Hawaii County Council elects Heather L. Kimball as chair, adopts rules and names committee rosters

Heather L. Kimball was unanimously chosen as chair of the Hawaii County Council at the body's inaugural session, where members also approved vice‑chair and committee appointments, adopted council rules and confirmed the county clerk and deputy clerk.

The council adopted Resolution 1‑22 to designate Heather L. Kimball as chair, with a 9‑0 roll call vote. Council member Halako Goro Inaba was named vice chair under Resolution 2‑22, also adopted unanimously. The council approved Resolution 3‑22 to appoint John Hendricks as county clerk; Hendricks was administered the oath of office by Judge Robert Kim.

“Thank you, Mayor Roth, for presiding over our first council meeting of the 2024 session,” Kimball said after receiving the gavel. The body moved quickly through organizational items with little debate, adopting Resolution 4‑22 to approve the rules of procedure and a series of resolutions (5‑22 through 13‑22) that assigned chairs, vice chairs and membership for standing committees on finance; governmental operations and external affairs; communications, reports and oversight; legislative approvals and acquisitions; planning, land use and development; health, safety and well‑being; infrastructure and assets; and climate resilience and regenerative agriculture.

Highlights of committee designations included Matt Connolly Kleinfelder as chair of the finance committee with Cynthia Evans as vice chair; Cynthia Evans as chair of governmental operations with Sue Keokapu Li Loy as vice chair; and Michelle M. Galimba as chair of the climate resilience committee with Rebecca Villegas as vice chair. Resolution 13‑22 named Chair Kimball as Hawaii County’s representative, and Jennifer Kaguada as the alternate, to the Hawaii State Association of Counties, effective Dec. 5, 2022.

During communications, the council filed Communication 1.1 and confirmed the appointment of Aaron Brown as deputy county clerk, again by unanimous vote. The meeting closed with a motion to adjourn passed 9‑0 at 3:29 p.m.

Actions recorded in the meeting were formal organizational votes; each resolution was adopted by roll call with nine ayes and no recorded opposing votes or abstentions. The council indicated no additional debate on the appointments and moved to the next items promptly after each vote. The clerk conducted roll calls and recorded the unanimous outcomes.