Lingle names two more to Cabinet

By Lynda Arakawa
Advertiser Capitol Bureau

Maui drug court coordinator Lillian Koller has been appointed director of the state Department of Human Services, and Hawai'i County deputy managing director and business owner Peter Young is the new head of the Department of Land and Natural Resources.

Lillian Koller shared the spotlight with daughter Bailey Koller Schmidt as Koller and Peter Young were announced as the latest additions to Gov. Linda Lingle's Cabinet. Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser

Lingle's nominations of Koller and Young require confirmation from the state Senate. Each position pays a salary of $85,302.

Koller, a 47-year-old attorney, was born in Toronto, Ontario, and is a naturalized U.S. citizen. She developed and managed the Maui Drug Court program, which offers treatment as an alternative to incarceration for nonviolent drug offenders. She was also a Maui deputy corporation counsel when Lingle was mayor of the county.

Koller said her experience managing the drug court program has given her a background developing a network of social service providers.

"We must find effective ways to help those in need get back on their feet and stay there," Koller said. "We need to help them rebuild their lives, restore their self-esteem and dignity, improve their quality of life and expand their capacity for self-sufficiency. This department is really about developing human potential."

Young, 50, is the owner of two Big Island businesses but is not involved in the management or operations of them. Since 1982 he has owned Real Estate Services, an appraisal, land use, planning, project management and feasibility consulting company. He has also owned Hawai'i Wine Connection — The Wine Collection, since 1994.

"We need to improve and expand on the quality of life for the people of Hawai'i, and a lot of what the department does touches on that," Young said. "Fresh water, clean ocean, open space, green forests and mountains are the types of things that make life fun and interesting. It's why we are here and why we stay here."

As for state parks, Young said the state could arrange for communities to help maintain the parks in a "friends of the park" partnership and that if necessary, user fees could be another way to maintain the parks.

Reach Lynda Arakawa at larakawa@honoluluadvertiser.com or at 525-8070.