Updated at 1:18 p.m., Monday, April 2, 2007
Senate votes against confirming White as DPS director
Advertiser Staff
The state Senate voted today against the confirmation of Iwalani White as director of the state Department of Public Safety.The 16-9 vote marked the first time that one of Gov. Linda Lingle's Cabinet nominees was not confirmed since the governor took office in 2002.
Senators described White, a former Honolulu deputy prosecutor and Family Court judge, as experienced. But her critics said she lacked leadership and management skills and created a climate of fear in some segments of the department during her eight months as interim director.
"Iwalani White has made mistakes and has shown bad judgment as interim director," said state Sen. Will Espero, D-20th ('Ewa Beach, Waipahu), the chairman of the state Senate Public Safety Committee.
Lingle will now have to find another nominee to head a department that has struggled with leadership over the past several years and has been under federal investigation over its treatment of prisoners.
"We felt we had found the exact right person for this job, so I'm really disappointed about this," Lingle told reporters after the vote.
