6 apply for Hawaii
County Council seatA vacancy created by a resignation
will be filled by Council vote
HILO >> Six people have applied to the Hawaii County Council to fill a vacancy created last month by the resignation of Councilwoman Bobby Jean Leithead-Todd.
The district of the vacant seat includes downtown Hilo and the Kaumana area of the city.
The six named during a Council meeting yesterday are Brenda Carreira, Valta Cook and Gary Murai, all attorneys; Margarita "Dayday" Hopkins, a county agriculture specialist; Daniel Lyons, a rehabilitation practitioner; and Michael Tulang, a retired federal agriculture official.
Applications continue until Tuesday under a procedure approved by the Council yesterday.
Some applicants have met for interviews with individual Council members, various members said.
The Council will meet on Sept. 4 and give each applicant five minutes for a statement. Members of the public can also make statements.
Carreira asked the Council yesterday to hold a more extensive "forum" before voting. Councilman Aaron Chung proposed a two-week delay after Sept. 4 to give the public more time to learn about the applicants. Both proposals were turned down.
Council members will vote on Sept. 4, according the adopted procedure. If a tie happens, a follow-up vote on the top two applicants will be held Sept. 17 in Kona.
