Hawaii Governor Rounds Out Cabinet

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HONOLULU — Hawaii Governor David Ige on Tuesday announced his nominations to lead the Department of Land and Natural Resources and his choices for the Board of Education.

The appointments are subject to confirmation by the Senate.

The governor was given extra time to fill out his cabinet by the Senate on Monday when it waived its rule requiring the governor to submit the names of his cabinet, board and commission members requiring senate confirmation by Monday.

The senate extended the deadline until close of business on April 8.

"I thank the Senate for understanding the magnitude of this task," Ige said in a prepared statement. "We have hundreds of positions to fill, and we have made significant progress. We expect to fill the majority of the positions in the next two days."

Unlike other states, education in Hawaii is funded and managed solely at the state level.

To the Board of Education, Ige named Lance A. Mizumoto, who has 25 years of experience with financial institutions, currently works as the president and chief banking officer of Central Pacific Bank. Prior to this, he has served in various capacities of increasing responsibility at Central Pacific Bank, First Hawaiian Bank, Bank of Hawaii and International Savings and Loan. He serves on the Chamber of Commerce Board and is a member of the Board of Regents, Chaminade University.

He also nominated Hubert Minn, who has a long record with the City and County of Honolulu and the state's education system. Most recently, he was the deputy director at the city's department of enterprise services. Elected to the Hawai'i State Board of Education from 1974-1978 and 1978-1980, he served as the chairperson and held many other positions on the board.

He also named to the board Maggie Cox, a retired teacher and principal with the Hawaii Department of Education who was elected to the state Board of Education for two terms. She was first elected to the Board of Education in 2004 and served on various committees. She was also the board member on the management negotiations team dealing with the Hawaii State Teachers Association and Hawaii Government Employees Association.

The state school board transitioned from an elected panel to one appointed by the governor after voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2010.

Ige named Suzanne Case to take the helm at the Department of Land and Natural Resources. She is a 28-year veteran of The Nature Conservancy and has served as its executive director since 2001, overseeing the Hawai'i program, which includes 16 preserves totaling 53,000 acres, directly and through partnerships on six main Hawaiian Islands. She also oversees the Palmyra Atoll nature preserve and research station in the Pacific.

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