Honolulu City Councilman Trevor Ozawa is expected to take the gavel as chairman of the Council when the 2019 lineup meets for the first time Wednesday.

Ozawa, along with colleagues Kymberly Pine, Carol Fukunaga and Ann Kobayashi, introduced Resolution 18-294 on Thursday afternoon. If approved by the nine-member Council, it would install Ozawa as chairman and retain Pine as vice chairwoman and Fukunaga as floor leader.

An attorney, Ozawa, 35, would replace Ernie Martin, whose second consecutive four-year term ends at noon Wednesday.

The Martin-led majority often opposed Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s agenda. A majority headed by Ozawa, among Caldwell’s most vocal critics, would be expected to do the same.

It takes five votes on the nine-member Council to make a decision, including the naming of a chairperson. So there’s no guarantee Ozawa will be named chairman. But it’s widely believed that a fifth vote for what has been the majority faction headed by Martin will be maintained by Council­woman-elect Heidi Tsune­yoshi, who is replacing Martin as representative for the sprawling Wahiawa- North Shore district.

Tsuneyoshi worked for Martin, and he, along with other members of the majority, publicly supported her when she won the seat in August by decisively beating four other hopefuls who included former state Senate President Robert Bunda.

Ozawa, meanwhile, defeated former state Rep. Tommy Waters by 22 votes in November to win re-election to the East Honolulu Council seat. Waters filed a petition challenging the results, but the Hawaii Supreme Court has not yet announced any decision on the matter.

Ozawa and Pine were viewed as the most likely candidates to replace Martin. The pair have led the two most influential Council committees: Ozawa chaired the Budget Committee while Pine led the Zoning and Housing Committee.

Committee assignments under the new leadership have not been determined, sources said. Most likely, Pine would continue as zoning chairwoman with the committee set to dive into meaty issues such as new rules for vacation rentals and “monster” houses while Kobayashi, who’s spent more time chairing the Budget Committee than anyone else on the Council, would return to that role.

In a statement, Ozawa said he was humbled by the trust being placed in him by his colleagues. “I am very optimistic that we will be able to work effectively as a team to address the many challenges ahead of us and to serve as both a partner and a check with regard to the administration.”

Pine was the pivotal vote in March when the Council voted 5-4 to reinstall Martin as chairman, ousting Ron Menor. Menor had been chairman since the beginning of 2016 when he deposed Martin with the help of Pine and Ikaika Anderson.

In a text message, Pine also struck a conciliatory tone. “The election is over and we must now put our differences aside to work together on behalf of the people of Oahu,” she said. “The challenges we face are too great to face alone.”

Likely to remain out of the power structure under Ozawa would be Anderson, Brandon Elefante, Menor and Joey Manahan.

The resolution was stamped just before the deadline for legislative issues to be placed on the agenda in order to meet the six-day public notice requirement for Wednesday’s meeting. It will be inauguration day for Ozawa, Fukunaga and Elefante, who all won re-election this fall, as well as newcomer Tsuneyoshi.