HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0044.165 2020-2022 P CalnG 1
COMM.u�
From: Mike Vitousek
Sent: Tuesday, February 02, 2021 11:28 AM
To: Council Testimony
Subject: Zendo Kern
Aloha,
My name is Mike Vitousek, and this is my first time submitting testimony to the Hawaii County Council. Thank you
for the opportunity. I am motivated today to submit testimony in support of Zendo Kern's appointment for County
Planning Director because I believe in his ability to find balance between the need for reasonable growth in our
community and the need to preserve the environmental and cultural aspects that make our community special and
desirable. I realize that the council has had many discussions on this issue and many of you have already made up
your mind as to whether or not Zendo should serve as planning director for our county. Though we are a ways down
the path, I hope that you will still consider this testimony with an open mind.
I read in a January 20, 2021 article in the West Hawaii Today that the stated opposition to Zendo's appointment from
some members of the County Council was that they did not believe that he meets the minimum qualifications for the
position established in the county charter. I am not in a position to tell the Council that Zendo does or doesn't meet
these qualifications. What I can say is that I don't believe that qualifications are subjective. One either meets them, or
they don't. It's black and white. Whether an individual meets the minimum qualifications is a legal/judicial
interpretation of the stated facts of their resume and experience. In this case the County of Hawaii Corporation
Council has made the legal determination that Zendo does meet the minimum qualifications to be Planning Director.
I wholeheartedly respect the County Council's authority in confirming or denying Mayor Roth's nomination of Zendo
Kern as Panning Director. However, I believe that the discussion should focus on whether or not the County Council
believes Zendo would do good for our community, rather than focusing on interpreting the qualifications that
Corporation Council has determined that he meets. If the discussions are focused on what Zendo would do for our
community as Planning Director, I believe that we will realize that there are few people as capable as he is at building
consensus between competing interest groups in order to realize the vision that our diverse community has for our
future.
Mahalo,
Mike Vitousek
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CD __
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Comm. No. 144.149
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1 Ref. Dote FEB m 3 2021