Councilmember Sue Lee Loy (top left) next to current Deputy Clerk Jon Henricks. Corporation Counsel Joe Kamelamela speaking at the table below.

(BIVN) – A new Hawaiʻi County Council Chair, County Clerk, and Council Committee leadership has been nominated as the next council prepares to take office.

District 3 councilmember Sue Lee Loy introduced a package of resolutions Monday, proposing new council leadership and committee assignments, “citing a thoughtful and cohesive blend of talents and skills to structure the County’s legislative body,” a media release stated. The appointments require the approval of the new Council, which takes office on December 3rd.

Council Member Aaron Chung is being nominated as the new Chairperson of the 2018-2020 Hawai‘i County Council. Chung represents Hilo (District 2) and is the most experienced member of the County Council, having served from 1996 to 2004 and again from 2014 to the present.

“Our County faces challenging times and will benefit from Mr. Chung’s strong leadership and rich experience in public service,” Lee Loy said in the media release. Kona councilmember Karen Eoff is asked to return as Vice Chair of the Council.

Deputy Clerk Jon Henricks is up for an appointment to a four-year term as County Clerk, replacing current County Clerk Stewart Maeda. “Mr. Henricks has served as Deputy County Clerk since 2014,” the media release states. “Mr. Henricks has selected Aaron Brown as Deputy County Clerk. Mr. Brown is currently the Business Manager for the Department of Public Works.”

Councilmember Lee Loy is also introducing nominations for chairs and co-chairs of seven standing committees, of which all nine members of the Council are voting members. This includes a renamed Environmental Resiliency and Management Committee, and a stand-alone Public Safety Committee (previously part of the Public Safety & Mass Transit Committee) and a stand-alone Parks and Recreation Committee (previously part of the Public Works and Parks and Recreation Committee).

Public Works and Mass Transit will be combined into one committee. There is no resolution to create a Human Services and Social Services Committee.

“These realigned committee assignments are the result of many positive conversations with Council members, community stakeholders and County leaders,” said Ms. Lee Loy. “We are building a broad-based islandwide coalition that blend the skills of our more seasoned council members with the talents from our innovative and inspiring freshman class.”

Committee chair and vice chair nominations are as follows:

Finance Committee
Chair Maile David; Vice Chair Herbert M. “Tim” Richards III, DVM

Planning Committee
Chair Ashley Kierkiewicz; Vice Chair Sue Lee Loy

Parks and Recreation Committee
Chair Valerie Poindexter; Vice Chair Rebecca Villegas

Public Works and Mass Transit Committee
Chair Sue Lee Loy; Vice Chair Matt Kaneali‘i-Kleinfelder

Environmental Resiliency and Management Committee
Chair Herbert M. “Tim” Richards III, DVM; Vice Chair Matt Kaneali‘i-Kleinfelder

Public Safety Committee
Chair Rebecca Villegas; Vice Chair Karen Eoff

Governmental Relations and Economic Development Committee
Chair Ashley Kierkiewicz; Vice Chair Sue Lee Loy

Another resolution names Valerie Poindexter and Ashley Kierkiewicz as delegate and alternate, respectively, to the Executive Committee of the Hawai‘i State Association of Counties until June 30, 2019. After that time, Kierkiewicz would become the delegate and Ms. Villegas will be the alternate.

“These assignments are reflective of the diverse skills, talents and priorities of our island, and strives to balance both our rural and urban communities and their unique needs,” Ms. Lee Loy said in Monday’s media release. “They will provide greater context for effective communication and decision-making, with the ultimate goal of a better County government to serve our island community.”