Groups Call For Replacing Dept. of Agricultural Leadership
Posted Yesterday by Ililani Media
Additional funding to protect against the ongoing threat of invasive species is needed. The funds may be better used if Hawaii Governor Green follows through with considering a change in leadership at Hawaii Department of Agriculture.
House Bill HB299 HD1 would appropriates funds for the Native Resources and Fire Protection Program and Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Council to ensure their long-term viability and continue to control and eradicate invasive species in the State.
The House Bill was introduced by Representative Kahaloa and co-authored by 24 other representatives. The Senate version, SB 548 SD1, was introduced by Senator Gabbard and co-authored by eight other Senators.
The House Finance Committee will hear the bill on Monday.
The legislation is supported by the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Department of Health, Department of Agriculture, Kauai Invasive Species Committee, Hawaii Invasive Species Council, Oʻahu Invasive Species Committee, Coordinating Group on Alien Pest Species, The Outdoor Circle, Hawaiʻi Farm Bureau, Hawai‘i Farmers Union, Kuaʻāina Ulu ʻAuamo, Kupuna for the Moopuna, Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi, Climate Change and Health Working Group, Hawaiʻi Reef and Ocean Coalition, Green Party of Hawaiʻi, Environmental Caucus of the Democratic Party of Hawai‘i, Carol Kwan Consulting, LLC, and numerous individuals.
Sierra Club asserted, "Please PASS HB299, and help the Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Council (HISC) and its partners substantially escalate our fight against invasive pests. HISC and its partners' successes in controlling and eradicating dozens of invasive species outbreaks have already saved the state untold millions of dollars in economic impacts. These additional funds are critical to boosting the impact of their work, and protecting our islands' environmental and cultural integrity, food and water security, and quality of life now and for generations into the future."
Many groups are calling on the Governor to replace the top leadership at the Department of Agriculture.
While the current Hawaii Department of Agriculture leadership has had time to come up to speed on issues and lead the way on solutions, what has been demonstrated from the very top by Chair Sharon Hurd and her primary advisor and political liaison Carol Okada, are a series of poor decisions, a lack of understanding and use of the most cost-effective and available tools and methods to address the spread of invasive species, and an unwillingness to use their regulatory authority to control the spread of pests.
Most egregious is that despite HDOA's responsibility for preventing and controlling invasive species, they have demonstrated, time and again, that certain agricultural sectors are more important than performing their regulatory duty in service to the rest of the agricultural sectors, the people of Hawaii, and the land.
This is wrong and lies squarely on the shoulders of current HDOA leadership, whose guidance has also resulted in harm to the reputation and morale of HDOA civil service staff and the reputation of the agency as a whole.
Carol Okada has continued to serve in a series of 89-day hires since returning to HDOA despite a letter from Gov. Green's office that her last day in any position at HDOA would be June 29, 2024.
It is worth noting that two different HDOA Chairs were concerned enough about Carol Okada's work as HDOA Plant Quarantine Branch Manager (since 2005) that one, Scott Enright, removed her from duties managing the Plant Quarantine Branch and placed her on "special assignment" in 2016.
When Phyllis Shimabukuro-Geyser became HDOA Chair she chose to continue that "special assignment", which ended with Carol's retirement from HDOA in 2019. Carol's desk during those four years of "special assignment" was near the desk of the Marketing division manager, Sharon Hurd.
A scathing audit of the Plant Quarantine Branch published in July 2017 provides some insights into Carol's work leading PQ from 2005-2016.
The Senate Ways and Means Committee discussed the 89-day hiring process this past week. The process is supposed to be for emergencies. Senators noted that police officer work for a full 20-year term and then retire as part of the policy to relieve stress. Senators wondered why they would be re-hired on revolving 89-day periods and whether a five-year cap should be established.