Gov. David Ige has withdrawn his nomination of Sam Gon to serve on the powerful Board of Land and Natural Resources. The decision came after state Sen. Lorraine Inouye refused to schedule a hearing on Gon’s selection before the Senate Water and Land Committee, which she chairs.
The committee vets BLNR nominees and makes recommendations to the full Senate on whether they should be approved. Nominees need a majority of votes in the full Senate to be confirmed. Senate committees have at times not recommended a gubernatorial pick, only to have the full Senate vote to approve the nominee anyway. But Inouye said she wanted to avoid all of that.
“I didn’t want to have this large debate on the floor,” she said. “Rather than that, I think it was best to hear the concerns from my committee.”
Inouye (D-Kaupulehu- Waimea-North Hilo) said Gon didn’t have the votes in her committee, though she didn’t know whether he would have likely passed the full Senate.
Gon has an extensive background in local ecology and is well versed in Native Hawaiian culture and history, making him an attractive selection for the BLNR. But he’s elicited controversy in recent years for his support of the Thirty Meter Telescope atop Mauna Kea and a new wind farm in Kahuku. During a 2017 BLNR meeting, Native Hawaiians opposing the panel’s decisions on the planned telescope demanded Gon resign from his seat. Three protesters were arrested after half the board, including Gon and Chairwoman Suzanne Case, left the hearing room.
The group known as Hawaii Unity Liberation Institute, or HULI, argued that Gon was not qualified to fill the seat on the board that requires expertise in Native Hawaiian traditional and customary practices. Gon is not Native Hawaiian, though that’s not a requirement.
Gon, in a Facebook post last month, said Inouye was reticent to hold a hearing on his nomination because she had received calls from TMT opponents who didn’t support his confirmation. He urged people to call Inouye’s office and lobby on his behalf. But the hearing was never scheduled and Ige informed the Senate March 30 that he was withdrawing Gon’s nomination.
A spokeswoman for the governor said Ige decided not to pursue the nomination and appreciated Gon’s long service on the BLNR. Gon did not respond to a request to comment.
Just because the governor has withdrawn Gon’s nomination doesn’t mean he can’t continue to serve on the board. Gon could serve as a BLNR “holdover” for two more years, without Senate approval. The governor’s office didn’t respond to a question as to whether Ige intends to keep Gon on the board or nominate a replacement.
Gon’s term expires June 30.
The practice of holding over nominees to boards and commissions has attracted controversy. It prevents the public from weighing in on selections to boards and commissions, and also circumvents the Senate’s advise and consent role.
Thomas Oi has served as a representative from Kauai on the seven-member board since 2016. His term expired June 30 but the governor hasn’t nominated anyone to replace him, and Oi has remained on the board as a holdover.
Ige didn’t respond to questions about why he hadn’t named a replacement for Oi, or renominated him, which would have required Senate review and confirmation.
“He is currently holding over,” Jodi Leong, a spokesperson for the governor, said in response to written questions. “His holdover status ends in April 2022.”
James Gomes’ second term on the BLNR is set to expire June 30, but the governor also didn’t select a replacement this legislative session, which ends April 30. The governor’s office did not respond to a question about whether Ige intends to keep Gomes on as a holdover.
By law, BLNR members can’t serve more than eight consecutive years on the board. But the holdover status, as well as breaks in appointments, has meant that some members have cumulatively served much longer than that. For instance, Gon has served a total of about 12 years on the board, from 2006 until 2014, and then again from 2017 to the present.
Likewise, board member Chris Yuen has served a total of about 15 years, with his latest term set to expire in June 2022.
Sen. Gil Riviere (D-Heeia- Laie-Waialua), who serves on the Water and Land Committee, said the BLNR should have more diversity, particularly when it comes to women. The board historically has been overwhelmingly male.
“What is going on here with the equity and the balance?” he said.
Riviere said it’s his understanding that a lot of candidates have applied to the BLNR and he’s not sure why they haven’t been selected by the governor.
Ige said that his office continues “to search for qualified applicants who are women.”
Over the past four years, there have been 22 BLNR applicants, according to the governor’s office.
To apply
Go to the state Board of Land and Natural Resources at boards.hawaii.gov Opens in a new tab.
