If you liked the last four years under Gov. David Ige’s administration, you’ll simply love these next four — since he’s retaining nearly all of his top people as department heads. For others frustrated by entrenched state bureaucracy, however, it just signals more of the same. 

On tap to keep their jobs are Transportation Director Jade Butay, Tax Director Linda Chu Takayama, Human Resources Director Ryker Wada, Health Director Bruce Anderson, Human Services Director Pankaj Bhanot; Land and Natural Resources Director Suzanne Case; Commerce and Consumer Affairs Director Catherine Colón; Public Safety Director Nolan Espinda; and Hawaiian Home Lands Director Jobie Masagatani. A slew of deputy directors also will retain their jobs.

The one spark of Cabinet imagination so far has come with Ige’s appointment of Clare Connors as Hawaii’s next attorney general, replacing Russell Suzuki. Connors is currently a private-firm trial attorney, whose cases involved medical malpractice, personal injury, consumers’ rights, civil rights and insurance matters.

Connors will be one of the rare new faces — and as with Ige’s other top nominees, her appointment is subject to Senate confirmation. Given the slate of returnees, don’t expect any drama. Even Douglas G. Murdock, tapped to head the Office of Enterprise Technology Services as the state’s new chief information officer, previously was Ige’s state comptroller; and new state Insurance Commissioner Colin M. Hayashida has been in the insurance division since 2000.

During his re-election campaign, Ige made a point of saying the first few years of governing comes with a considerable learning curve. Now that voters have rewarded him with a second term, and he’s kept nearly all his department directors, we eagerly await how the Ige administration will take Hawaii to the next level, not stagnate in the status quo.