Inside Honolulu: Nov. 23
Welcome to Inside Honolulu! It may be a short week, but it’s a busy one at Honolulu Hale. Civil Beat is reporting from the inside.
4:09 p.m. Tsunami threat, not terrorism, is local military leader’s biggest worry
Mayor Peter Carlisle was a panelist at the two-day Asia-Pacific Homeland Security Summit and Exposition, which concluded today. He appeared with Gregg Yamanaka, who leads Hawaii’s host committee for the 2011 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, and Maj. Gen. Robert Lee.
While much of today’s discussion centered around the terrorist threat that comes with any major international meeting, Lee said it’s not terrorism that worries him most.
“It’s not terrorism, (with regard to) the safety of our citizens that keeps me up at night,” Lee said. “It’s really an earthquake with a resulting tsunami off the Big Island with only 20 minutes to evacuate… The test is, can we do this with only 20 to 30 minutes notice?”
11:03 a.m. Council Chair explains new committee leadership picks
Honolulu City Council Chairman Nestor Garcia says it took working closely with four incoming City Council members to finalize the council’s new organization.
He said he’s comfortable having newcomers chair some of the city’s key committees, like Breene Harimoto as transportation chair and Ernie Martin as budget chair.
“They’re all intense committees,” Garcia told Civil Beat Tuesday. “I tried to balance what they would like, as far as their interests, with their strengths.”
Garcia said Tulsi Tamayo‘s military background made her a natural fit to chair Safety, Economic Development and Government Affairs. He said Stanley Chang stood out as the man to chair Public Works & Sustainability.
“In his campaign literature, he focused on roads,” Garcia said. “So it was like, ‘OK, public infrastructure.'”
Garcia said there was also a deliberate effort to put veteran council members’ experience to good use. Ann Kobayashi, for example, will chair the Planning Committee.
“Planning is going to be a very intense committee, because all of these plans seem to be coming all at once,” Garcia said. “Also, I wanted to have an attorney (to chair) Executive Matters, and Romy Cachola is an attorney.”
Kobayashi shrugged and laughed when asked about her new leadership roles: “I’ve been through so many of these!”
10:05 a.m. Carlisle nominates three more Hannemann-era leaders
Mayor Peter Carlisle is asking the City Council to approve three more city staffers to permanent leadership positions.
- James Ireland, Director of
- Collins Lam, Director of
- Gail Haraguchi, Director of
It represents a continuing trend of Carlisle keeping on leaders appointed by his predecessor.
With the holiday season getting underway — Honolulu Hale is beginning to look more like Santa’s workshop than a place of city business — City Council Chairman Nestor Garcia said the confirmation proceedings may not take place until the new year.
7:32 a.m. City Council organizes
It’s unclear who will represent District 1 on the Honolulu City Council, but Council Chair Nestor Garcia has decided that person will chair the Parks & Human Services Committee.
Garcia announced the new leadership roles as follows:
| Committee | Chair | Vice Chair |
|---|---|---|
| Budget | Ernie Martin | Tulsi Tamayo |
| Exec. Matters & Legal Affairs | Romy Cachola | Breene Harimoto |
| Parks & Human Services | Council District 1 | Ikaika Anderson |
| Planning | Ann Kobayashi | Council District 1 |
| Public Works & Sustainability | Stanley Chang | Ann Kobayashi |
| Safety, Econ. Development & Govt. Affairs | Tulsi Tamayo | Stanley Chang |
| Transportation & Transit Planning | Breene Harimoto | Ernie Martin |
| Zoning | Ikaika Anderson | Romy Cachola |
| Committee of the Whole | Nestor Garcia | Breene Harimoto |
The District 1 special election is set for Dec. 29. New council members will take leadership positions immediately after being sworn in on Jan. 3.
