The Maui County Liquor Commission is scheduled to meet on April 13. Assuming they do meet—their brothers on the Adjudication Board cancelled their April 7 hearing—they might not all be there. That’s because the commissioner representing Lanai is still up in the air.
All anyone can say for certain is that retiree Victor Fink, Mayor Alan Arakawa’s nominee, won’t be sitting on the Commission. For reasons that remain mysterious, the County Council “disapproved” Fink in March.
“The Council rejected Mr. Fink’s nomination without really saying why,” a member of the mayor’s staff told me. Council Chairman G. Riki Hokama—who represents Lanai and originally pulled Fink’s name—didn’t respond to an email request for comment.
Fink’s Commission Application Form seemed to indicate a well-rounded nominee with extensive restaurant experience. For 20 years, he’d run his own restaurant supply distribution service. He’d also worked the front desk at the Big Island’s Volcano House and in guest services at The Lodge at Koele on Lanai. A Republican, Fink also said he was a member of the Nature Conservancy and the Audubon Society.
Who will take Fink’s place isn’t clear. Hopes that Lanai resident and outgoing Adjudication Board member Ron McOmber would take Fink’s place—McOmber himself talked of such possibilities during the March 3, 2005 Board meeting—proved fruitless. Instead of the outspoken, self-professed “big mouth” who made a name for himself browbeating liquor licensees dragged before the Board, Arakawa nominated current Manele Bay Hotel front desk manager Edwin Vila.
Very little is known about Vila. Because of Fink’s rejection, Vila’s nomination was rushed without a formal application process. The mayoral aide wouldn’t comment on why Arakawa chose Vila.
“I cannot comment on the reasons why one individual was picked over another,” the mayoral aide said.
Comments
comments