DHHL nominee Ikaika Anderson to face hearing today

Feb. 14—Gov. Josh Green is scheduled to have the first of 20 department head nominees face confirmation in the state Senate today, in what is expected to be a contentious hearing that amounts to a public job interview.

Gov. Josh Green is scheduled to have the first of 20 department head nominees face confirmation in the state Senate today, in what is expected to be a contentious hearing that amounts to a public job interview.

The Senate Committee on Hawaiian Affairs is slated to question Ikaika Anderson, a former Honolulu City Council chair and Kamehameha Schools graduate, about his capabilities and vision to lead the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.

The hearing, scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. at the state Capitol, is an especially weighty one because Green and Anderson want to alter a plan produced in 2022 for DHHL to spend $600 million appropriated by lawmakers with a three-year deadline to encumber the money in spending contracts aimed at helping DHHL beneficiaries.

"It will be contentious, I'm sure, " said Colin Moore, director of the University of Hawaii Public Policy Center. "There's already been some pushback."

Anderson in January had a bruising encounter with members of two Senate committees—Hawaiian Affairs and Ways and Means—at a budget briefing that included sometimes scathing comments about his understanding of DHHL's budget needs and $600 million spending plan.

Anderson, who has been on the job since Jan. 3, also faced criticism at a January meeting of the Hawaiian Homes Commission, which he chairs, over issues including the firing of Cedric Duarte, who had been DHHL's information and community relations officer.

Moore said Senate confirmation hearings for Cabinet appointments are an important check on executive authority and tend to be rougher for certain agencies including DHHL, the Department of Land and Natural Resources and the Attorney General's Office.

"They often like to rough (nominees ) up a little bit, " he said. "Even people who have broad support face tough questions. If you're applying for a tough job, you should face tough questions. That's a good thing."

DHHL's previous two directors did not have smooth confirmation hearings.

In 2013 then-Gov. Neil Abercrombie's nominee and interim DHHL Director Jobie Masagatani faced an allegation from a former deputy who claimed that she was fired for not accepting a deputy homeless coordinator job to be funded with DHHL money. Despite a tough hearing, Masagatani was confirmed by the Senate in a 23-0 vote following a 6-0 endorsement by what was then the Senate Committee on Tourism and Hawaiian Affairs.

In 2020, after then-Gov. David Ige chose not to reappoint Masagatani, who endured a second contentious confirmation process in 2015, nominee William J. Aila Jr. won unanimous confirmation after a nearly eight-hour committee hearing during which public testimony tilted more against Aila by a small margin. Aila had been deputy director since 2014 and was interim director for eight months before his confirmation.

For all confirmation proceedings, a Senate committee tasked with oversight in an area matching the focus of a department holds a hearing that attracts public testimony, followed by a vote representing a recommendation to the full Senate, which makes a final decision.

Only Green's DHHL director nominee has been scheduled for a confirmation hearing so far.

The Hawaiian Affairs Committee is chaired by Sen. Maile Shimabukuro (D, Nanakuli-Waianae-Makaha ), and the vice chair is Kurt Fevella (R, Ewa Beach-Ocean Pointe-Iroquois Point ). Other members are Sens. Les Ihara Jr. (D, Palolo-Kaimuki-Moiliili ), Jarrett Keohokalole (D, Kaneohe-Kailua ) and Herbert "Tim " Richards III (D, North Hilo-Waimea-North Kona ).

Fevella was critical of Anderson at the budget briefing, and relayed his displeasure with Anderson to members of the Hawaiian Homes Commission at a Jan. 27 meeting.

At the same meeting, Anderson received public support from some DHHL beneficiaries, including residents of Waimanalo, a district Anderson represented on the City Council.

"I believe Ikaika is the right choice, " said Native Hawaiian sovereignty activist and DHHL beneficiary Dennis "Bumpy " Kanahele. "I'm going to back him full-on."

Green told lawmakers during his Jan. 23 State of the State speech that his nominees can get their jobs done, but also noted that sometimes nominees become collateral damage in political disputes unrelated to their ability and commitment as public servants.

"They will make Hawaii proud, " Green said. "Thank you for this consideration."

On the Honolulu Star-Advertiser's livestream program, "Spotlight Hawaii, " about a week later, Green acknowledged that Anderson is a little controversial as someone who has tangled and butted heads with people in his capacity as a politician and City Council member.

"What I would ask is this : Give our team a chance, " Green said, adding that if any department heads aren't working out after a year or two, then he will replace them.

Moore agreed that Anderson, because of his former position, is going to have detractors. Moore said the same can often be true of nominees who come from the private sector, where their work can be a liability.

Such is the case with Dawn Chang, whom Green appointed to lead DLNR.

Chang has drawn flak for her work as a consultant advising Kawaiaha 'o Church leaders on avoiding a high-level archaeological review by DLNR's State Historic Preservation Division related to a project that disturbed ancient Hawaiian burials to make way for a new building, which didn't get built after protests and legal challenges.

Green, on the "Spotlight Hawaii " show, called Chang a terrific person. "This is a Native Hawaiian woman leader who cares deeply about the environment, " he said. "Can you imagine shooting down a Native Hawaiian woman and then I have to appoint someone who doesn't have concern the same way for Native Hawaiian issues ? That would be sad. That would not be the best thing."

Eight years ago Hawaii environmentalists helped derail a nominee from the private sector to lead DLNR.

Carleton Ching was vice president of community and government relations for development firm Castle & Cooke Hawaii. His nomination in 2015 was withdrawn by Ige before a full Senate vote after a blistering hearing by the Senate Committee on Water and Land that resulted in a 5-2 vote against recommending Ching for the job.

In Ching's place, Ige appointed Suzanne Case, who at the time was executive director of the Nature Conservancy of Hawaii and won confirmation.

Correction : An earlier version of this story provided the incorrect date of when Anderson started work as DHHL director. His appointment was announced Dec. 12, but he didn't start until Jan. 3.