Hawaii governor gets 2 confirmations, 2 rejections for Cabinet

Mar. 25—On the losing end of votes Friday were Chris Sadayasu to run the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, and Scott Glenn to lead the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development.

Gov. Josh Green needs to find new candidates for his Cabinet after the Senate rejected two of his nominees to lead state agencies by close votes Friday.

Senators also confirmed two of his department director nominees as part of the final consideration for an initial group of agency directors appointed by Green after becoming governor in December. The nominees are subject to Senate advise and consent.

On the losing end of votes Friday were Chris Sadayasu to run the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, and Scott Glenn to lead the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development.

Sadayasu's vote was 8-15 for confirmation, with two senators absent. Glenn's vote was 12-12, with one senator absent.

The two nominees confirmed were Kali Watson to lead the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and Keith Regan to head the Department of Accounting and General Services.

Senators voted 22-2 for Watson and 24-0 for Regan.

"Two good nominees were confirmed today, two other very good people with impeccable track records and almost universal support from the community were rejected, " Green said in a text after the voting. "All four should have been approved for the good of the state today."

The failing vote to confirm Glenn bucked a recent recommendation from a Senate committee that questioned the nominee and weighed public testimony on his job confirmation.

On March 8 the Committee on Water and Land voted 4-1 to recommend Glenn's confirmation. Sen. Kurt Fevella (R, Ewa Beach-Ocean Pointe-Iroquois Point ) cast the no vote.

Yet senators on the committee can reverse their positions on a final confirmation vote for reasons that include receiving more information from the candidate, the public, colleagues and others.

Two Water and Land Committee members—Sens. Stanley Chang (D, Hawaii Kai-Kahala-Diamond Head ) and Angus McKelvey (D, West Maui-Maalaea-South Maui )—voted against Glenn on Friday.

Chang and McKelvey did not speak on the Senate chamber floor about their reversals. They could not be reached for comment later.

Some senators on Friday, in urging their colleagues to vote against Glenn, criticized the nominee on the Senate floor for his past work as head of the Hawaii State Energy Office, blaming him for positions on renewable-energy policy.

Fevella said Glenn lied to him about opposing wind farms. A few senators, including Fevella and Sen. Glenn Wakai (D, Kalihi-Salt Lake-Pearl Harbor ), claimed that Glenn misrepresented communications he had with some senators over the planned shutdown of Oahu's only coal-fired power plant in 2022, a shutdown that lawmakers mandated.

Sen. Sharon Moriwaki (D, Waikiki-Ala Moana-Kakaako ) said she heard from Office of Planning staff, where Glenn has been director designate since December, who have left the agency, plan to leave the agency or feel unsupported under Glenn.

Sen. Michelle Kidani (D, Mililani Town-Waipio Gentry-Royal Kunia ) faulted Glenn for energy prices.

"We are all suffering from the high cost of living, especially high cost of energy, " she said. "The nominee was in charge of the Energy Office and should have played a significant role in planning to keep our costs of energy down."

Sen. Joy San Buenaventura (D, Puna ) was absent from the proceedings and possibly could have given Glenn the vote he needed for confirmation.

After the vote, Glenn, who also previously was director of the state Office of Environmental Quality Control, said he appreciated everyone's consideration and time they spent on it.

0 for 2 In the other rejection, Sadayasu was hoping that senators wouldn't follow a recent committee recommendation, but that didn't happen.

On March 16 the Senate Committee on Energy, Economic Development and Tourism voted 4-1 to recommend against Sadayasu being confirmed.

During the committee hearing, Chair Lynn DeCoite (D, Upcountry Maui-Molokai-Lanai ), along with Sen. Donna Mercado Kim (D, Kalihi-Fort Shafter-Red Hill ), Wakai and Fevella, criticized Sadayasu for things that included what they viewed as poor communication and preparedness.

DeCoite, Kim and Fevella repeated some of their complaints Friday. Wakai, who according to Green's office applied for the DBEDT director job, left the Senate floor temporarily and did not vote.

"This is the business of the state, " DeCoite said on the floor. "People's lives depend on this. It's not about who we like or who we are friends with. The question is, Can the person do the job well ? Clearly, he cannot."

Sadayasu, an attorney who previously held managerial or specialist positions at four agencies attached to DBEDT during 22 years in local government, declined to respond to negative comments from senators after observing the proceeding from the chamber gallery close to Glenn. "We just tried our best, " he said.

1 for 3 The first of Green's department directors to be confirmed was Regan at DAGS. He received a favorable 5-0 recommendation March 9 from the Senate Committee on Government Operations, though McKelvey said a firm grilling took place at the hearing.

"It was like a Redondo dog on a hibachi at a UH game, " he told colleagues Friday.

Regan, a former Maui County finance director who has held administrative positions at the Hawaii Tourism Authority and the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, received applause after being confirmed as he sat in the gallery with supporters including family and colleagues.

2 for 4 The other nominee confirmed Friday, Watson at DHHL, was recommended by a committee earlier this month after Green's first pick, former Honolulu Council member Ikaika Anderson, got a negative 4-1 recommendation in February and withdrew from consideration.

Watson endured a 4-1 /2-hour Senate Hawaiian Affairs Committee hearing March 16 and received a positive 4-1 recommendation. Fevella was the only no vote. On Friday, Sen. Brenton Awa (R, Kaneohe-Laie-Mokuleia ) joined Fevella as the sole votes against the DHHL nominee.

Watson, who led DHHL from 1995 to 1998 and then formed a nonprofit real estate development company, also received applause after the vote and stood to be recognized in the gallery.

The only other Green Cabinet member to be confirmed to date is Laura Kaakua as deputy director of the Department of Land and Natural Resources. She received a 25-0 vote Thursday.

The majority of Green Cabinet nominees have yet to receive final confirmation decisions by the Senate. Some have gone through an initial committee hearing, while others still need to.------Honolulu Star-Advertiser reporter Dan Nakaso contributed to this report.