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I. OFFICE OF THE MAYOR

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 Mayor Stephen K. Yamashiro was born in Honolulu and attended University Elementary School.  He graduated from Punahou in 1959 and the U.S. Army Artillery Officer's Candidate School, Fort Sill, Oklahoma in 1964.   In 1965, Mayor Yamashiro received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Hawaii and in 1969 he was awarded a law degree from Willamette University College of Law.  He has served as a State Deputy Attorney General, a County of Hawaii Deputy Corporation Counsel, and Hearings Officer for the Hawaii Public Emmployment Relations Board.  Mayor Yamashiro served on the Hawaii County Council from 1976 to 1990,   11 of those years as Chairman.  He became Mayor of the County of Hawaii on December 7, 1992.  He is married to Della E. Allison.
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 William G. Davis, Managing Director, was born on Kauai and attended Cornell University.  He was employed with Interisland Resorts from 1957 to 1984 and managed the Naniloa Surf Hotel from 1966 to 1984 and the Kauai Surf Hotel from 1984 to 1985.  He then became Regional Vice President of Hemmeter Corporation from 1984 to 1986.  He was Senior Vice President of Hemmeter Partners from 1987 to December, 1992, when he was appointed Hawaii County Managing Director.

 
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 Henry Cho, Deputy Managing Director, was born and educated in Kona.  He was employed with the State Department of Transportation, South Kona Highways Division, for over 37 years and received several state and community awards for his work.  His family business is H. Cho Enterprises, Inc., specializing in wholesaling and retailing of plumeria flowers and leis.  He has been an active member of the Kona Judo Club for 39 years, and also has been active in the South Kona Aloha Lions Club and the South Kona Catholic Churches.  Mr. Cho serves the County in the Kona Office.
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 Rudy Legaspi, Executive Assistant, was born and educated in Hilo and attended the University of Hawaii at Hilo from 1958-1960.   He graduated from the University of Hawaii-Manoa Campus in 1962 with a Bachelor's degree in personnel management.  he served in the Hawaii National Guard and the U.S. Army.  Mr. Legaspi served as Hawaii County Legislative Auditor from 1969 to 1976 when he became County Clerk, a position he held until January, 1989.  He is a member and officer of numerous community organizations.
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 Executive Assistant, Norman Olesen is an engineer and former licensed contractor.  He was educated at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia and Columbia University in New York City and holds a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Civil Engineering.  Mr. Olesen spent twenty-four years with Kaiser Aluminum & chemical Corporation of Oakland, California as an engineering manager and field project manager where he was responsible for the construction, operation and maintenance of major plants in different parts of the country as well as overseas.  He and his wife Elisabeth are residents of Kehena in the Puna district where they have participated in community activities such as the Neighborhood Watch program and the Mayor's Parks and Recreation Committee for Puna.  A U.S. Marine Corps Korean Conflict Veteran, Mr. Olesen has been active with the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post 3830 and the Democratic Party on the Big Island.
mayors_kaaloa.gif (13753 bytes) Lohe Kaaloa, Executive Assistant, served four years in the United States Marine Corps and was a construction project coordinator.   He has been the sole proprietor of Big Island Masonry, Inc. and a martial arts expert and Panaewa farmer.  He has been involved in many Hawaiian organizations and works with hawaiian groups on community projects.

 

ROLE AND DUTIES

The Office of the Mayor provides direction, leadership and operational supervision for all Executive Branch departments and agencies and works in conjunction with the County Council to develop and implement policies and programs. The powers, duties and functions are authorized and described under Articles IV and V of the County Charter.

The Mayor must ensure the enforcement of all provisions of the County Charter, the ordinances of the county and all applicable laws.

A major responsibility is the development and submittal of an operating budget, operating programs, capital improvement budget, capital improvement programs and pay plans to the County Council in a timely manner as mandated by the County Charter.

It is also the responsibility of the Office of the Mayor to establish and supervise boards, commissions and advisory committees.

The Mayor reviews and ensures the execution of county contracts and other signed instruments.

As the Chief Executive Officer, the Mayor is the primary representative of the county and/or its Executive Branch. The Mayor's Office communicates county programs and policy to the public and various levels and branches of government.

 

STAFF

The Office of the Mayor currently has 16 full-time employees including the Mayor and four Civil Service employees.

Appointed employees (co-terminous with the Mayor) are:

William G. Davis, Managing Director
Henry Cho, Deputy Managing Director
Rudy Legaspi, Executive Assistant
Glenn Y. Taguchi, Executive Assistant
Norman Olesen, Executive Assistant
Janice P. Yee
Lohe Kaaloa, Executive Assistant
Marcia Reynolds, Public Information Officer
Myrle Kaloi, Private Secretary to the Mayor
Margie Lee, Private Secretary to the Managing Director
Marilyn Billena, Senior Clerk-Typist
Jeannette Vidgen, Senior Clerk (Kona Office)
Dr. Ernest L. Bade, County Physician
Dr. Alan C. DeSilva, County Physician
Dr. Curtis W. Lee, County Physician
Dr. James E. Mitchell, County Physician
Santiago Gose, Immigration Information Specialist

 

Office of the Safety Coordinator

See "Division of Industrial Safety."

 

County Physicians

County Physicians advise on medical matters, render medical opinions and conduct physical examinations as requested by the Mayor's Office and other agencies of the county.

 

Immigration Information Specialist

The Immigration Information Specialist contacts and assists immigrants in the County of Hawaii, and serves as liaison on immigration matters of broad community concern, as well as individual problems of immigrants. The IIS provides assistance to any assigned clients through the Multi-Purpose Center and the Hawaii County Services Center in Kailua-Kona.

