OHA board OKs Office of Hawaiian Affairs Administrator Clyde Namuo will begin his new job Aug. 1, after a majority of the OHA board agreed to give him a two-year contract similar to his predecessor Randy Ogata.
administrator’s
new contract
The vote comes amid
more questions about
the selection processBy Pat Omandam
pomandam@starbulletin.com"My immediate agenda is to go through the (state) Auditor's Report and go through those recommendations that were offered and whether those recommendations were valid or not," Namuo said yesterday.
Namuo, whose last day as deputy courts administrator will be July 31, said he was touched by those who spoke in favor of his contract yesterday at the OHA board meeting.
Walter Heen, a former state judge and Hawaii Democratic Party chairman, told trustees Namuo's skills, leadership qualities and broad experience can help OHA.
Former state Rep. Terrance Tom, who worked closely with Namuo in the Legislature, said Namuo was an effective lobbyist for the Judiciary branch who knew how to get things done.
Others described Namuo as loyal, dependable and trustworthy, with an open and positive style of leadership that allows him to tackle complex issues.
"We could always count on Clyde to take the lead," said Hawaii County Court Administrator Lester Oshiro.
Nevertheless, a minority group of trustees yesterday continued to question not Namuo's selection as administrator, but how the process was done.Trustee Linda Dela Cruz said the five trustees who voted for Namuo last month did not give others a chance to even discuss his selection, calling it a "railroad job."
During the three-hour meeting yesterday, trustee Clayton Hee wanted the board to go into executive session to discuss a possible lawsuit against OHA for the way the administrator was selected.
Hee, however, could not muster the two-thirds vote from the nine trustees to meet behind closed doors.
Hee and Akana then questioned whether the administrator contract should have gone through committee reviews.
But OHA attorney Sherry Broder said Namuo's contract did not need a review by any committee, based on the board's actions to hire the administrator.
Namuo said the discussion, which at times focused on his 1991 no-contest plea to a petty misdemeanor charge of open lewdness, was understandable.
He said his deferred acceptance of a no-contest plea afforded him a chance to make amends and not live with the mistake.
Now he looks forward to his duties at OHA.
"I'm still very excited and I have no second thoughts," he said.
"I believe there's just a lot of good things that I can do, and I'm anxious to get started."
Office of Hawaiian Affairs
