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Honolulu City Council confirms a slate of department heads and commission appointees

2416077 · February 25, 2025

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Summary

The Honolulu City Council voted unanimously to confirm multiple mayoral nominations and reappointments, adopting a series of committee reports and resolutions that installed department directors and commission members and referred a climate commission nominee to committee.

The Honolulu City Council on Feb. 18, 2025, adopted a package of committee reports and resolutions confirming nominees to city departments and commissions, with most measures approved by unanimous roll call votes of 9-0.

The confirmations included managerial and advisory positions across city government: Mike Formby as Managing Director; Andrew T. Quano as Director of Budget and Fiscal Services; Laura H. Thielen as Director of Parks and Recreation; Dana Viola as Corporation Counsel; Nola Miyazaki as Director of Human Resources; Don E. Takeuchi Opuna as Director of Planning and Permitting; Kimberly M. Hashiro as Director of Customer Services; Masahiko Kobayashi as Medical Examiner; Dida D. Simeona (also cited as Dita Holyfield) as Director of Enterprise Services; Brian C. McKee as Director of Information Technology; Clark L.K. Bright as band director; and several commission appointments and reappointments including Jamie Tanimoto to the Clean Water/Natural Lands Advisory Commission and a slate of appointees to the 2025 Charter Commission.

Why it matters: The confirmed nominees will lead agencies that manage core city services—budget, planning, parks, public records and customer services, enterprise revenue-generating operations and technology—shaping implementation priorities for the mayor’s term and the council’s oversight agenda.

Most of the confirmations were introduced as motions tied to committee reports and proceeded without extended debate. Many nominees appeared at the dais or logged in remotely to offer brief remarks. Committee sponsors named movers for each motion on the floor; roll-call votes recorded nine “ayes” for the adopted measures. Where the council referred a nomination instead of adopting it, the action is noted below.

Votes at a glance (motion text as read and official outcomes): - Committee Report 31; Resolution (transcript: “20 five-forty 5”): “Relating to the reappointment of Jamie Tanimoto to serve on the Clean Water Natural Lands Advisory Commission.” Mover: Council Member Weier. Outcome: adopted (roll call recorded 9 ayes). - Committee Report 49; Resolution (transcript: “20 five-twenty 9”): “Confirming the appointment of Don Seffcheck by the mayor to serve on the 2025 Charter Commission.” Mover: Council Member Nishimoto. Outcome: adopted (9 ayes). - Committee Report 50; Resolution (transcript: “20 five-forty 3, CD1”): “Relating to appointments of the presiding officer of the council to the 2025 Charter Commission” (six appointees introduced). Mover: Council Member Nishimoto. Outcome: adopted (9 ayes). - Committee Report 26; Resolution (transcript: “20 five-six”): “Confirming the nomination of Andrew T. Quano to serve as the Director of Budget and Fiscal Services.” Mover: Council Member Dos Santos Tam. Outcome: adopted (roll call: 9 ayes). Note: discussion referred to the nominee using the surname “Kawano” in one exchange; the transcript shows both spellings. - Committee Report 33; Resolution (transcript: “25-18”): “Confirming the nomination of Laura H. Thielen to serve as Director of Parks and Recreation.” Mover: Council Member Tupelo. Outcome: adopted (9 ayes). - Committee Report 39; Resolution (transcript: “20 five-five”): “Confirming the nomination of Mike Formby to serve as Managing Director.” Mover: Council Member Nishimoto. Outcome: adopted (9 ayes). - Committee Report 40; Resolution (transcript: “25-8”): “Confirming the nomination of Dana Viola to serve as Corporation Counsel.” Mover: Council Member Nishimoto. Outcome: adopted (9 ayes). - Committee Report 41; Resolution (transcript: “20 five-fifteen”): “Confirming the nomination of Nola Miyazaki to serve as Director of HR.” Mover: Council Member Nishimoto. Outcome: adopted (9 ayes). - Committee Report 42; Resolution (transcript: “20 five-twenty 2”): “Confirming the nomination of Lloyd Yone Inaka to serve as Executive Secretary to the Neighborhood Board / Neighborhood Commission.” Mover: Council Member Nishimoto. Outcome: adopted (9 ayes). - Committee Report 52; Resolution (transcript: “25-19”): “Confirming the nomination of Don E. Takeuchi Opuna to serve as the Director of Planning and Permitting.” Mover: Council Member Kia Aina. Outcome: adopted (9 ayes). - Committee Report 55; Resolution (transcript: “20 five-nine, CD1 as amended”): “Confirming the nomination of Kimberly M. Hashiro to serve as the Director of Customer Services.” Mover: Council Member Okimoto. Outcome: adopted (9 ayes). - Committee Report 56; Resolution (transcript: “20 five-seventeen”): “Affirming the nomination of Masahiko Kobayashi, MD, PhD to serve as Medical Examiner.” Mover: Council Member Okimoto. Outcome: adopted (9 ayes). - Committee Report 61; Resolution (transcript: “20 five-twelve”): “Confirming the nomination of Dida D. Simeona (Dita Holyfield) to serve as Director of Enterprise Services.” Mover: Council Member Tolba. Outcome: adopted (9 ayes). - Committee Report 62; Resolution (transcript: “20 five-sixteen”): “Confirming the nomination of Brian C. McKee to serve as Director of Information Technology.” Mover: Council Member Tolba. Outcome: adopted (9 ayes). - Committee Report 63; Resolution (transcript: “20 five-twenty 1”): “Confirming the nomination of Clark L.K. Bright to serve as Band Director of the Royal Hawaiian Band.” Mover: Council Member Tolba. Outcome: adopted (9 ayes).

Referral: Resolution (transcript: “20 five-fifty 4”) confirming Sandy Ma to the Climate Change Commission was not adopted on the floor and was referred to the Committee on Housing, Sustainability, Economy and Health for further consideration. The transcript records the referral rather than a confirmation vote.

Background and context: Most confirmations proceeded after committee hearings, and several nominees addressed the council briefly when present. Two recurring themes emerged in floor discussion: (1) council members welcomed nominees’ willingness to collaborate across departments; and (2) a few public testifiers raised separate concerns (see separate article on public testimony about a proposed state bill, HB 29). The roll-call record on the transcript shows unanimous support for the adopted items.

What’s next: Confirmed directors and commission members take on the tasks outlined by their departments and the mayor’s administration; specific follow-up actions or implementation plans were not detailed on the floor. The council scheduled an executive-session consultation with attorneys later in the meeting.

Ending: The council processed the confirmations in a single plenary session and recessed for an executive session and lunch, returning at the time stated in the public record.