On Feb. 18, our commentary in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser featured Lahaina’s united call for the governor to appoint, and our Senate to confirm, to the state Commission on Water Resource Management a true loea — an expert — in Native Hawaiian resource management (“Water agency needs Hawaiian expert,” Island Voices). For generations now, our community has been working to better manage our wai and move forward from our plantation past. This seat — which is the only one reserved for someone with this expertise — is vital to the true recovery of our beloved town and our ability to rise from its ashes.

This complex process will take eons, but we are here for it.

Whether we are focusing on temporary emergency and long-term affordable housing for local families, or the restoration of Mokuula and Mokuhinia — historic home of Maui alii and former Hawaiian Kingdom capital — wai is the key to it all, which is why this appointment is absolutely essential.

This appointment also reaches beyond Lahaina, and is a defining moment in the fight for the soul of Hawaii. It will either unite our burned-out community, or stretch us to the breaking point. We implore the governor and Senate to confirm a loea who will set Lahaina and Hawaii on a path toward true healing and recovery.

The governor received a list of four names in February for this Native Hawaiian practitioner seat, including three loea: Lori Buchanan, Hannah Kihalani Springer and Makahiapo Cashman. A nominating committee selected by the governor, House speaker and Senate president reviewed applications and conducted 13 inter- views.

Normally, the governor picks someone from this list during the legislative session, and a confirmation hearing is held. Neither has happened yet.

Public input is essential, especially here where most applicants’ identities were kept secret so the community could not meaningfully participate in the vetting process.

The governor’s strategic delay means his nominee will serve without public input or a confirmation hearing until the Legislature reconvenes — likely next year. And much can happen in eight months.

We are fortunate that the governor has three true loea for this specialized seat being vacated by Neil Hannahs in June.

Buchanan is a respected Native Hawaiian cultural practitioner and business owner from Molokai. She has extensive experience in Native Hawaiian resource management, including invasive species eradication. She served 15 years on the Molokai Planning Commission (five years as chair), and understands the nexus between land use and water. She would also be the first water commissioner from Molokai.

Springer is an esteemed Native Hawaiian scholar, cultural practitioner and homesteader from Kona’s kahawaiole lands where she lives off of a catchment water system. She has served in capacities across Hawaii, including as a former Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustee. The Hawaii Supreme Court relied on her expert testimony in its Ka Pa‘akai decision, which established the legal framework to protect Native Hawaiian cultural practices.

For nearly 20 years, Cashman has directed the University of Hawaii’s loi in Manoa and Punaluu, where he cares for its repository of 63 of the 69 known native kalo varieties. He teaches courses in kalo farming and supervises research in ‘Oiwi resource management techniques and riparian usage, including in the Hawaiian language. In addition to his significant experience in water resource management, he is a venerated cultural practitioner.

The appointment of a true loea to the Water Commission is critical to the restoration and recovery of our families, resources and future as Native Hawaiians. The last eight months have tested Lahaina’s beloved community beyond measure. And this legislative session didn’t deliver on the promises made to us.

Please move past politicking so that our people can focus on healing. We deserve at least that. Ola i ka wai!

Kekai Keahi, from left, is a Maui Komohana community leader and ninth-generation Lahaina resident; Keʻeaumoku Kapu is Kuleana Kuʻikahi LLC executive director; Archie Kalepa is a kupa of Lahaina, where his ohana has lived with the struggle for wai for more than 130 years.