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Kai Kahele elected OHA board chair; Keoni Souza chosen vice chair; committee chairs ratified
Summary
At its Dec. 4, 2024, meeting the Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board of Trustees elected Trustee Kai Kahele as board chair and Trustee Keoni Souza as vice chair by roll-call votes, and the board ratified appointments to three standing committees.
The Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board of Trustees elected Trustee Kai Kahele as board chair and Trustee Keoni Souza as vice chair during a roll-call vote at its Dec. 4, 2024, meeting.
Kahele received five votes, the simple majority required under the board's stated voting procedure, and was declared chair after trustees completed the roll call. Later in the meeting, trustees chose Keoni Souza as vice chair by a 5–4 roll-call tally over a nomination for Trustee Carmen Hulu Lindsey.
The vote followed the chair's announcement that the board would conduct nominations and roll-call voting consistent with Robert's Rules and state open-meetings requirements. Board counsel referenced an opinion from the Office of Information Practices—identified in the meeting as OIP opinion 24-3—stating that individual votes must be recorded and that secret ballots do not meet that requirement.
Trustees also moved to appoint and ratify committee chairs and vice chairs. The board ratified the appointment of Trustee Galluteria as chair and Trustee Akaka as vice chair for the Committee on Beneficiary Advocacy and Empowerment with a roll-call vote reported as nine yes votes. The board ratified Trustee Luana Alapa as chair of the Committee on Budget and Finance with nine yes votes; the vice chair position for that committee was left open. Trustees ratified Keoni Souza as chair and John D. Waheae IV as vice chair for the Committee on Investment and Land Management with nine yes votes.
During his remarks accepting the chair nomination, Trustee Kai Kahele said he would “lead with humility, with transparency” and emphasized collaboration, outlining priorities such as education, housing, economic resilience and cultural revitalization as central to OHA’s work.
After the new leadership and committee appointments were confirmed, Kahele thanked outgoing Chair Carmen Hulu Lindsey for her service and said he looked forward to working with the administration and staff.
Votes at a glance
- Board chair (election): Kai Kahele — elected (5 votes). Nomination(s) included Carmen Hulu Lindsey and Kai Kahele. Method: roll-call; legal threshold: simple majority of trustees to which the board is entitled. - Vice chair: Keoni Souza — elected (5 votes); Carmen Hulu Lindsey received 4 votes. - Committee on Beneficiary Advocacy and Empowerment: Trustee Galluteria (chair) and Trustee Akaka (vice chair) — ratified (9 yes votes). - Committee on Budget and Finance: Luana Alapa (chair) — ratified (9 yes votes); vice chair left open. - Committee on Investment and Land Management: Keoni Souza (chair) and John D. Waheae IV (vice chair) — ratified (9 yes votes).
No formal motions to change committee assignments or to reopen votes were recorded during the meeting. The board adjourned after the appointments and final roll-call votes.
