Awo took bold stand against Superferry | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

A state Senate panel was just hours from convening a public hearing in Wailuku about the controversial Hawaii Superferry, and Randy Awo didn’t know whether he would have a job by the end of the day.

As chief of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources’ enforcement branch on Maui, Awo had gotten clear instructions to keep silent on the subject of the interisland ferry, which had the full backing of Gov. Linda Lingle.

Fears that the new mode of transportation — supported by $40 million in state harbor improvements — would threaten natural resources on the neighbor islands sparked protests and lawsuits over whether a proper environmental review had been undertaken.

"I made a decision several hours before the 10-member panel of senators arrived that as the branch chief for the enforcement division for DLNR — and Maui and Kauai were the two islands most affected — a decision had to be made. Were we, at the highest levels of government, going about this in such a way that we were abiding by the laws of the land? Were we being thoughtful enough about the impacts to our resources, especially within Maui Nui?

"And for me the answer was no."

Speaking in a calm, deliberate voice and surrounded by his team of conservation enforcement officers, Awo delivered just that message.

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That such a widely respected official had made such a bold, and some would say courageous, statement arguably had greater impact on the visiting lawmakers than the rancorous testimony that preceded it.

His outspokenness that day in October 2007 was a surprise only to those who didn’t know the man.

Newly retired, Awo is getting ready to speak out again, this time to offer sharp criticism of Gov. David Ige’s "insensitive" decision to appoint Carleton Ching, a lobbyist for real estate developer Castle & Cooke, as chairman of the Board of Land and Natural Resources.

Awo called Ching "clueless" about the urgent challenges facing DLNR. He said the appointee faces a stiff learning curve of two to three years that will kill the agency’s momentum in building community and public partnerships and programs to protect Hawaii’s cultural, historical and natural resources.

Awo said he is preparing written testimony to submit to the Senate committee overseeing his confirmation.

HAWAII SUPERFERRY

Question: Take us back to the Superferry hearing in 2007. What was running through your mind at the time?

Answer: I remember calling my wife and saying, ‘I think I’m going to testify. My job may be affected and I thought I’d let you know.’ And, of course, Momi, who’s always been a staunch supporter of malama aina, not just in principle but in practice, right away said, ‘I support you in that decision.’

So I called my staff together to say, ‘This is what I will be doing in a couple of hours and I’m not really sure what I’m going to say, but I think it’s important that given the contentious nature of this issue and how our communities feel about this, I think it’s important that DOCARE stand with our communities to make a statement. I’m not asking any of you to say anything but I want you to know that I will be saying something. And if you want to join our communities by just being present, whether you agree or disagree, just to be present, I would invite you guys to come and sit with our communities.’ And you know what??They all came.

Q: What did you want to convey to the Senate panel?

A: The message was to be thoughtful. We’re not here saying we’re opposed to this new mode of transportation, but with that comes responsibility in how you implement it in Hawaii and to think about the environmental impacts, be sensitive to the community and what they are concerned about and how it will affect their fisheries and their communities.

You had guys coming from Oahu being able to drive off the ferry and take the resources. It didn’t take long. They offered this $5 fare and people came from Oahu and took all these imu rocks and the bomb went off.

Q: Did you experience any backlash from speaking out?

A: Something very interesting began to happen almost immediately. I did believe the first call would be from the governor but instead there were many calls from the community, from legislators saying, ‘Are you OK??How can we support you?’ Sen. (Colleen) Hanabusa was one that called, and basically, without going into details, the messages were very supportive … . I never heard from the governor. I thought I would. I thought I would hear from at least a representative. I?was shocked. I got an off-the-record call from my boss on Oahu, Gary Moniz. It wasn’t an official reprimand but it was a ‘Why did you do that?’

I know it was bothering me and I felt that we are the agency within DLNR charged with upholding the laws that have been established to protect our natural, cultural and historical resources, and I felt this decision was contrary to our mission. And ultimately, as it turned out, so did five Hawaii Supreme Court justices who ruled it was illegal.

It does go back to my upbringing and how my dad emphasized that doing the right thing isn’t always the easy thing.

Q: Even before that hearing, you had made a decision that Maui DOCARE would implement strict inspections of vehicles using the Superferry, and that wasn’t being done at any of the other ports. You also compiled reports for the Superferry task force detailing the amount of fish, opihi, limu and other resources being removed from Maui.

A:That was my decision. We wanted to see what was leaving the island. We wanted to convey a message to our community that we are with you on this, we care about any adverse potential impacts to resources, whether it’s hunting or fishing, and the only way to determine that is to be on the pier and doing inspections.

By that time, nobody wanted to touch that hot potato. It was a huge challenge for us because we did pull guys away from the field and it did incur overtime, but … it was unlike anything else. It was just occurring here on Maui. And it did, in that moment in time, elevate our standing in the community.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR MEETINGS IN 2014

When the U.S. Department of Interior decided to explore a government-to-government relationship with Native Hawaiians via a series of public meetings last summer, federal officials tapped Awo to coordinate security for the events. It was a daunting responsibility:

“If the measure of success was that every hearing was completed in such a way that no one was hurt, no one was arrested despite deep and very intense emotions, I would say DOCARE with all the other agencies that were part of that, succeeded in that,” Awo said. “And of course I have to recognize all the other agencies because we were part of a larger team.

“It requires a lot of thought. When you are in those venues it’s a razor’s edge. People don’t understand what’s required in putting out fires, meeting with the community, meeting with sovereignty groups before you go to the venue. They got loud but they didn’t cross the line.”

But that didn’t mean the meetings didn’t take place in a highly charged atmosphere. Awo said he was disappointed in the behavior of some who testified, especially those who tried to monopolize the discussion in communities outside of their home districts:

“The village on Oahu has gotten too big in some places. It’s as if the leaders of the village have no control over who enters into that dialog, and it’s sad because I don’t think it would have been that way had everybody been more respectful of the leadership within each community and had come to observe after they had their opportunity to speak.

“What I found appalling was when some would go after kupuna, saying, ‘We tried it your way, your way doesn’t work and we’re going to do it our way.’ Those things were very hurtful to watch and observe.

“It doesn’t mean that the sovereignty group doesn’t have legitimacy, but how we go about promoting those beliefs is important. While some were able to bring a strong sense of legitimacy to their argument, others weren’t.”

When asked if he plans to become involved in Native Hawaiians issues now that he is retired, Awo replied that is for others to decide. He also pointed out there are many ways to support the Native Hawaiian cause:

“There are many, many people out there doing the work of the nation — young and old — who don’t necessarily ascribe to any particular form of sovereignty but through their actions are doing great things: The educators teaching culture and language, Denise Antolini and her (University of Hawaii) law students who have a strong desire to participate in the protection of Hawaii resources, and good people like mechanics and construction workers who are working to build their families strong.

When you begin to speak about nation building, it starts with your families, and you build up from there. Whether we move forward as a nation or whatever we move forward as, it will require a conglomeration of many participants wanting to make all of us stronger. I think the future for Hawaii is very hopeful.