Hannemann names 6 to Cabinet

By Johnny Brannon
Advertiser Staff Writer

Some veteran city officials should remain in their top spots and be joined by newcomers from the private sector, Mayor-elect Mufi Hannemann announced yesterday in naming his Cabinet's first six appointees.

Bruce

De Alwis

Eng

Okinaga

• Carrie K.S. Okinaga, Corporation Counsel. A graduate of Stanford Law School and a partner with the Honolulu law firm McCorriston Miller Mukai MacKinnon, she would replace David Arakawa.

• Henry Eng, director of the Department of Planning and Permitting. He is president of HE Land Planning Services, and worked on land use and planning issues for the James Campbell Estate for 15 years. He would replace Eric Crispin.

• David K. Tanoue, deputy director of the Department of Planning and Permitting. A senior deputy attorney with the Department of Corporation Counsel, he would replace Barbara Kim Stanton.

• Gordon J. Bruce, director of the Department of Information Technology. He is owner and managing member of the Mililani information technology consulting firm GJB & Associates. He would replace Courtney Harrington.

"I'm very grateful that these individuals have decided to respond to the call of being in public service and give up what they could earn in the private sector," Hannemann said.

City Medical Examiner Kanthi De Alwis and her first deputy William Walter Goodhue Jr. would remain in their positions under the plan. De Alwis joined the office in 1985 and has headed it for four years. Goodhue is a former Army pathologist and has held his city position since 2001.

Hannemann said he believes the office has done an outstanding job. "I've always believed that if it ain't broke, then you don't need to fix it," he said.

Eng and Tanoue said they will focus on eliminating a backlog of building permit applications that was criticized in a recent audit, and to find ways to eliminate such problems.

Twenty-five Cabinet positions remain open. Hannemann said he plans to fill some, including the key post of managing director, before he is inaugurated on Jan. 2.

"The fact that we are really in a booming economy now is making it difficult for us to find applicants who are willing to sacrifice what they may earn in the private sector," Hannemann said.

Mayor Jeremy Harris said he was very proud of the work his appointees had done, and that the newcomers would find big shoes to fill. He agreed that the strong economy had produced stiff competition for top workers, but said he believed the public disputes and media coverage that often accompany city work also keeps some talent away.

"When people take a job at the city, they end up having to put up with so much abuse that a lot of people are just turned off at the prospect of being maligned in public every day," Harris said.

Reach Johnny Brannon at jbrannon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.