Senate Committee Approves 11 Nominees to Hawaii’s Development Authority
The nominations now go to the full Senate for a vote.
The state Senate Committee on Housing and Human Services approved former city planning director John Whalen and 10 others to sit on three boards at the state development agency that manages land in Heeia, Kalaeloa and Kakaako.
Lawmakers voted last year to revamp the makeup of the Hawaii Community Development Authority boards after Kakaako residents protested decisions to approve聽several luxury high-rise towers.
This year, Gov. David Ige had to pick his HCDA appointments from a pool of nominees selected by city and state lawmakers.
If confirmed, Whalen will serve as an at-large member along with former Kualoa Ranch executive Tom McLaughlin.
Additional nominees approved Tuesday include Amy Luersen, Donna Camvel and Bret Prejean to the HCDA’s Heeia board; Michael Golojuch Sr., Shirley Swinney and Dean Capelouto to the HCDA’s Kalaeloa board; and Jason Okuhama, William Oh and Steven Scott to the agency’s Kakaako board.
The governor still hasn’t nominated one at-large member and a cultural specialist. The latter position has been vacant for about a year and a half.
The nominations now go to the full Senate for a vote.
