Council will vote Thursday
on reorganization
A planned reorganization of City Council leadership is expected to be formalized at a special meeting Thursday, with Gary Okino being replaced as chairman by Donovan Dela Cruz.
A resolution outlining the leadership changes was introduced yesterday with Dela Cruz and six other Council members -- Ann Kobayashi, Romy Cachola, Rod Tam, Charles Djou, Nestor Garcia and Barbara Marshall -- signing on.
But the alliance, according to Council insiders, is shaky, as a second reorganization attempt occurred before the original reorganization got off the ground.
The tenuous lineup is evident in the fact that only five of the nine Council members -- Dela Cruz, Cachola, Tam, Djou and Kobayashi -- signed the notice for the special meeting.
At the Thursday afternoon meeting, the Council is also scheduled to vote to confirm other leadership posts and committee assignments, with Kobayashi remaining vice chairwoman and Cachola, floor leader.
Kobayashi will remain chairwoman of the budget committee, Djou will continue to head the zoning committee, Cachola will keep his chairmanship of the executive matters committee, Marshall will stay as planning committee chairwoman and Garcia will maintain his transportation committee chairmanship.
But Okino will replace Dela Cruz as chairman of the public safety committee.
Mike Gabbard, who along with Okino did not sign the leadership resolution, got a change in committee assignments. He will lead the parks committee. Gabbard is currently the chairman of the public works committee.
Taking over as public works chairman will be Rod Tam, who formerly headed the parks committee. Tam will also continue to handle economic development issues.
