While Bill Balfour would not have been my choice to serve on the State Water Commission, I don’t think there are good grounds to block his nomination.

It seems to me that much of the testimony focused on what Balfour is not. He’s not a scientist. He’s not a lawyer. And, more specifically, he’s not Denise Antolini, a point made by several people who offered testimony.

But what is he? It seems to me that he came across as a straight shooter. He has a lot of management experience. Among those are a unique set of experiences that can, it seems to me, contribute to a commission dealing with statewide water issues. He has the confidence of a number of interest groups that need to have seats at the table.

He says he has walked or rafted the length of East Kauai Irrigation System and the Waiahole Ditch System. I’m guessing he’s walked much of the water systems on the plantations he managed, including Oahu Sugar. He was an irrigation manager before becoming a plantation manager, a position that requires dealing with lots of water resource issues.

He’s been the director of two city agencies, and knows the problems and limits, as well as the potential, of government agencies. His government experience is pretty diverse, and it seems like people who worked with him have spoken up on his behalf.

I also don’t think it’s fair to blame him for being part of prior water commission decisions that were later overturned by the courts. I haven’t heard anyone say that he was the driving force behind those decisions. It wasn’t that they were intending to make illegal decisions. To be fair, the law in this area has been evolving, changing course and resetting public priorities over the years, mostly in a positive direction when it comes to this area of law. He’s been part of that history, and understands that once the courts have ruled, you have to adjust to the new interpretations of the law.

And while he took lots of public criticism for being a “plantation luna,” those plantations are long gone. I see no evidence that he would, as the petition that has been making the rounds says, “favor the plantations instead of the rule of law.”

Would he have been my pick, had I been governor? No.

But is he unqualified to serve on the commission? No, I don’t believe there’s a case to be made that he’s unqualified, given his broad and diverse experience.

And, by the way, I do believe that Gov. Ige’s picks should be given some deference. So while I might not be happy with the choice, I won’t fault the Senate if they approve Balfour’s nomination.