Hawaii Governor: State Biosecurity Chief’s Contract Will Not Be Renewed
Gov. Josh Green had discussions with several people before making the decision after critics raised concerns over conflicts of interest.
Carol Okada, the state’s embattled acting biosecurity administrator, will not have a job with the Department of Agriculture after June 29.
That’s the directive Gov. Josh Green has given state Agriculture Director Sharon Hurd, who hired Okada last year to fill the role of acting Plant Industry Division administrator on rolling 89-day contracts. Okada was a longtime DOA staffer until her retirement in 2019.
The slow implementation of stronger regulations last year, her relationship to the nursery industry and the statewide spread of invasive pests raised alarms about Okada鈥檚 return to the department.
鈥淎fter looking into this, and after further discussions with several parties, the Governor has advised Chair Hurd at the Dept. of Agriculture (DOA) that Ms. Okada鈥檚 final 89-day hire will end on June 29, 2024,鈥 Blake Oshiro, Green鈥檚 senior adviser, said in an email.
“As such, Ms. Okada will begin transitioning out so that she is able to smoothly exit without any significant disruption to the DOA,” Oshiro said. “Thereafter, Chair Hurd has been advised that Ms. Okada will not continue in an 89-day hire as the Plant Industry Division Administrator, or any other position in DOA.”
The governor’s office, which declined to comment further Monday, sent the email in response to a query from Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole, one of several Windward Oahu lawmakers who has criticized the DOA over the past year for its treatment of invasive species.
Using 89-day contracts is common in Hawaii state government because, among other things, they allow previously retired state employees to work while receiving their pensions.
But the concern over Okada extends beyond that. It includes the DOA’s relationship with the plant nursery industry, which her division regulates, in light of the spread of coconut rhinoceros beetles and little fire ants.
Stinging fire ants have already become entrenched on the Big Island but spread quickly across Windward Oahu last year. The coconut rhinoceros beetles spread statewide last year and have been reported to kill up to 50% of coconut trees they contact. CRB also threaten native plants and other important crops in Hawaii.
Nurseries bore most of the blame for those pests spreading after it became apparent that a handful of bad actors were knowingly trading pest-infested products.
The DOA had meanwhile slowed a rule change to help it stem the pests’ spread.
Keohokalole said the department had not sufficiently communicated or responded to Windward communities’ concerns about the issue despite knowing about it.
Controlling Hawaii’s invasive species is a responsibility shared by several government departments and the University of Hawaii. But the DOA is the only state agency with the power to regulate agricultural industries 鈥 the main source of the spread.
Okada had become problematic, he said, because “nothing can happen at the DOA without her approval.”
Those problems followed concerns from her previous tenure at DOA, when she was sidelined from her role for several years.
The DOA did not respond to requests for comment Monday. Hurd has refuted allegations that the department had an improper relationship with the nursery industry.
“They need help at the department,” Keohokalole said. “But having transparent, accountable leadership is necessary.”
The department will still need to find a new, permanent administrator to oversee the Plant Industry Division, .
“Now we have to start preparing for who is going to take over leadership of the division,” Keohokalole said. “Will we get better communication and collaboration from the department going forward?”
The past year’s public outcry and heightened awareness over invasive species led to a long list of bills being introduced for this legislative session, which opened in January and wraps up early next month. Most of those bills have been killed by both chambers’ money committees.
But Senate Bill 572 is still alive, a measure that would enable the DOA to declare a biosecurity emergency with the governor’s sign off.
Such emergencies would give the DOA sweeping powers to control the movement of pests on and between islands at ports of entry, including the ability to requisition goods, property and watercraft.
House and Senate lawmakers will be trying to negotiate a final version of SB 572 in conference committee before an April 25 deadline.
“Hawaii Grown” is funded in part by grants from the Stupski Foundation, Ulupono Fund at the Hawaii Community Foundation and the Frost Family Foundation.
