Seth Buckley, chairperson of the troubled Honolulu Liquor Commission, intends to step down from that board before year’s end, the city says.
Buckley, a local attorney, could not be immediately reached for comment regarding his pending departure.
The mayor’s office said Buckley provided no formal resignation letter. “He is leaving the HLC Board due to balancing the demands of the commission and his law practice,” Scott Humber, the mayor’s communications director, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser via email.
He added that Buckley informed city Deputy Managing Director Krishna Jayaram of his decision to leave by December. “He has offered to stay on until five commissioners are in place, which will likely be early December,” Humber said.
Although the Liquor Commission is typically a five-member board, the panel now has three: Buckley, Vice Chair Jeffrey Hong and Dillon Hullinger.
Buckley — who replaced former Vice Chair Darren Lee, who’d abruptly resigned from the Liquor Commission in March 2022 — first served as a liquor commissioner and then as the board’s chair. He was first confirmed to the city panel in July 2022.
His pending departure as chair follows former Liquor Commission Chair Malama Minn’s resignation in January in the wake of accusations reported in the media of corruption and discrimination. Buckley was elected to replace Minn as the board’s new leader.
Meanwhile, Mayor Rick Blangiardi seeks to quickly fill the vacancy Buckley intends to leave behind.
On Sept. 7, in a message to Council Chair Tommy Waters, the mayor requested the appointment and confirmation of a new chair to the panel be taken up with haste by the City Council. To that end, Blangiardi hoped to confirm media company owner Joseph Bock to the post.
“Mr. Bock will fill the vacancy that will be created upon the resignation of Seth Buckley and serve for a term to expire on Dec. 31, 2025,” the mayor’s message reads. “I would appreciate your favorable consideration of Mr. Bock’s appointment and request adoption by the City Council in the most expedient manner possible.”
A City Council spokesperson told the Star-Advertiser earlier this week that barring any unforeseen issues, a resolution advancing Bock’s name as Liquor Commission chair would be included in the next full Council meeting Oct. 4. Afterward, Bock’s appointment would likely be scrutinized by a Council committee before possible final confirmation by the full Council in November, the spokesperson added.
Bock, owner and general manager of NMG Network, has a law degree from the University of Houston.
In addition, Bock’s company — which performs media production, publishing, broadcasting and advertising work, and earned a reported $5.4 million in gross revenues in 2022 — has previously done media work for the City and County of Honolulu, the city says.
According to Humber, Bock’s appointment is part of a larger effort to bring the Liquor Commission back to five members.
“We are trying to lessen any impact of a resignation by filling the remaining vacancies and ensuring that his replacement will be in place soon after Mr. Buckley resigns,” Humber said, adding that Bock was selected because “he is qualified and willing to provide his support and expertise.”
The Liquor Commission, whose members serve five-year terms, has the sole jurisdiction, power, authority and discretion to grant, refuse, suspend and revoke any license for the manufacture, importation or sale of liquor in Honolulu, the city says.
The commission also hears and adjudicates violations of liquor laws and rules committed by liquor licensees and non-licensees. The agency is wholly funded through revenues from liquor licensees and fees deposited into the “Liquor Commission Special Reserve Fund,” the city says.
The commission remains under intense city scrutiny while it contests outside legal challenges.
In late June, the city released an internal study which found the agency suffered from low morale and a reportedly understaffed enforcement arm which led to “inconsistent and inefficient enforcement patterns” on Oahu.
Two federal lawsuits also hover over the beleaguered city agency.
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Honolulu Star-Advertiser staff writer Peter Boylan contributed to this report.
