HONOLULU — Following the withdrawal of embattled appointee Ikaika Anderson last week, Gov. Josh Green turned to a familiar, perhaps more confirmation-ready figure on Wednesday, appointing Kali Watson to reprise his former role as director of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.
“Kali has a proven track record of housing Native Hawaiians, both as leader of DHHL and as head of his nonprofit,” Green said. “I am hopeful that state senators and our communities will be supportive of his nomination as we face a critical time in Hawaii. Kali has the track record to provide stewardship for the $600 million DHHL appropriation.”
As DHHL director from 1995 to 1998, Watson coordinated the development of more than 3,100 residential lots on Hawaiian homelands. He also secured legislative funding and approval of the $600 million settlement between the state and DHHL, which included the transfer of some 16,518 acres of state land to make the DHHL trust whole. Executing the federal Hawaiian Home Lands Recovery Act of 1995, Watson helped drive the transfer of more than 900 acres of federal land into the trust.
Nanakuli Hawaiian Homestead Community Association president Kamaki Kanahele praised Watson’s leadership in helping to develop the Nanakuli Village Center.
“While many people helped build the Nanakuli Village Center, Kali Watson was the one most responsible for it becoming a reality,” said Kamaki Kanahele, president of the Nanakuli Hawaiian Homestead Community Association. “It is the first homestead-owned shopping center in the state and today, right in the heart of DHHL’s Nanakuli homesteading community, we have a 48-unit affordable rental housing project, my mom’s Kalani Hookaha cultural learning by Kamehameha Schools, several medical clinics and major retail outlets, that provide employment for our Nanakuli and Waianae kids. He made Nanakuli a better place to live and he will without a doubt help so many more Hawaiian homesteading communities, because he knows how to get things done. He has the compassion, commitment and expertise to do it. The future is bright for the Hawaiian people.”
Watson burnished his reputation as a champion of housing for Native Hawaiians through his nonprofit Hawaiian Community Development Board, which along with its partners has built or refurbished more than 1,400 affordable homes on Oahu and Maui.
“I am truly honored to be asked by the governor to help move the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands program forward,” Watson said. “I’ve been working in the Hawaiian homesteading communities for most of my life, both as a past DHHL director and through my nonprofit. And being the new director with the $600 million from our supportive legislature, we can definitely do so much more, especially if we work collectively.
“I ask everyone, especially our Hawaiian beneficiaries, to please join me in fulfilling the mission of the Hawaiian Homestead Commission Act to get Hawaiians on their land and thereby creating a better home for us all,” Watson said. “Pupukahi i holomua (united in order to progress).”
Watson’s nomination requires advice and consent of the Hawaii State Senate, as does the nomination of Deputy Katie Ducatt. By law, Anderson, whom the Green appointed prior to the 2023 Legislative Session, will remain in the seat until Watson is confirmed and sworn in, or at the end of the current legislative session, whichever comes first.
Michael Tsai covers local and state politics for Spectrum News Hawaii.