If you’re interested in the scheduled March 11 hearing on the nomination of Carleton Ching to head the Department of Land and Natural Resources, you might want to check out the explanation of the Senate’s Advise and Consent Process that’s been posted on the legislative website.
In addition to a description of the process, it provides links for watching proceedings via online streaming or archived video, submitting testimony online, etc.
It also includes a link to a list of all the governor’s nominations requiring senate action, which indicates their current status, hearing dates, etc.
It’s modestly helpful, as far as it goes.
But there’s something important that’s missing–any information at all about the nominees, except for testimony presented at the nominee’s confirmation hearing, which isn’t available until after the hearing is over.
The governor’s messages that transmit the nomination to the senate contain just a very sparse stock message, followed by the nominee’s name and position.
In accordance with Article V, Section 6 of the Hawai’i State Constitution, I have the honor to submit herewith for your consideration and confirmation, the following nomination…
Not a bit of additional information accompanies it. No biography, no resume, no work or professional history. Nothing.
So the public is asked to weigh in by offering testimony, but has little to base that testimony on.
It really is a flaw in the system, as it is hard for the public to assess the qualifications of a nominee if those qualifications are not publicly available anywhere.
And it’s not necessary.
Consider how it’s nominations are handled across the street at Honolulu Hale, our city hall. It begins with a Mayor’s Message. Yesterday, for example, the mayor nominated Gary Nakata to serve as director of the Department of Community Services. Mayor’s Message 22 doesn’t have much more information than the comparable governor’s messages.
However, it is accompanied by two key attachments. First, there’s a nominee/appointee form, which includes info including the nominee’s age, occupation, employer, potential conflicts, education and work history. And then the administration attached the nominee’s full resumé.
It’s a world apart from the absence of information provided–or not provided–on gubernatorial nominees.
If there’s additional information made available to senators, including the chair of the committee that will review the nomination, it apparently isn’t available to the public.
This is likely one of those “we’ve always done it this way” situations.
And its one where change is long overdue.
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Interesting to note that all of the nominees for the new Hawaii Community Development Authority board were confirmed with no public fanfare at all in sharp contrast with the brouhaha over Ching. After all the past noise about HCDA, that’s a bit of a surprise to me but it flew under the radar.
Considering that rail is shaping up to be a billion dollar plus boondoggle, I think a whole lot more scrutiny over who is nominated for the HART board of directors is what’s really called for.
There are a number of things that the county does significantly better than the state, and a lot of that has to do with the sunshine law and its related exemption at the state level.
It’s still troubling, however, that on top of everything else, the video from the November 2013 meeting of the council’s zoning & planning committee is not available online. That’s the meeting in which Bill 48 (2013), Koa Ridge rezoning, was discussed for a second time.
The video of the Sept. 2013 Z&P committee meeting was recently posted online and is available at http://www.honolulu.gov/council/cclmeetings/ccl-archived-meetings-agendas.html.
The Senate reviews the “nominee’s qualifications.” What are the qualifications that are required to be the Director of the DLNR? What are the standards that Mr. Ching is supposed to meet?
Mahalo nui loa for bringing this to the publuc’s attention, Ian. I agree the process needs to change. Those of us who oppose the nomination of Carleton Ching as Director of the DLNR based on what we do know and his resume (which has been made avaiable) are expected to keep an open mind and attend the confirmation hearing. But by that time it is too late to submit testimony and influence the committee vote. Needless to say, we have been working hard gathering information about the nominee in our organizing against this particular ill-advised nomination.
Ridiculous that someone is nominated to care for much of the land , water and historic sites in the State with their only qualification being they went to school with Governor Ige.
This speaks volumes about Ige’s integrity.