STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1289

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    GOV. MSG. NO. 515

 

 

 

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2015

State of Hawaii

 

Madam:

 

     Your Committee on Water and Land, to which was referred Governor's Message No. 515, submitting for study and consideration the nomination of: 

 

Deputy to the Chairperson of the Department of Land and Natural Resources

 

G.M. No. 515

KEKOA KALUHIWA,

for a term to expire 12-3-2018,

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     Your Committee has reviewed the personal history, resume, and statement submitted by the nominee and finds Kekoa Kaluhiwa to possess the requisite qualifications to be nominated for the position of Deputy to the Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources.

 

     Your Committee received testimony in support of Kekoa Kaluhiwa from Governor David Y. Ige; United States Senator Brian Schatz; Former United States Senator Daniel K. Akaka; Department of Land and Natural Resources; Department of Transportation; Department of Human Services; Department of Agriculture; Department of Budget and Finance; Agribusiness Development Corporation; Aha Moku Advisory Committee; Koolau Foundation; Horizon Lines, LLC; Kakoo Oiwi; SunEdison; Hawaii Laborers-Employers Cooperation and Education Trust; Ku‘iwalu; United Public Workers; Hawaii Goes Fishing; Building Industry Association of Hawaii (BIA-Hawaii); William Claude & Ma‘ema‘e Jones Ohana; Ali‘i Pauahi Hawaiian Civic Club; Cockett Communications Inc.; Young Brothers, Limited; Waimea Valley Hi‘ipaka LLC; Hawaii Sportsmen's Alliance; General Contractors Association of Hawaii; Hawaii Pilots Association; Koolaupoko Hawaiian Civic Club; Hawaii Masons' Union Local #1 IUBAC; Hoomana Pono LLC; Chamber of Commerce Hawaii; and numerous individuals.  Your Committee received testimony in opposition to Kekoa Kaluhiwa from eighteen individuals.

 

     Kekoa Kaluhiwa received a Master's degree in Public Administration from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.  He received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a minor in Society & Justice from the University of Washington.  He was a Master's degree candidate and Housing and Urban Development Fellow at the Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs at the University of Washington from June 1998 to May 1999.  Mr. Kaluhiwa was the Principal with Kuano‘o Communications LLC, from December 2012 to January 2015 where he provided government and public relations strategies to help clients achieve desired outcomes, including legislative lobbying, bill tracking, drafting testimony, media monitoring, state permitting facilitation, and strategic community outreach planning.  He helped clients to understand the unique cultural and environmental challenges of doing business in Hawaii.  The nominee has previous experience working for First Wind Energy as Director of External Affairs; Intern and then Executive Assistant in the Office of United States Senator Daniel K. Akaka; Graduate Intern with the Land Assets Division of Kamehameha Schools; and Fellow with the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development in Seattle, Washington.

 

     Your Committee notes from Mr. Kaluhiwa's answers to the questionnaire that he believes the core state values that the Department of Land and Natural Resources is charged with include the tenets:

 

     (1)  To enhance, protect, conserve, and manage Hawaii's unique and limited natural, cultural, and historic resources, and to promote the development and utilization of these resources in a manner consistent with their conservation and in furtherance of self-sufficiency of the State; and that these values represent who we are as a people;

 

     (2)  To preserve and protect customary and traditional practices of native Hawaiians;

 

     (3)  To maintain the public's right to access ancient trails, navigable waters, and shoreline lands, under the public trust doctrine; and

 

     (4)  To hold lands under the Admissions Act as a public trust for native Hawaiians and the general public.

 

     Testimony indicates that Mr. Kaluhiwa has gained land management experience while serving as a Graduate Intern at the Kamehameha Schools.  He served as a volunteer with the Department of Land and Natural Resources Hunter Education Program and is familiar with the state hunting laws, and he understands the need for ungulate control as part of an effective land management strategy.  As a lifelong resident of Kane‘ohe and as someone who grew up spearfishing and canoe paddling, he knows firsthand the important relationship of the mountain watersheds to the health of our oceans and everything in between.

 

     Your Committee further notes that Mr. Kaluhiwa states in his personal statement:  "From an early age, my kūpuna and parents taught me the importance of being humble, compassionate, respectful, and to lead by example.  As I join the DLNR ‘ohana, I aspire to be a good listener, a collaborator, and a servant leader."  His oral testimony indicates that he believes in seeking community input to reach a balance of interests in every situation.  To achieve this, he listens to people, meets with them, and talks to them about their ideas and concerns.  He believes in fostering collaboration among stakeholders who may have different issues and interests.

 

     In responding to written comments opposing his nomination on the grounds of inexperience and with regard to the fact that he represented development interests, Mr. Kaluhiwa testified that his experience in the public and private sectors, as well as his belief in collaboration in dealing with others, gives him unique qualities that make up for any lack of experience.  The nominee further testified that he will address issues concerning development by adhering to his "first interest" which is to lead the Department of Land and Natural Resources to fulfill its mission and mandates.  He will seek community input on development proposals and seek to ensure that any development is "done right".

 

     As to management of the Department of Land and Natural Resources, the nominee believes he must first earn the respect of the employees; secondly, identify areas where the department is effective and where it could improve and the resources it needs to do so; and third, seek balance in all things concerning employees' work life and family life.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Water and Land that is attached to this report, your Committee, after full consideration of the background, experience, and qualifications of the nominee, has found the nominee to be qualified for the position to which nominated and recommends that the Senate advise and consent to the nomination.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Water and Land,

 

 

 

____________________________

LAURA H. THIELEN, Chair