Third Nominee Voted Down in Committee

Photos: J D Kim (left); Will Spence (middle); Pat Wong (right). Courtesy County of Maui.

A third of 11 nominees appointed to director positions on the Mayor’s administration has been voted down by the Council Committee on Governance, Ethics and Transparency.

The committee on Thursday voted against a recommendation of Will Spence as director of the Department of Housing and Human Concerns. Earlier this week, the committee voted down Pat Wong as Corporation Counsel and last week they voted against John D. Kim as Prosecutor.

Maui Mayor Michael Victorino said he’s disappointed with the committee’s vote on Spence. “Whether we agree or disagree, they have that final say. Now, we’ll look ahead to the full council meeting and see where all this ends up. Then, whatever necessary action I need to take, I’ll take at that point.”

“For now, I’m still confident in my appointments of directors that the committee has worked so hard on reviewing, after the council’s final action, I’ll decide what action to take with new appointments, if necessary,” Mayor Victorino said.

Also on Thursday, the council committee voted to recommend approval of David Goode as director of the Department of Public Works.

“I congratulate Mr. Goode and all my other nominees who’ve advanced with recommendations for approval to the full council,” Mayor Victorino said.

Earlier, the committee called for the approval of Mayor Victorino’s nominations of Sandy Baz as managing director, Michele McLean as director of the Department of Planning, Michael Miyamoto as director of the Department of Environmental Management, Scott Teruya as director of the Department of Finance, Karla Peters as director of the Department of Parks and Recreation, Marc Takamori as director of the Department of Transportation and Jeffrey Pearson as director of the Department of Water Supply.

This confirmation process marks the first time all 11 mayoral appointees have undergone such a review by council members.

“I wish to thank council members for their diligence and hard work in this difficult confirmation process,” Mayor Victorino said. “I look forward to working together to do what’s best for the people of Maui County.”