Move afoot to oust City Council chairman

By Gordon Y.K. Pang
Advertiser Capitol Bureau

A faction of the City Council is lobbying to oust Gary Okino as chairman but won't be able to carry through on that effort today.

Council members Romy Cachola, Donovan Dela Cruz, Ann Kobayashi and Rod Tam appear ready to remove Okino, while the chairman is counting Mike Gabbard and Barbara Marshall on his side.

In the middle are Charles Djou and Nestor Garcia, both of whom were being lobbied heavily by both sides yesterday. There was speculation this week that Dela Cruz would be the new chairman, but Dela Cruz said on Monday: "Don't believe everything you hear."

Okino was named chairman of the nine-member Council in January when he, Cachola and Kobayashi were the only members of the previous Council to return for the latest term.

Talk of removing Okino began during the heat of the budget season when he disagreed publicly with Kobayashi, who, as chairwoman of the Budget Committee, strongly criticized the $1 billion operating budget submitted by Mayor Jeremy Harris.

While some members agreed with Okino, others said it was improper for Okino to meddle with the budget.

Kobayashi said yesterday that five members were ready to remove Okino in reaction to Okino's attempt to overhaul the Budget Committee, including stripping her as chairwoman. "The other guys wanted to reorg, they made a move, so we're just kind of reacting," said Kobayashi, who included Djou among the five.

But Djou said late yesterday that while there may be a need to shake up the Council's inner working, he's not entirely convinced that removing Okino will solve the problems.

With today's agenda set last Friday, any move to alter the Council leadership today would have required a sixth vote; thus there was heavy lobbying of Garcia throughout yesterday.

A resolution changing leadership would require only five votes to make the agenda of the next scheduled meeting Sept. 26. Conceivably, five members could also agree to call a special meeting to vote for a reorganization with five day's notice.

Garcia said he declined to join any movement yesterday.

"I think we need more time to discuss why we're doing it and, second of all, what we hope to accomplish," he said.

Reach Gordon Y.K. Pang at gpang@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.