Maui County committee recommends dozens of mayoral nominees to boards and commissions; vets housing, aging and emergency preparedness concerns

The Government Relations, Ethics and Transparency Committee of the Maui County Council on Feb. 4 reviewed a mayoral package nominating 31 people to county boards, committees and commissions and voted to recommend approval for a number of those nominees while reserving others for follow-up.

The committee heard oral testimony in support of several nominees before calling and interviewing candidates one by one. Committee members pressed nominees on disaster- and aging-related evacuation plans, county liability for public lands, conservation planning priorities and how a new housing advisory board will operate. The committee recommended moving many nominees to Exhibit B for approval by the full council; several votes recorded unanimous or near-unanimous support.

Why it matters: the confirmations shape who will advise the county on land conservation, emergency preparedness, housing strategy and services for kupuna and people with disabilities. Those advisory bodies inform policy decisions and can affect funding priorities, permitting and county operations.

The committee began by noting the mayor’s nominations (resolutions 25-23 through 25-42) are appointments for terms beginning April 1, 2025, and explained the council has 30 days to act. Mayor’s chief of staff Cynthia Lalo opened the package and acknowledged ongoing challenges recruiting applicants for Molokai, Lāna‘i and Hāna seats.

Public testimony: multiple community members spoke in support of individual nominees. Janice Hill, Christina Lynch and others urged the committee to appoint Vernon Kalani Kau to the Conservation Planning Committee, citing decades of volunteer work on shoreline and wetland monitoring. Several testifiers also urged approval of Kamalani (Kamalani/Kamanani) Pahukoa — sometimes spelled differently in testimony — for planning-related seats and praised nominees for the Commission on Persons with Disabilities and other panels.

Key nominee interviews and committee concerns: - Conservation planning committee: Vernon Kalani Kau, a longtime community environmental volunteer, told the committee he has been involved with strandings, wetland monitoring and local wetland stewardship since 2008. Members asked about county-owned parcels, liability and how county easements and retention basins should be managed. Kalani Kau said he expects the committee will be involved with open-space funding and planning, and described interest in piloting easement management or contracts to maintain county parcels. The committee voted to recommend his appointment.

- Fire and public safety commission: John (Tao Tao) Pele appeared for the Moloka‘i seat and described his interest in oversight and public information priorities. Members asked how commissioners should press county emergency management (MEMA) and fire command on evacuation planning for elderly and disabled residents. Pele said he would encourage coordination and public input and highlighted the commission role of reviewing operations, making recommendations and issuing findings.

- Council on Aging (kupuna services): Dr. Elizabeth (Liz) Hansen and Nani Watanabe were interviewed for the council on aging. Members pressed both nominees on evacuation planning and registries for people with disabilities and older adults, training for first responders and interpreter availability for deaf residents. Hansen described priorities including outreach and interagency coordination; Watanabe detailed experience with the deaf community and interpreter needs. The committee recommended both for placement on Exhibit B.

- Housing Advisory Board: several nominees were interviewed (including Will Spence, Leilani Pomano, Dennis Chinayef and others). Members pointed out the charter language is broad and asked how the new board will differ from planning or permitting bodies, how it will advise the housing department, and whether it will review specific projects or focus on policy and implementation barriers. Nominees described experience in construction, planning and community development and suggested the board could focus on streamlining permit processes, pre-approved house plans, financing mechanisms and breaking down interdepartmental delays. The committee did not complete votes on the full set of housing advisory board nominees and said it will return to several interviews at a later meeting.

Votes at a glance: - Resolution 25-23 (affirmative action advisory council; nominee: Veil Montalvo) — committee recommended approval; committee vote recorded by chair earlier as 7 ayes, 0 nos; motion carried. - Board of Ethics nominations (resolution number discussed as 25-24/25; nominees included Chivo (Noel) Ching Johnson and Sherry Lee Dodson) — committee recommended approval; recorded vote 8 ayes, 0 nos (one excused). Dodson characterized herself as a “recovering lawyer” now working in nonprofit service and said she takes conflicts and the appearance of conflicts seriously. - Board of Variances and Appeals (resolution 25-26; nominee Allison Grama) — committee recommended approval; recorded vote 8 ayes, 0 nos, 1 excused. Grama described experience in school board and planning contexts and discussed shoreline and SMA considerations in appeals. - Commission on Children and Youth (resolution 25-28; nominee Paul Tonneson) — committee recommended approval; recorded vote 9 ayes, 0 nos. - Conservation Planning Committee (resolution 25-29; nominee Vernon Kalani Kau) — committee recommended approval; recorded vote 9 ayes, 0 nos. Discussion focused on wetlands, retention basins in South Maui, and county parcel stewardship. - Council on Aging (resolution 25-30; nominees Elizabeth Hansen and Nani Watanabe) — committee recommended approval; recorded vote 9 ayes, 0 nos. Members emphasized evacuation planning, registries and interpreter access as priorities. - Police Commission (resolution listed in the record as “25-309”/“25 dash 30 9” in the audio transcript for nominee Joseph Arias) — committee recommended approval; recorded vote 9 ayes, 0 nos.

Items held or deferred: the committee paused or deferred a small number of nominees because either the nominee was not present or multiple nominees were listed under a single resolution and not all were available. The housing advisory board nominations generated extended interviews and discussion about the board’s scope; committee members said they would resume interviews and finalize votes at a subsequent meeting.

What members asked staff and nominees to follow up on: clarifying the housing advisory board’s scope under the charter; confirming signed applications (the committee flagged one nominee whose application lacked a signature and asked staff to correct the record); and returning with more detail where nominees are not present. The committee set a followup meeting for Thursday, Feb. 13 at 9:30 a.m. to continue the remaining nominations.

Ending: The committee recessed at 4:32 p.m. after scheduling follow-up interviews and votes. Several nominees whose confirmations were recommended will next be considered by the full council under the 30-day approval window noted in the resolution packet.