takamine, nominated as chair of the Hawaii Labor Relations Board (GM 580), term to expire June 30, 2030; committee recommendation: advise and consent (adopted).

Most nominees offered brief opening remarks and drew oral and written support from agency directors, labor unions, trade associations and other stakeholders. Several nominations drew more extended discussion: Kelly Oeoka discussed workforce development and keeping tech talent in Hawaii; Ken Louie described the Workforce Development Council’s strategic state plan and staffing improvements; Jared Higashi emphasized tourism-sector workforce initiatives; and David Louie received multiple endorsements including from a former governor who stressed ERS oversight during market volatility.

Where the transcript records specific roll-call statements they are noted above; for many items the committee adopted the recommendation to advise and consent without a full roll-call recorded in the provided transcript. Each confirmed nomination now moves to the next step in the confirmation process per statutory procedure.

Votes at a glance (committee action): All governor’s messages considered in the hearing were reported out with the committee recommendation to advise and consent. For items where individual aye votes were recorded in the transcript, those are indicated above; other items were adopted by the committee with “all members present” language and no roll-call details in the transcript.

Provenance: Topic introductions and decision blocks for each confirmed nomination are recorded in the committee transcript and are cited below.

Provenance (GM 660 - Kelly Oeoka topicintro): “Submitting for consideration and confirmation to the Hawaii Technology Development Corporation, nominee Kelly Oeoka for a term to expire on 06/30/2028.” (Transcript block starting at 1042.995)
Provenance (GM 660 - decision): Decision block where the committee adopted recommendation for GM 660 and recorded ayes (decision block at ~5460.63–5478.52).

Provenance (GM 529 - Fono Meci topicintro): “For consideration and confirmation to the Hoisting Machine Operators Advisory Report. Nominee is Fono Kalafi, Meci, for a term to expire 06/30/2028.” (Transcript block starting at 1640.13)
Provenance (GM 529 - decision): Decision block where recommendation to advise and consent was adopted (decision blocks at ~5488.52–5504.835).

Provenance (GM 502 - Ken Louie topicintro): Ken Louie’s opening remarks introducing his experience and plan for the Workforce Development Council (Transcript block starting at 1845.2351).
Provenance (GM 502 - decision): Decision block noting recommendation adopted (decision blocks at ~5510.37–5530.815).

Provenance (GM 581/GM 690 - Jared Higashi topicintro): Jared Higashi’s testimony introducing his workforce priorities for tourism (Transcript block starting at 2178.03).
Provenance (GM 581/690 - decision): Decision block where the committee adopted recommendations for both messages (decision blocks at ~5539.8–5551.6753).

Provenance (GM 571 - Eric Nocchi topicintro): “We have nominee Eric Nocchi.” followed by nominee remarks (Transcript block starting at 2642.47). Note: transcript includes name variants; article records as presented in hearing.
Provenance (GM 571 - decision): Decision block where recommendation was adopted (decision blocks at ~5565.49–5574.29).

Provenance (GM 667 - Tai Nohara topicintro): Tai Nohara’s opening remarks as nominee for deferred compensation board (Transcript block starting at 2817.7898).
Provenance (GM 667 - decision): Decision block where recommendation was adopted (decision blocks at ~5584.745–5592.205).

Provenance (GM 560 - David Louie topicintro): David Louie’s opening remarks and endorsements (Transcript block starting at 2969.61 and supporting testimony starting at 3049.74).
Provenance (GM 560 - decision): Decision block where recommendation was adopted (decision blocks at ~5599.15–5604.77).

Provenance (GM 641 - Christine Sekuda topicintro): CIO testimony (Transcript block starting at 3395.725). See separate article for full provenance and Q&A excerpts.
Provenance (GM 641 - decision): Decision block where recommendation was adopted (decision blocks at ~5609.795–5617.655).

Provenance (GM 580 - Dwight Takamine topicintro): Dwight Takamine’s remarks and supporting testimony (Transcript block starting at 4449.3403).
Provenance (GM 580 - decision): Decision block where recommendation was adopted (decision blocks at ~5622.88–5628.7397).

Note on name variants: The transcript contains inconsistent spellings for a small number of nominees (for example, Eric Nocchi appears in multiple variants). The committee adopted recommendations for those items; the article preserves the names as they appear in the record and notes the variants where they occur.

For confirmed nominees, departmental or board paperwork will reflect official name spellings and term dates per the governor’s submissions.