A West Hawaii majority emerging from the Nov. 4 election is poised to name Kona Councilman Dru Kanuha chairman and Hamakua Councilwoman Valerie Poindexter vice chairwoman.
The council officially will organize at 3 p.m. Dec. 1 in Hilo council chambers after a noon inauguration at Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium. The first council meeting will include resolutions naming chairman and vice chairman, committee chairmanships, setting rules of procedure and deciding who will be the county clerk.
Kanuha said his goal is “to bring harmony to the council.”
“Letting everyone have a voice, that’s really important,” Kanuha said. “We’ve got to be working together.”
Poindexter said she didn’t seek the chairmanship because “I’m a great support system,” and that’s where she serves best.
“Nothing is firm until it goes to the council,” Poindexter said of the vice chairmanship, “But I am interested in the position.”
Kanuha and Poindexter, as well as North Kona Councilwoman Karen Eoff, Kohala Councilwoman Margaret Wille and South Kona/Ka‘u Councilwoman-elect Maile David, met Sunday at Poindexter’s home to discuss council leadership, sources close to the council said. The four sitting council members all are starting their second two-year term.
The state Sunshine Law allows up to four council members to meet in private to conduct their leadership organization. The newly elected members aren’t considered official council members until after they are sworn in.
Dennis “Fresh” Onishi, the veteran on the council about to start his last two-year term, did not seek the chairmanship again. He said he doesn’t know what committees he’s been assigned to, although he requested he remain the chairman of the Committee on Intergovernmental Relations.
“I haven’t been contacted yet on what committee assignments I’ll be getting so I hope someone will be contacting me soon,” Onishi said.
Hilo Councilman-elect Aaron Chung, who served eight years on the council including a stint as chairman before being term-limited 10 years ago, said he prefers not to be a committee chairman right away.
“Once they settled on Dru, I told him I didn’t want to be considered for a chairmanship,” Chung said. “I just told Dru I support him and will defer to his judgment on committees.”
Several council members initially thought Eoff, the current vice chairwoman who has for the past two years chaired meetings when the council meets in Kona, would be elevated to chairman full time. But that scenario didn’t gain traction during the organizational talks.
While all council members serve on all committees, the chairman has the power to set the committee agenda, can delay items and can bump items up to the council level without a committee hearing, if he or she chooses. The council chairman names committee chairmen, selects the county clerk, subject to a vote by the council, and controls meeting agendas.
Email Nancy Cook Lauer at ncook-lauer@westhawaiitoday.com.
