Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs have deferred a decision to appoint its permanent CEO after an hours-long meeting on Thursday met with opposition from people who say the board made the wrong choice.
The trustees on Wednesday initially selected Todd Apo, a former Honolulu City Council member with a land development background, to lead the semi-autonomous state agency.
The other finalists were interim CEO Summer Sylva and former director of Hawaiian Homes Kaulana Park.
But Sylva failed to gain a majority of the votes during a joint committee meeting on Wednesday.
More than 25 people — ranging from community members, lawyers, and state and county lawmakers — testified mostly in support of Sylva, but also asked the board to defer their decision until after elections.
However, the board voted 5-4 to make their decision on their CEO on Nov. 2.
This is a developing story. Please check back for more information later.
