Gov. Neil Abercrombie appointed Cheryl Kakazu Park yesterday director of the Office of Information Practices, which administers state open-records and meetings laws.

Park replaces acting director Cathy Takase, who had suggested that the governor must release names of judicial candidates. Abercrombie has refused to do so, but his spokeswoman has said Takase’s position was not related to the decision to replace her.

Park, a 1981 graduate of the University of Hawaii law school, was a partner with the Honolulu law firm of Watanabe Ing  & Kawashima before moving to Europe in 1992 and Nevada in 1995, according to the governor’s office.

She had been a staff attorney with the Nevada Supreme Court since 2003 and has returned to Hawaii, the office said.