Joe Bock and Kevin Sakamoto were confirmed on Wednesday to the Honolulu Liquor Commission after being appointed by Mayor Rick Blangiardi in September by the Honolulu City Council. They took their oaths of office following their confirmation votes.

The additions of these two members bring the Honolulu Liquor Commission to a much-needed five-member assemblage.

“Kevin Sakamoto has already demonstrated his incredible capabilities as a dedicated and committed public servant through his ten years on the Salary Commission,” said Mayor Blangiardi in a release.

“I am extremely grateful for the financial expertise that Commissioner Sakamoto brings to the Liquor Commission.”

Commissioner Bock will fill the vacancy left by the resignation of Malama Minn and will serve a term that expires Dec. 31, 2023. Commissioner Sakamoto will serve until Dec. 31, 2027.

Under Chapter 281 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes, the Liquor Commission has the sole jurisdiction, power, authority, and discretion to grant, refuse, suspend, and revoke any license for the manufacture, importation, or sale of liquor within the City and County of Honolulu.

Bock is the owner and general manager of NMG Network, a media publishing, broadcasting and advertising company based in Honolulu. He is a graduate of Texas A&M University and earned a juris doctorate degree from the University of Houston.

Sakamoto is the group senior vice president of wealth management at Central Pacific Bank. Sakamoto earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, a graduate diploma in banking from Pacific Coast Banking School in Seattle, Washington, and completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Nuy Cho is the executive producer of Spectrum News Hawaii. Read more of her stories here.