Tapped for state Land Board, developer withdraws name

Gov. Neil Abercrombie abruptly withdrew the name of his nominee to the state Land Board after his pick for the Kauai seat said for personal reasons he no longer wanted to be considered, a development that was welcomed by critics who said a land developer shouldn’t have been selected.

Abercrombie’s office on Wednesday issued a statement saying that Shawn Smith, general manager of the land investment group Falko Partners LLC, withdrew his nomination to the state Board of Land and Natural Resources due to personal reasons.

"The governor respects his wish to withdraw and thanks him for his service," Louise Kim McCoy, the governor’s spokeswoman, said in an emailed statement.

Smith’s withdrawal came in shortly before his nomination was set to go before the Senate Water and Land Committee at 2:30 p.m. for confirmation.

"Mr. Smith decided to withdraw his nomination about midday today," the chairman of the board, William Aila, Jr., said after the withdrawal was announced during the Senate committee meeting.

Aila said Smith did not indicate why he decided to withdraw but "referred to the process as being challenging." Smith could not be reached for comment.

His nomination was the second to be withdrawn this week.

On Monday, the governor withdrew his appointment of a director for the state Office of Environmental Quality Control after it appeared she would not be confirmed by the state Senate because of her role in the Hawaii Superferry debacle.

Genevieve Salmonson served as director of the office when Gov. Linda Lingle’s administration exempted $40 million in harbor improvements for the Hawaii Superferry from environmental review. Environmental and community groups spoke out this week in opposition to her nomination.

After Smith was nominated in June, senators raised concern regarding his involvement with Kahu’aina Plantation — a 357-acre, $70 million beachfront property on Kauai’s North Shore that’s being subdivided into 80 lots with the potential for luxury homes.

Sen. Laura Thielen (D, Hawaii Kai-Waimanalo-Kailua), who serves on the committee, previously told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that she wondered why the governor chose Smith for the position.

"I feel it’s completely inappropriate to place him on one of our land boards," she said.

Thielen said Wednesday that she shared her concerns about the nomination with Smith as part of the vetting process.

Aila said it took nearly a year to make it to this point in the process with Smith.

"Hopefully it won’t take us as long to find a replacement land board member," he said. The governor, in the meantime, can name an interim member, Aila said.