Hawaii County committee advances bill to shift power from mayor

A Hawaii County Council committee pushed forward one of the most consequential power shifts in county government this year, voting 5-4 to advance Bill 158 and open the door to a county manager with sweeping authority over day-to-day operations at County Hall.

The proposal, introduced by Council Member Heather Kimball, would amend Articles III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, X, XIII and XVI of the County Charter to create a county manager as the county’s chief executive officer. The manager would replace the managing director role, be appointed jointly by the mayor and County Council, and serve a six-year term. Under the draft, the manager would oversee county budget preparation and direct or control major departments and offices, including Public Works, Environmental Management, Finance, Information Technology, the Office of Corporation Counsel, the Hawaii Police Department, the Department of Liquor Control and the Department of Water Supply.

The bill would not eliminate the mayor’s office, but it would materially narrow it. The draft keeps the mayor as the county’s chief elected official, with veto power, some appointment authority and intergovernmental-relations duties. It also sets removal rules for the manager that would require a two-thirds council vote, or a majority vote if the mayor requests removal. That structure would shift operational control away from the elected mayor and toward an appointed administrator with a longer term and more insulation from politics.

The committee split exposed the depth of the divide. James Hustace, Ashley Kierkiewicz, Holeka Inaba and Dennis “Fresh” Onishi voted no. Mayor Kimo Alameda pushed back hard, warning that the bill would vastly diminish the mayor’s role and weaken the checks and balances Hawaii County depends on. Kimball said the measure was “not a referendum on the current administration,” and said she had been thinking about the idea before taking office, though she believed the timing was right after budget-season discussions.

The fight has deeper roots than a single committee hearing. Hawaii County’s own history shows the island did not always use a mayoral system, with an elected Board of Supervisors in place before 1968 and Shunichi Kimura elected as the first mayor that year. The county Charter Commission is also required to review the charter every tenth year, and the Hawaii County Cost of Government Commission, completed in November 2022, was created to study the organization of county departments, boards and offices.

The proposal arrives as Alameda, who took office after defeating Mitchell D. Roth in the November 2024 runoff, is already facing an assertive council. In April, the council came one vote short of overriding one of Alameda’s vetoes, a sign that the dispute over Bill 158 could become a defining test of who really runs Hawaii County, and how much power residents want concentrated at the top.