Change at ag corporation must happen with integrity

The Agribusiness Development Corp. (ADC), created in 1994 and administratively attached to the state Department of Agriculture, was meant to have some of the flexibility of a private corporation in partnering with farmers, ranchers and aquaculturists to develop resources for Hawaii agriculture.

By operating outside of the sometimes-onerous administrative rules that govern the standing departments, the ADC, like the recently created Public Lands Development Corp. (PLDC), has the opportunity to proactively address the advancement of agriculture in Hawaii.

Alfredo Lee, ADC’s executive director for the past 12 years, was recently pressured into resigning from his position — despite having received excellent performance evaluations by the ADC board throughout his tenure.

A brief and poorly advertised search for this important — and potentially lucrative — position produced a single "insider" candidate, James Nakatani, who was then hastily voted into the position by a board recently stacked with close associates of the candidate.

This stands in stark contrast with the search for a leader of the PLDC, where there were 17 candidates for the job.

The events surrounding the selection of an executive director for the ADC have been surprising and disappointing, not just to ourselves, but to producers up and down our island chain, from Hawaii island to Kauai.

Perhaps Mr. Nakatani is the best candidate for the job; however, the perfunctory nature of the search has left questions as to the fairness of the process. As the representatives of farmers and ranchers to the state government, we feel that it is our responsibility to express the shock and dismay that we hear every day, both at the process and in its result.

This was a process with a fore- ordained conclusion. This was a process that betrayed the trust of Hawaii agriculture in its leadership. Trust has been lost, and without trust in the fairness of the process and in the leaders, there can be no leadership.

This administration campaigned on a platform of supporting local agriculture. If cronyism and political horse-trading are going to be the modus operandi of this administration, then it is a "new day" that we can live without. If farmers and ranchers can see that the process is not fair and transparent, they will be reluctant to support and participate in any agricultural initiatives that might be developed, because they will know that the process will favor the insiders.

We are not willing to accept that this is "the way things are done" in Hawaii. We are not willing to go along with a process that outrageously favors and rewards political insiders, at the expense of the farmers and ranchers of Hawaii.

We are not opposed to change, but positive change cannot occur by compromising integrity and trust in leadership.

We ask of this administration, and of our legislators, that they restore faith in government by conducting a proper, thorough, open and wide-ranging search for an executive director of the ADC that will bring dynamic, forward-thinking, transparent and fair leadership to Hawaii’s farmers and ranchers in developing the agricultural resources that are so critical for their success.

We speak for many in the agricultural community who hope that agriculture in Hawaii can move forward by a planning and implementation process that involves and includes the voices and needs of the grassroots: the agricultural producers.

Michelle Galimba and Alan Gottlieb are both ranchers and members of the state Board of Agriculture.