{"id":463,"date":"2026-06-07T11:05:35","date_gmt":"2026-06-07T11:05:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/?p=463"},"modified":"2026-06-07T11:05:35","modified_gmt":"2026-06-07T11:05:35","slug":"council-votes-down-proposal-that-sought-to-limit-responsibilities-of-the-mayor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/?p=463","title":{"rendered":"Council votes down proposal that sought to limit responsibilities of the mayor"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Hawaii County Council voted 5-3 Wednesday in opposition of a bill that would transfer many of the executive powers vested in the mayor\u2019s office to a newly created \u201ccounty manager\u201d position in what Mayor Kimo Alameda described as a \u201ctotal power grab.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The Hawaii County Council voted 5-3 Wednesday in opposition of a bill that would transfer many of the executive powers vested in the mayor\u2019s office to a newly created \u201ccounty manager\u201d position in what Mayor Kimo Alameda described as a \u201ctotal power grab.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bill 158 would have converted the county\u2019s government into a \u201chybrid council-manager system\u201d where certain departments and operations would be overseen by this appointed county manager.<\/p>\n

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Council members James Hustace, Ashley Kierkiewicz, Jenn Kagiwada, Holeka Inaba and Dennis \u201cFresh\u201d Onishi all cast \u201cno\u201d votes. Puna Councilman Matt Kaneali\u2018i-Kleinfelder was absent.<\/p>\n

Since the bill called for an amendment to the County Charter, the proposal would\u2019ve been put to voters on the 2026 General Election ballot.<\/p>\n

Under the failed measure, the county manager would\u2019ve replaced the role of managing director and served as the county\u2019s chief executive officer in place of the mayor for a six-year term. The mayor and County Council acting together would\u2019ve appointed candidates to this new position, which would be responsible for administering operations, overseeing department leadership and preparing county budgets.<\/p>\n

The bill barely made it through committee hearings on May 19 when the Committee on Governmental Operations and External Affairs voted 5-4 in favor of sending it to the full council.<\/p>\n

According to the legislation, removing a serving county manager without a request from the mayor would\u2019ve required a two-thirds vote of the council. If the removal came at the request of the mayor, the council would\u2019ve only needed a simple majority to proceed.<\/p>\n

The mayor would\u2019ve been converted into the \u201cchief elected official\u201d and retained the power to veto bills, appoint certain department leaders, and direct intergovernmental relations.<\/p>\n

Heads of several critical government bodies would\u2019ve been appointed by the county manager, including the directors of Public Works, Environmental Management, Finance and Information Technology. The bill also would have empowered the manager to appoint members of the Office of Corporation Counsel and wield control over the Hawaii Police Department, Department of Liquor Control and Department of Water Supply.<\/p>\n

The bill was authored by Hamakua Councilwoman Heather Kimball, who said the reasoning behind the proposed shakeup of power is to ensure that progress of long-term county projects is not disrupted by frequent election cycles.<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst and foremost, I think that what the public wants to see is transparency and accountability,\u201d Kimball said during the meeting. \u201cMore than anything, that\u2019s what folks want to see \u2014 that when there are projects that are established or programs that are established, clear oversight, clear guidance that these will continue between administrations. \u2026 When you have something that requires a significant amount of coordination, having continuity and being able to kind of bird dog that through multiple administrations \u2014 through different political machinations \u2014 that\u2019s important, and that\u2019s key to people.\u201d<\/p>\n

This frustration at how the perennial changing of county leadership can cause large projects to lag was shared by testifiers like Patti Pinto, a recovery and redevelopment assistant with the Planning Department, who described the current structure of the county\u2019s government as a \u201csignificant impediment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope that the conversation continues in council, and that through a process of collaboration a better solution for the county can be found,\u201d Pinto said. \u201cI\u2019ve often felt that the county suffers from \u201850 First Dates syndrome\u2019 \u2014 a complete brain wipe with each new administration. Even with the best of intentions, projects get lost, implementation lags and fails, and the communities that are impacted by these losses lose faith in their government\u2019s ability to serve (them). Those staff members who worked on project implementation are also disheartened. It does not improve the county work culture to see our work sidelined and languishing on someone\u2019s shelf.\u201d<\/p>\n

