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Nearly half of the nine-member commission that oversees the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands opposes Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s choice to head the department, saying Jobie Masagatani is divisive and has worked against the interests of the agency’s Native Hawaiian beneficiaries, several commissioners said.
But written testimony submitted to the Senate Committee on Tourism and Hawaiian Affairs, which holds a confirmation hearing today for Masagatani, has been overwhelmingly supportive, committee chairman Sen. Brickwood Galuteria said.
"In my opinion, opposition is OK," said Galuteria (D, Kakaako-McCully-Waikiki). "It doesn’t derail anything. It’s part of the process that we have to respect."
Hawaiian Homes Commission members Renwick "Uncle Joe" Tassill, Michael Kahikina and Ian Lee Loy — all Abercrombie appointees — said Tuesday that they and commissioner Jeremy Kama Hopkins have expressed no confidence in Masagatani’s leadership.
She was named by the governor in May as the department’s interim director and chairwoman-designate of the commission.
"It’s just plain and simple," Tassill said. "She’s not qualified."
In her eight months as chairwoman, Masagatani has attempted to delay or derail beneficiary-driven projects for no legitimate reasons, according to Tassill and Kahikina. They cited as an example what they described as her failure to submit financing paperwork on a timely basis for a planned Nanakuli community center and housing development, jeopardizing its funding.
"It’s obvious that this lady does not possess the spirit of aloha," Kahikina said.
Masagatani was not available for an interview Tuesday and would not be issuing a statement, her spokesman said.
Abercrombie’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Since her appointment, Masagatani’s performance has received mixed reviews.
Three months into her tenure, for instance, the Sovereign Councils of the Hawaiian Homelands Assembly said it would oppose her confirmation, while Auamo i na Alaka‘i, another statewide group, endorsed her leadership.
Galuteria said he has yet to take a position on Masagatani’s confirmation and will wait to hear from her and others at today’s hearing, scheduled for 2:45 p.m. in Room 224 at the state Capitol.
Galuteria’s committee is supposed to make a recommendation to the full Senate, which must confirm Masagatani for her to keep the job.
Tassill said Masagatani has allowed informal opinions of the attorney general, legal counsel for the department and commission, to stifle the decision-making authority of the commission.
Tassill is among those supporting Senate Bill 10, which gives the commission the authority to hire its own attorneys without approval of the attorney general.
Sometimes the attorney general’s opinion does not represent what is in the best interests of beneficiaries, and the commission’s main duty is to beneficiaries, Tassill said.
Galuteria’s panel and the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday advanced SB 10.
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