Women lead Caldwell’s Cabinet

Mayor-elect Kirk Caldwell has tapped his connections at the state Legislature to find his top lieutenants at City Hall.

Ember Shinn, an attorney and onetime chief of staff to state House Speaker Calvin Say, was named Caldwell’s managing director, Caldwell announced in a release Saturday. She is the first woman to serve as the mayor’s second-in-command, the release said.

Shinn served briefly at Honolulu Hale as an executive assistant to Caldwell in 2010 when the then-managing director became mayor after Mufi Hannemann resigned to run for governor. A Hawaii native, she practiced law in California for more than 20 years and served as general counsel for the Oakland Unified School District and the Peralta Community College District.

She returned to Hawaii in 2001 and was a staff attorney for the state House Judiciary Committee before going to work for Say.

The deputy managing director will be Georgette Deemer, who has served as communications director for the state House majority the past eight years. Before that, she spent 15 years as state film commissioner and oversaw the design, construction and management of the Hawaii Film Studio at Diamond Head.

In announcing the two picks, Caldwell said he is fulfilling a vow to include more diversity in his Cabinet.

Caldwell got to know both women while he was in the House, where he served for a time as its majority leader under Say.

A transition team selected the appointees from among more than 400 job applications.

Caldwell is being sworn in on Wednesday along with new Council members Ron Menor and Kymberly Pine.

Other picks announced Saturday include:

» Jesse Broder Van Dyke, director of communications. Van Dyke has served as retiring U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka’s communications director for the past six years.

» Michael D. Formby, director of transportation services. Formby, an attorney, previously held several positions in the state Department of Transportation, including acting director and deputy director of harbors.

» Lori Kahikina, director of environmental services. One of three announced holdovers from the outgoing administration of Mayor Peter Carlisle, Kahikina was director of design and construction and is a civil engineer.

» Sheri Kajiwara, director of customer services. Kajiwara is former director of marketing and public relations for Prudential Advantage Realty. She previously worked for the city in the mayor’s and managing director’s offices.

» Carolee C. Kubo, director of human resources. Kubo has been human resources manager for Hawaii Health Systems Corp., a field officer for the Hawaii Government Employees Association, and an unemployment insurance specialist for the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.

» Mark Knapp Rigg, director of emergency services. Rigg has served 30 years in the department, and has served as its deputy director in the Carlisle administration.

» Ross Sasamura, director of facility maintenance. Sasamura was chief engineer of the city from 1999 to 2002 under former Mayor Jeremy Harris. A mechanical engineer, he most recently has been a vice president with Heide & Cook LLC.

» Chris T. Takashige, director of design and construction. Takashige has been deputy director of the department since 2011 and has been responsible for overseeing management of capital improvement projects for the city.

» Pamela Witty-Oakland, director of community services. Witty-Oakland was vice president of asset management for St. Francis Healthcare System of Hawaii and was formerly employed as a researcher and executive assistant with the Senate and City Council, respectively.

Key posts that remain unfilled include corporation counsel and the directors of budget and fiscal services, enterprise services, information technology, medical examiner, parks and recreation, and planning and permitting.