 

Commissions

Committee on Children and Youth:

This committee advises the Mayor on issues affecting the welfare and development of Hawaii County's young citizens.

Seven committee meetings were held during FY 1997-98.

In the area of young children, the committee oversees the Hawaii County Child Care Coordinator position. This position was created through a grant from the State and links the County of Hawaii to the Good Beginnings Alliance and the State's Master Plan for Early Childhood Education. The role of the coordinator included the formation of a regional council to create and implement a five-year County plan. This plan was completed in May of 1997. The coordinator position has received an additional year of funding. The committee also approved, for the fourth year, financial support for a delegate to attend the National Association for the Education of Young Children Conference in Dallas, Texas.

In terms of adolescents, a new subcommittee has been formed to address the needs of our teen population including issues such as transportation, vocational training, after school activities, and other topics to be generated by the subcommittee members themselves. The goal of this group will be to come up with a County plan modeled somewhat after the Early Childhood plan.

Hawaii County, through members of the Committee on Children and Youth, was represented during FY 1997-98 on the following committees:

The Big Island Good Beginnings Alliance Community Council
The Good Beginnings Alliance Board of Directors
The Governor's Advisory Council on Children and Youth
Hawaii Association for the Education of Young Children - Big
Island Chapter
Hawaii Kids Count

Committee on People with Disabilities:

The Mayor's Committee on People with Disabilities is a volunteer committee appointed by the Mayor to advise him on all matters related to people with disabilities. The committee's primary function is to review and make recommendations and provide guidelines to improve the quality of life for people with disabilities in the County of Hawaii.

The committee held six meetings during Fiscal Year 1997-98 and the following are activities that occurred and accomplishments:

Committee on the Status of Women:

As mandated by the Hawaii Revised Statutes, the County of Hawaii Committee on the Status of Women advises the Mayor and the Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women on a wide range of women's issues.

The committee served for the fourth year as the primary organizing force for the Women's Health Month on the Big Island. Offering a wide variety of "Brown Bag Lunch" talks featuring diverse speakers and activities ranging from traditional Hawaiian healing to Zen meditation techniques to cutting edge information on cancer, HIV infection, etc. Hosted in Hilo, Waimea, and Kona, the program offered information to the Big Island's diverse populace.

 As part of Women's Health Month, the committee also hosted a booth at the Hawaii County Fair which was manned by individuals representing groups such as the Domestic Violence Inter-Agency Team, American Cancer Society, Big Island AIDS Foundation, and American Heart Association, as well as community members who served as speakers and facilitators for the Brown Bags Lunch series.

In conjunction with Women's History Month, the committee again sponsored its annual "Real Women" Creative Writing competition. This most recent effort resulted in the highest number of entrants to date, including a marked increase in the number of male students who participated in writing about real women who have influenced their lives.

As part of its ongoing recognition of and response to sex assault crimes in the community, the committee co-sponsored a program with Soroptomists International (Hilo) to provide training for a Sex Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE). Providing this service and increasing the base group of trained professionals helps to ensure that Big Island victims of sex assault can receive the proper medical assessment in timely fashion.

Members of the committee were very active in the Legislative process. In addition to educating themselves on the numerous and diverse issues confronting women, committee members provided testimony by actually attending and speaking at various legislative hearings, and in writing through e-mail and faxed testimonials. Members also participated in helping to develop the State Commission's legislative strategy.

By speaking to various groups in Hawaii County such as the Zonta Club, Big Island Women Lawyers' organization, and others, the Chair of the Hawaii County Committee on the Status of Women helped to raise the awareness levels of and to seek participation by county residents with respect to legislative issues.

The Hawaii County Committee on the Status of Women is committed to continuing to fulfill its mission. Having stated this, members wish to acknowledge and extend sincere appreciation to the Mayor and his administration for the continued support which is instrumental in the committee's ability to successfully advocate for women at both the County and State levels.

 Clerical Services Center

The Clerical Services Center provides secretarial, clerical and staff assistance to the Office of the Mayor and other county agencies.  The Center assists the public with information about government and other community services, receives and refers complaints, issues disabled parking placards.

 

Clerical Services Center

The Clerical Services Center provides secretarial, clerical and staff assistance to the Office of the Mayor and other county agencies. The Center assists the public with information about government and other community services, receives and refers complaints, issues disabled parking placards.

Telephone Calls Received
Total Calls Received 15,810

County

 12,319

State

 2,992

Federal

 154

Others

 345

Complaints Received

Agency Received Resolved
Civil Defense 2 2
Civil Service 1 1
Corporation Counsel 3 2
County Clerk/Council 7 1
Finance 3 2
Fire 1 1
Housing 6 5
Liquor Control 0 0
Mass Transit 9 2
Mayor's Office 7 7
Miscellaneous 5 3
Parks and Recreation 14 5
Planning 11 0
Police 12 12
Prosecuting Attorney 0 0
Public Works 43 30
State 3 2
Water Supply 4 2

TOTAL

 131 77

Disabled Parking Permits Issued

Month Permanent Temporary
July 88 41
August 84 38
September 93 44
October 81 51
November 102 33
December 121 38
January 119 39
February 87 41
March 98 39
April 128 57
May 79 37
June 87 40

TOTAL

 1,167 498

Assignment/Work Data

No. of Assignments Received: 1,117
Volume of Assignments: 23,642

 

BUDGET

The Mayor's Office operating budget for Fiscal Year 1997-98 was $833,624.

This included funding for the Clerical Services Center, Committee on People with Disabilities, Committee on Children and Youth, Committee on the Status of Women and the four County Physicians.

 

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