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Days before his swearing in as Hawaii’s ninth governor, Josh Green set his embryonic government in order by adding the names for many of his top executives.
If most of the names are new, the direction and type of the new proposed Cabinet members are much the same.
Nearly all of Green’s proposed nominations for his Cabinet are either already in government or have been in government.
This is good if you are looking for continuity and have a low tolerance for explaining the history of Hawaii government peculiarities.
It is not so good if you are a voter or Hawaii resident wanting change.
“Together they have an enormous depth of knowledge of the state and are committed to leadership values of compassion and collaboration,” Green said in a prepared news release.
Compared to the set of circumstances greeting David Ige when he became governor in 2014, Green takes over at noon Monday with a state surplus estimated in the billions. Whatever your plans, without the money they are only dreams, and Green takes over with nearly a billion dollars in the state rainy day fund and another $3.7 billion earmarked for increased health care costs. True, much of the Hawaii surplus is due to federal money given to the states for federal relief and bailout programs, but it is a remarkable boost to Hawaii’s economic future.
With a crew that already knows its way around the state Capitol and more than enough money to open doors, Green cannot complain that his new job is overwhelming.
He is already setting high goals for his administration.
“We are ready to take the state forward in a productive direction to make housing affordable and address the out of control cost of living,” Green said last week.
“Most of the nominees are highly competent government professionals and many worked in the Ige administration,” said political analyst Colin Moore, a University of Hawaii professor who specializes in politics and policy in Hawaii.
“We’re not going to see radical changes in the state agencies, but Green didn’t run on a platform of change. His brand is caring competence, and these nominees reflect that brand to some degree, especially those who worked closely with him on the state’s COVID
response,” Moore said in
an interview.
The first test of Green will be finding out how far the state Legislature will go in forwarding his housing and cost-of-living goals.
Both challenges are open-ended with no real definition of what Green considers success, but voters will be watching their own costs of living as mortgages and grocery bills rise or fall.
Green will first need specific action plans and legislative allies who both agree with the plans and are willing to help him succeed.
Richard Borreca writes on politics on Sundays. Reach him at 808onpolitics@gmail.com.
