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Hawaii County Council forwards mayoral nominees for several advisory panels
Summary
At its Feb. 27, 2026 meeting the Hawaii County Council forwarded nominations for the Liquor Commission, Cost of Government Commission, Veterans Advisory Committee and Game and Management Advisory Commission to council with favorable recommendations; votes were unanimous among members present despite some participants joining remotely.
The Hawaii County Council on Feb. 27, 2026 voted to forward several mayoral nominees to council with favorable recommendations, advancing appointments to three county advisory bodies.
Acting chair called motions to close the files and send the nominations to council for final confirmation. The body forwarded Alan K. Okamoto to the Liquor Commission, Steven Paval to the Cost of Government Commission (would represent Council District 2 for an 11-month term), Maile Ann Luvai to the Cost of Government Commission, Doreen L. Raymond to the Veterans Advisory Committee (term to expire 12/31/2030), and David G. Okamura to the Game and Management Advisory Commission (term to expire 12/31/2030). The clerk recorded unanimous favorable tallies among members present for each motion: the Paval and Okamura nominations passed with seven ayes; Luvai passed with eight ayes; Raymond passed with seven ayes. Council members Galimba and Kirkwood were excused for some votes.
Mayor C. Kimo Alameda introduced several nominees and described their backgrounds. Introducing Steven Paval, Alameda said Paval "leads with aloha" and highlighted his prior service on the salary commission and community volunteer work. Paval spoke briefly, thanking council members: "I'm honored to serve, and I thank you for the consideration," he said.
On the Doreen Raymond nomination, Alameda recounted her Navy service, later work with defense contractors and the Department of Defense, and overseas service; Raymond told the council she looks forward to bringing "40 something years" of experience to work with the community of veterans on Hawaii Island.
Several council members publicly supported the nominees during the meeting. Council member Karkowitz, a former vice chair of the Cost of Government Commission, urged timely seating of that body and noted a charter amendment that extended a prior commission's timeline; other members recommended coordinating with council leadership to expedite confirmations.
Technical issues affected some participants. In one case David Okamura was unable to join by Zoom; the council discussed delaying consideration but ultimately voted to forward his nomination and revisit questions at a future meeting if needed.
The meeting concluded with the acting chair adjourning at 9:49 a.m. The nominations will now proceed to the council for final confirmation.
