Another old hand is returning to county government.
Charmaine Kamaka, who served as Parks and Recreation director under former Mayor Lorraine Inouye, is returning to that position under Mayor-elect Harry Kim. Kamaka most recently served as Health and Safety Division personnel program specialist in the county Department of Human Resources before retiring after 20 years in county government.
“It’s a huge department, and it’s a very important department,” Kamaka said about Parks and Recreation on Friday. “It touches everything from little kids to burials.”
Kamaka said she worked with all county departments, including Parks and Recreation in her role as safety officer, so she’s familiar with how the government has changed since Inouye’s 1990-92 tenure.
“I’m excited about working with all the wonderful people there,” Kamaka said.
She, like most department heads, faces confirmation by the County Council.
Kim also selected Jules Ung to head the Department of Information Technology. A former IT and events manager at Research Corporation of the University of Hawaii, Ung has been working as an independent contractor since February, including on projects such as the EnVision Maunakea website, which seeks to nurture civil conversations in the community on the future of the mountain.
She lists as strengths project management, fiscal management, vendor negotiation, information architecture, procurement, work-flow analysis and optimization, risk management and open-source web applications.
“She has an impressive resume,” Kim said.
Ung said she wants to continue the plans already begun by current IT Director Don Jacobs. She said frameworks have been put in place in some areas, such as the Real Property Tax Division mapping applications, but haven’t yet been completed.
“I’d like to keep the continuity. He had a direction,” Ung said. “I’ve been waiting to talk with the IT director and the staff.”
So far, Kim has named Frank DeMarco to head the Department of Public Works, Diane Ley to head Research and Development, Neil Gyotoku as head of Housing and Community Development, Joe Kamelamela as Corporation Counsel, Collins Tomei as Finance director and Roy Takemoto as executive assistant, a position he held in Kim’s previous administration. Barbara Kossow is returning to her former position as deputy managing director in the West Hawaii office.
Departments still remaining to be filled include Planning, Environmental Management and Civil Defense. Although the Civil Defense administrator serves in a civil service position rather than an at-will employee of the mayor, the current administrator, Ed Teixeira, has announced he’ll retire at the end of Mayor Billy Kenoi’s term.
Kim had originally planned to have his Cabinet chosen by now. The new administration takes over Dec. 5.
But he said Friday he’s taking more time to find the best candidates he can.
“I’m talking to people,” Kim said. “I’m trying very hard with high ideals.”
