Mele Carroll named to House seat

The Maui News
Saturday, February 05, 2005

By ILIMA LOOMIS, Staff Writer

WAILUKU – Gov. Linda Lingle on Friday appointed longtime legislative staffer Mele Carroll to represent the 13th District in the state House of Representatives.

Carroll will travel to Honolulu over the weekend to meet with House leaders. She will be sworn in at noon Monday.

"I'm really excited. I'm still pinching myself," she said.

Maui Democrats, including two finalists for the appointment, praised the choice, saying Carroll's background would help her get off to a fast start.

The Legislature's 2005 session started more than two weeks ago, but Carroll said Friday she would dive right into the job.

"I know what to do already. I know the process," she said. "I'm ready."

The man she will replace in the Legislature, Sol Kaho'ohalahala, said he was very pleased that Lingle decided on the person he had endorsed.

Before he resigned on Jan. 6, Kaho'ohalahala said he had carefully considered who might best fill the seat that he had held for three terms. He had won re-election to the seat on Nov. 2, but in December, the Kaho'olawe Island Reserve Commission named him as its new executive director to plan for and direct the future use of Kahoolawe.

After reviewing the options, Kaho'o-halahala said he decided that Carroll would be the best person to take the seat and expressed his feelings to Lingle.

"I've always believed that she would be the most knowledgeable person, who could best represent the district," he said.

Lingle said she appointed Carroll after an "open search" for candidates who wanted to serve the district.

She thanked the Democrats and Republicans who helped in the selection process.

"Together, we followed a process that was inclusive and transparent and welcomed valuable public input from the people of the district on who they wanted to have as their representative," she said in a written statement.

Carroll's appointment came a few days earlier than expected; Lingle had said she would announce her choice by Monday.

Although the deadline to introduce bills to the Legislature has passed, Carroll said she has tracked bills that are pending and would support measures that coincide with her goals, which were in line with priorities established by her current boss, Mayor Alan Arakawa.

She listed invasive species control, an upgrade to the Molokai irrigation system and intergovernmental sharing of tax information as priorities – issues that were listed by Arakawa as his top concerns during a pre-session meeting with legislative money committees last month.

While she outlined her priorities, Carroll also said she'd have a clearer idea of her goals after meeting with constituents and House leadership.

The 13th House District seat, representing East Maui, Molokai and Lanai, has been vacant since Kaho'ohalahala formally resigned on Jan. 6. He endorsed Carroll when he resigned, but Lingle announced that she would conduct a search and review process for individuals interested in the seat.

House Speaker Calvin Say said Friday that Carroll was extremely qualified and would do a "fantastic job" in the Legislature.

"I think she'll contribute tremendously to the 13th District, with her knowledge of the issues and the communities that make up the district," he said.

He said he would meet with Carroll to discuss her committee assignments in the House. Although there's a seat reserved on the Committee on Hawaiian Affairs, Carroll's committees will be based on her interests, he said.

The new lawmaker has "a lot to catch up with" and should be prepared to start work quickly, he added.

Carroll has been an executive assistant for Arakawa, serving as his liaison to the Legislature and to the East Maui, Molokai and Lanai communities.

She ran unsuccessfully for the County Council's Hana District seat in 2004 and the Kahului seat in 2002. Previously she was an aide to state Sen. J. Kalani English.

Arakawa said Friday he was "sad" to lose Carroll from his administration but said her service in the Legislature would be a "win-win" for the community.

"Mele is a hard worker, she cares deeply for the County of Maui, knows its issues and will continue to work with us for the betterment of our entire community," he said in a written statement.

English gave his "enthusiastic support" to Carroll's appointment.

"This is wonderful news for the people of Molokai, Lanai, Haiku and Hana, who can look forward to the best possible representation in the state House," he said in a written statement. "Governor Lingle has made the right decision."

House Republicans also issued a statement welcoming Carroll, praising Lingle's "inclusive" selection process.

"We hope that this session will bring greater collaboration between Democrats and Republicans, and we look forward to working with Representative Carroll and the majority," South Maui Rep. Chris Halford stated.

"The major consensus is that she'll hit the ground running," said Shay Chan Hodges, Maui Democratic Party District 13 chairwoman. "She represents the people in the district, and that was our main interest, that the person chosen is somebody the people wanted."

Maui Democrats repeatedly raised concerns about Lingle's selection process, saying it left the district without a representative when the 2005 session opened Jan. 19.

Chan Hodges reiterated that concern Friday, saying the governor should have accelerated her decision when she received fewer applications for the job than she had expected.

"It could have been sped up at various points," she said.

She also said that while the process was "inclusive," it was not "transparent" as Lingle suggested. Chan Hodges said that while the governor updated her and others who helped screen applicants, she was surprised Lingle had not issued public announcements as different stages of the review were completed.

"The people of District 13 did not really know what was going on in this process," she said.

Maui County Democratic Party Chairman James "Kimo" Apana said he felt all of the Democrats who had formally applied were good options and he believed Carroll would be able to serve the district well.

"She knows the district quite well. For the Legislature, she will need some ramping up but the Maui delegation is there to help her," he said. "I think she will make a great representative."

A Molokai Democratic Party leader, Colette Machado, said she was "ecstatic that Mele Carroll was appointed." Machado is also a Kahoolawe commission trustee who was involved in naming Kaho'ohalahala as KIRC executive director.

"You don't know how blessed I feel that there will be someone who can carry on the work that Sol had already started," she said. "I have all the confidence in her abilities and her knowledge of all the areas she will represent in this district."

Two individuals who also had been finalists for Lingle's appointment, former Council Member John Wayne Enriques and Frances Segundo, said Carroll was a good choice.

"I feel that Mele is highly qualified, so I'm happy for her," Segundo said.

Segundo, who had run unsuccessfully for the House seat, also said she felt Lingle's procedures for making the appointment were well organized.

"Anyone would say for the sake of the district, we wish it could have been a lot sooner, but I understand her goals of wanting to be inclusive and transparent, and to allow people time to input their comments," Segundo said.

Enriques said he had been honored to be considered for the seat, but supports Carroll's appointment. During his service on the council and on the board of the Maui Adult Day Care Center, he said he has been involved in a number of sessions with Carroll

"We've had good discussions. She'll be a good representative for us. She was the county's liaison to the Legislature, so she knows what she's going to be doing," he said.

Say said the weeks District 13 had gone without representation had an effect, even though he and other lawmakers tried to help out.

"The district has missed out a lot in regards to bill introductions," he said.

But overall he supported Lingle's selection process, saying it was "thorough" and "open."

"I'm pleased with the process. It's just that I wish it could have been facilitated much earlier, before the start of the session," he said.

City Editor Edwin Tanji contributed to this story. Ilima Loomis can be reached at iloomis@mauinews.com.

STATE REP. D. MELE CARROLL

• District: 13th House (East Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Kahoolawe)
• Age: 40
• Residence: Huelo
• Experience: executive assistant to Mayor Alan Arakawa, 2003-05; chief of staff to state Sen. J. Kalani English, 2000-02; executive assistant to County Council Member English, 1998-2000; administrative specialist for Maui AIDS Foundation, 1992-98
• Education: Campbell High School, class of 1982
• Family: husband Warren, one stepson, three grandchildren
• Contact: (808) 586-6790 phone; (808) 586-6779 fax

Copyright © 2004 The Maui News

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