Three committees Three high-profile search committees will make recommendations to governor-elect Linda Lingle for the state's top health, agriculture and tourism posts.
set up to help Lingle
hire officials
The 3 panels named yesterday will
Lingle invited to observe prison talks
look for health, tourism
and agriculture officials
By Pat Omandam
pomandam@starbulletin.comThe three, named yesterday, are among 17 panels that will scour the state for possible directors and deputies for Republican Lingle's Cabinet when she takes office on Dec. 2.
There are 17 state directors and 23 deputies, according to the 2002 state directory.
"I am interested in finding the best qualified, most committed individuals to work for the people of Hawaii, and these search committees will ensure we have good people to consider," Lingle said in a statement yesterday.
Dr. Philip Hellreich, a Kailua dermatologist, heads the 14-member committee looking for people to run the state Department of Health. The diverse panel represents major providers and recipients in the health industry, he said.
"We thought this was a very fair and broad-based representation of public needs and public concerns," Hellreich said.
Members of the health panel include Dean Edwin Cadman of the John A. Burns School of Medicine, the Rev. Frank Chong of the Waikiki Community Health Center, Ron Gallegos of the Care Home Association, Greg Marchildon of the Hawaii AARP, Paula Heim of the Mental Health Association of Hawaii and Dr. Calvin Wong of the Hawaii Medical Association.
Hellreich declined to comment whether Bruce Anderson, current state health director, has reapplied for his job.
"The governor-elect also hopes to use us as sort of a brain-trust after this is all over, a group that can individually, collectively, be called upon to help Gov. Lingle navigate these very difficult waters," Hellreich said.
Travis Thompson, Lingle's transition team chairman, said Marsha Weinert, executive director of the Maui Visitor Bureau, will head the 12-member tourism search committee.
And Stephanie Whalen, president of the Hawaii Agriculture Research Center, will lead the 16-member agriculture panel.
Thompson said Randy Roth, Lingle's senior policy adviser, received and then recommended names for membership to the search committees. With less than 20 days remaining before her inauguration, he hopes the other 14 committees are in place within the next week or so.
"I would like to have them, as much as possible, concluded in a couple of weeks," he said.
Ideally, Thompson said, there will be three names recommended for each position. For example, if a department has one director and three deputies, 12 names will be given.
Lingle will review each individual's resume recommended by the panels. People who may be candidates for the posts won't serve on the search committees.
Interested people can apply for a job in the Lingle administration online at Lingle's Web site: lindalingle.com.
State of Hawaii
