Former state Civil Defense Vice Director Ed Teixeira is the new interim civil defense adminstrator for Hawaii island.

Teixeira started today to fill the spot vacated by Darryl Oliveira, who retired in early May, the county said in a news release.

“Ed Teixeira has worked for many years to keep the people of Hawaii Island safe in his role at State Civil Defense,” Mayor Billy Kenoi said in a written statement. “We welcome his expertise and leadership at the helm of Hawaii County Civil Defense.”

Teixeira, was born and raised on Oahu and spent much of his career in Honolulu.

But he bought a home in 1986 in Waimea while stationed at Pohakuloa Training Area, and also has family ties to Honohina, where his mother was raised.

A retired Army colonel, Teixeira began with State Civil Defense in 1996 and was named vice director in 1999. He retired from the agency in 2011. He then taught at Chaminade University and has also worked as a disaster preparedness and planning consultant.

Teixeira thanked the mayor for giving him the opportunity to serve the people of Hawaii County, and praised Oliveira for his “outstanding work” with Civil Defense.

Oliveira led the island through Tropical Storm Iselle, the Puna lava flow and a local dengue outbreak.