So far Gov. Josh Green’s term in office appears to be going much the way veteran state legislators warned, and that’s not good.

Hawaii’s new Democratic governor is finding no wellspring of good feeling as he maneuvers to make his campaign promises a fact of life or his yet-to-be confirmed Cabinet more than just a set of nominees.

Green is a Democrat. The Legislature is profoundly Democratic, with 23 out of 25 in the state Senate, and 43 out of 51 in the state House.

The question to be answered is not how many members are Democrats, but how many are Green Democrats. If Green has put out the word to “buddy up,” the Legislature hasn’t heard it.

As former Gov. John Waihee used to say, “It’s situational.” Of course, in politics that means “it depends.”

Last week Green saw his nomination of Ikaika Anderson to lead the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands fail in the Senate Committee on Hawaiian Affairs. Fearing that same fate with a vote of the entire Senate, Anderson asked Green to pull the nomination.

The former Honolulu City Council chairman and member of the prominent political Anderson family had plenty of name recognition, but little political influence when it came time to winning a vote in the Senate.

Opponents said Anderson had not studied up on the issues surrounding $600 million legislators gave to the DHHL that came with a three-year deadline to say how the money would be spent to help DHHL beneficiaries.

There are enough fractious issues regarding Native Hawaiian issues to jeopardize even noncontroversial appointments, but when at the beginning of a new gubernatorial term, it can be particularly difficult. So far Green is not scoring high.

Still looming are more Cabinet appointees, including Department of Land and Natural Resources nominee Dawn Chang. As of last week, nearly 1,000 people have signed a petition opposing Chang’s confirmation, saying she “lacks “a proven record of fighting to protect and preserve our natural and cultural resources.”

Both DHHL and DLNR are big departments encompassing big issues with devoted supporters, so it is not unusual for them to both get lots of public scrutiny and controversy. It appears that Green has tried both public campaigning and private lobbying, but there is no indication that arguments in favor are carrying the day.

Securing his Cabinet selections is only the first of several hurdles for Hawaii’s freshman governor. After the Cabinet comes the budget and Green’s tax-cutting campaign promises.

The initial reports peg Green’s tax bill as having a net revenue loss of about $312.5 million. The Hawaii Tax Foundation describes it as “broad tax relief to pretty much everyone in Hawaii. It does this by juicing up several credits already on the books, giving a significant boost to the standard deduction, and doubling the personal exemption amount.”

Even in times of plenty such as 2023, legislators know the budget picture can turn dark in an instant, and so caution to not “spend it while you got it” may be the Legislature’s way of thinking, no matter what Gov. Green wants.

Green might want to devote one of his whiteboard sessions to the truism, “The governor proposes; the Legislature disposes.”

Richard Borreca writes on politics on Sundays. Reach him at 808onpolitics@gmail.com.