Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 22, Number 2, 1 February 2005 — Kahoʻohalahala leaves Legislature to direct Kahoʻolawe Commission [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Kahoʻohalahala leaves Legislature to direct Kahoʻolawe Commission

By Sterling Kini Wong In January, state lawmaker Sol Kaho'ohalahala surprised political observers by stepping down from his newly re-won seat in the House of Representatives to become the executive director of the state's Kaho'olawe Island Reserve Commission (KIRC). The move eame just months after Kaho'ohalahala was re-elected to his third term as the representative of District 13 (Lāna'i, Moloka'i, Kalaupapa, East Maui and Kaho'olawe), during whieh he was slated to chair the new House Committee on Hawaiian Affairs. Kaho 'ohalahala, a Democrat, said in his resignation speech that leaving the Legislature was a difficult decision, but he could not turn down the opportunity to help heal Kaho'olawe, whieh he has fought to protect for 28 years. He was required to resign in order to accept KIRC position because state law does not allow a legislator to also serve as the director of a state agency.

"I don't see my new role as stepping away from the public service I have provided my constituents," he said. "Instead, I look on it as a

ehanee to expand my service to a larger constituency - the Hawaiian community and all the people of Hawai'i - by taking on responsibility for restoring the sacred island of Kaho'olawe." Kaho'ohalahala assumes operational leadership of the KIRC as the commission is trying to move the one-time "target

island" into a cultural and environmental rebirth. KIRC assumed full control of

the island in April 2004, after the Navy conducted a 10-year, $400 million eleanup of ordnance left behind from nearly half a century of military bombing. Despite the effort, however, the Navy said a complete eleanup of the island was impossible, and unexploded weaponry remains a hazard in large portions of the island. Dr. Emmett Aluli, chair of KIRC, said that the

commitment Kaho'ohalahala showed in protecting the environment of Lāna'i, the island on whieh he was raised, will "be extremely valuable in overseeing this restoration of Kaho'olawe." Kaho'ohalahala's experience aboard Hōkūie'a voyages will also

benefit the KIRC, Aluli said, as the commission tries to re-establish Kaho'olawe as the pre-eminent loealion for Hawaiian navigational training. Kaho'ohalahala said that as executive director he will focus on increasing public

awareness and support for KIRC's restoration program, exploring alternative and renewable energy resources, and developing a financial plan to support and fund programs over the long term. "With aloha 'āina as our guiding , principle, we ean blend traditional Hawaiian wisdom and practices with

today's technology to address the challenges faced in restoring the island,"

he said. With Kaho'ohalahala's departure from the House Hawaiian Affairs Committee, the committee's vice chair, Rep. Scott Saiki (D, McCully), will assume leadership duties. Under state rules, the governor will appoint another Democrat to fill Kaho'ohalahala's seat in the House, and that person is expected to replace Saiki as the committee's vice chair. ■

Sol Kaho'ohalahala