HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0200.030 2024-2026HAWAVI COUNTY COUNCIL
Testimony in Strong Support of GOEAC-30 (Comm. 200)
Nomination of Rebecca Kawehi Inaba to the Leeward Planning Commission
Wednesday, April 16, 2025, 9:00 a.m.
West Hawaii Civic Center
74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Highway, Bldg. A
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
Aloha mai kakou:
I am writing to add my voice to the chorus in strong support of Rebecca Kawehi Inaba's
nomination to the Leeward Planning Commission. I have been honored to engage with Aunty
Kawehi in both community and professional spaces, including water law and advocacy trainings that
our Native Hawaiian Law Center facilitates. Because of Aunty's exemplary performance in these
courses, we have invited her back as a guest speaker. Given these experiences working with and
learning from Aunty Kawehi, I am confident that she will be a phenomenal addition to the Leeward
Planning Commission.
Although I am testifying in my personal capacity, I have some experience in this area. I am a
Professor of Law at the University of Hawaii at Manoa's William S. Richardson School of Law and
the Director of Ka Huli Ao Native Hawaiian Law Center. I teach and write in this highly specialized
area, including the Law School's courses in Native Hawaiian Rights and Water Law. I have directed
the Environmental Law and Native Hawaiian Rights Clinics where we explore traditional and
customary practices, environmental compliance, water use permitting, and more. I am also a
practicing attorney with over twenty-five years of litigation experience in Native Hawaiian and
Environmental Law.
As someone who has spent decades working in these spaces and appearing before countless boards
and commissions, I understand the importance of having decisionmakers who know more than the
black letter of the law, and who are also grounded in people and place. Aunty Kawehi brings all of
this to the table and is also incredibly balanced. She has demonstrated a commitment to learning and
upholding legal regimes such as the County Code, the General Plan, and community development
plans, while also listening deeply to the concerns of the larger community. Aunty Kawehi is also
conversant in the complex legal and cultural frameworks surrounding water and land use in Hawaii.
Planning in Hawaii requires more than technical skill —it demands vision, humility, and cultural
competence. Aunty Kawehi possesses all of these and more. I am confident that she will `auamo
this kuleana with mindfulness and care, and that will be a tremendous asset to the Leeward Planning
Commission. Mahalo for your time and aloha.
Me ka ha`aha`a,
D. Kapua Sproat
kapua.sproatct gmail.cbO
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