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For the first time in nearly two decades, a Republican holds a leadership position in the Hawaii Legislature.

On Friday Sen. Sam Slom was appointed vice chair of the Senate Committee on Economic Development and Housing, which will be chaired by Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz.

“Senator Slom is a small businessman, and sometimes we need to look beyond the partisanship and get to the skill sets,” explained Senate Majority Leader Brickwood Galuteria. “That’s the primary reason he will serve as vice chair, and why we are crossing the aisle.”

As the lone Republican, Slom already has a seat on all committees, which now number 16, up from 14 during the 2011 and 2012 sessions. Whether Slom will have any real power is unclear, however. Leaders in the Democratic majority will still call the shots on which bills are heard or not.

As a vice chair, though, Slom can schedule Economic Development and Housing hearings and preside over them if Dela Cruz allows it. Though Republicans have had little success in seeing their own legislation passed, Slom thinks he will be able to hear GOP bills that are related to economic development and housing.

“I think I will have real influence,” he said.

Slom said Senate President Shan Tsutsui approached him about the post. And Dela Cruz also has assured him his views will be fairly heard.

“Let’s face it,” Slom said, “oftentimes appointments are made or offers of committees given with the tacit understanding that everybody will be singing ‘Kumbaya’ — that we will all be on the same page. And anyone who knows me knows I respect working with colleagues but will not change my views. So, that was clear (to Tsutsui and Dela Cruz), to their credit.

“And we are speaking specifically about my opposition to transit-oriented development and the Public Land Development Corporation and fast-tracking of government projects. I will not change my position just because I am vice chair.”

Not About Leadership Struggles

Slom’s appointment represents the first time in nearly 20 years that a Republican has served in a leadership position, the Senate Communications Office.

This time, the committee positions were not part of a power struggle. Unlike the state House of Representatives, which is once again stalemated over who should be speaker, the Senate immediately reorganized after the election.

The top jobs did not change: Tsutsui is still president, Galuteria is still majority leader, Donna Mercado Kim is still vice president, Les Ihara is still majority policy leader, Will Espero is still majority floor leader and Ron Kouchi is still majority caucus leader.

David Ige will still run Ways and Means and Clayton Hee will still control Judiciary and Labor, the most powerful committees.

But there are some notable changes.

Gil Kahele joins Jill Tokuda as a majority whip, replacing Carol Fukunaga, who lost re-election in a reapportioned district but later won special election to fill Tulsi Gabbard‘s seat on the Honolulu City Council.

Fukunaga lost re-election to Brian Taniguchi, who has been given chairmanship of the newly created Higher Education Committee. That represents a comeback of sorts for Taniguchi, who was iced out of the committee chair positions last session following a shakeup in leadership. With all the scrutiny over the University of Hawaii and its Athletics Department, Taniguchi seems assured a higher profile in the 2013 Legislature.

Something For Almost Everyone

In many ways, the Senate reorganization rewards all 25 senators. (Read the full .)

By adding two committees — Taniguchi’s Higher Education, and Technology and the Arts, chaired by Glenn Wakai — each senator has more responsibilities and potential influence on legislation. According to the press release announcing the leadership changes, Tsutsui “wanted to create a more cooperative environment that fostered shared leadership and authority.”

Compared with last year’s assignments, one of the senators whose role may be most impacted is Dela Cruz. His Water, Land and Housing committee was split into two committees: Economic Development and Housing, and Water and Land, which will be chaired by Malama Solomon.

Asked if Dela Cruz had somehow been demoted in the re-org, Galuteria said, “No, I don’t think so. These are major committees. Economic development is a huge responsibility, and Sen. Fukunaga (as chair of Economic Development and Technology) orchestrated a lot of tax credits that helped feed the tech industry and economic development. So, I would not look at this as a demotion. Basically, it’s a lateral move.”

Slom agreed, calling Economic Development and Housing “a key committee.”

Dela Cruz welcomed the change in committee, saying he specifically asked for economic development.

“Look at all the things I did at Water and Land — it was to get the economy moving again,” he said. “We have to work on diversifying the economy and reducing the brain drain and show real progress. Workforce housing is also part of that.”

Dela Cruz expressed no reservations about working with a member of another party, pointing out that when he was chairman of the Honolulu City Council his zoning committee chair was Republican Charles Djou.

“Anyone who believes in Hawaii’s potential, I can work with,” he said. “Look at my record and experience.”

Besides Tustsui, who as president does not sit on committees, the only senators not given a chair or vice chair position were Ihara, formerly vice chair of Human Services, and Laura Thielen, who was elected this year. Another freshman, Russell Ruderman, was named vice chair of Sen. Mike Gabbard‘s Energy and Environment Committee.

Ihara, who still sits on several committees including Judiciary and Labor, said he requested being taken off of Human Services so that he could sit on Solomon’s Water and Land, as scheduling conflicts would have made it difficult to sit on both committees.

Thielen said that, as a freshman, she did not have “any specific expectations” but was pleased that she was named to the four committees that cover areas she campaigned on and are of interest to her and her constituents.

“Land use and the environment, making sure economic development respects our resources, and the state budget,” she said. “I am happy I ended up on the four major committees I wanted, and I opted not to take a vice chair position that was offered.”

Thielen’s major committees include WAM and the one chaired by Dela Cruz and Slom, where the issue of repealing Act 55 that created the PLDC could be heard. Slom and Thielen strongly oppose the PLDC, while Dela Cruz was the senator who introduced the controversial legislation.

A repeal of Act 55 would likely be referred to Water and Land, too, where Chairwoman Solomon is a strong backer of the PLDC — and where Dela Cruz, Thielen and Slom are also voting members.

In spite of not holding a leadership position, Galuteria said he expected Theilen to play a role at the Legislature.

“She will have a voice,” he said. “Senator Thielen is not one to hold back her opinions. We fully anticipate a robust dialogue.”

As for the PLDC, Galuteria cautioned that it was too soon to talk about repeal.

“At this point, we’ve got to take a look at the PLDC’s administrative rules, and the process is almost done,” he said.