Opposition testifiers included Puna resident Sara Steiner, who questioned why the measure was necessary.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo we not trust the mayor?\u201d she asked. \u201cCan he not oversee the departments? I mean, this island is small compared to the other islands.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIf people would just do their jobs and not be on their phones and iPads and things, maybe we could get things done,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

After public testimony wrapped up, Kierkiewicz weighed in on the bill, saying the idea that it \u201cshared power\u201d between the mayor and newly created county manager was misleading.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it renders the mayor\u2019s role useless,\u201d she said. \u201cWithout being able to do the budget or have any sort of like direction over the operations, I don\u2019t see this shared power that you\u2019re describing.\u201d<\/p>\n

She questioned whether Hawaii Island was prepared to undertake such a radical change, and if the ballot was the right venue to conduct political experiments.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think the public is ready for this wholesale restructuring of government,\u201d Kierkiewicz said. \u201cAnd my honest opinion is I don\u2019t believe that a ballot question is the appropriate place to test out this idea. I think that it requires widespread community outreach \u2014 meeting with folks. \u2026 No one that has approached me has expressed support for this idea. Folks are a bit caught off guard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kimball conceded that the bill has seen blowback over fears that it would greatly reduce the power of the county\u2019s executive branch leader.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a legitimate concern that this approach would relegate the mayor to essentially a figurehead position,\u201d she said. \u201cI kind of want to push back on that a little bit, because it\u2019s really just a revisioning of the mayor\u2019s role to be more the lighthouse, the North Star, the guiding person \u2026 I don\u2019t see it as any sort of diminishment of the mayor\u2019s role.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alameda told the Tribune-Herald shortly after Wednesday\u2019s vote that Kimball\u2019s \u201crevisioning\u201d of his role was \u201cplaying semantics\u201d and a reckless attempt to vastly increase legislative control of county government.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a total power grab,\u201d he said. \u201cIt does confuse the boundaries between the different branches of government. It takes away the power of the people. I think everything that the testifiers are saying is true \u2026 without the balance of government there\u2019s no government, that\u2019s what concerns me. \u2026 You gotta respect the different branches of government or else we become a dictatorship.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although Kimball made it clear during the bill\u2019s committee meeting that the measure was not \u201ca referendum on the current administration,\u201d Alameda nevertheless said he was \u201ckind of offended and maybe insulted, even\u201d to learn of its intentions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I don\u2019t know. It\u2019s about my team or \u2014 it has to be about something,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He expressed frustration that county resources were spent on what he agreed was a \u201cpet project\u201d of a single council member.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is time and energy wasted, you know?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

To Kimball\u2019s assertion that she\u2019s simply trying to \u201cput it out there and let the people vote,\u201d he used colorful examples of why some ideas are such nonstarters that they don\u2019t belong on a ballot.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet people vote? I mean, this is ridiculous,\u201d he said. \u201cYou don\u2019t let the people vote for slavery, or let the people vote for internment camps. How about just let the people vote to, I don\u2019t know, get rid of the legislative branch? I mean, there\u2019s some things you don\u2019t put on the ballot because it\u2019s just crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Email Stefan Verbano at stefan.verbano@hawaiitribune-herald.com.\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Council votes down proposal that sought to limit responsibilities of the mayor – Hawaii News | Hawaii Tribune-Herald<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":462,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-463","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nCouncil votes down proposal that sought to limit responsibilities of the mayor - Moving to Hawaii Guide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movingtohawaiiguide.com\/?p=463\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Council votes down proposal that sought to limit responsibilities of the mayor - Moving to Hawaii Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Council votes down proposal that sought to limit responsibilities of the mayor - 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