Kali Watson Wants Four More Years. The Senate Should Make Him Prove He Deserves Them.

The administration may have reappointed Kali Watson on July 31. That does not mean Hawaiʻi has to accept four more years of the same leadership at the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. The State Senate still has the final say. This time, senators should use it.

For the more than 29,000 beneficiaries still waiting for Hawaiian Home Lands, this is not an inside-baseball confirmation fight at the Capitol. It is about who controls the department responsible for turning a century-old promise into real homes, leases and opportunity.

Every year of delay carries a human cost. Families wait. Kūpuna pass. Keiki inherit applications instead of homes. That is the record by which Kali Watson should be judged. Not press releases. Not promises. Results. Another term should not be automatic.

What happened on July 31

The administration announced four appointments to the Hawaiian Homes Commission: Watson was reappointed as chair; Kanoa Alapai and Gabe Amey were appointed; and Mike Kaleikini was reappointed. However, “reappointed” can be misleading.

Watson has not been given a new term. He has been nominated for one. The Hawaiʻi State Senate must confirm him. That distinction matters because the chair of the Hawaiian Homes Commission also serves as DHHL's administrator.

One confirmation. Two powerful jobs. Control of the department entrusted with Hawaiian home lands. That deserves scrutiny, not a rubber stamp.

The Senate has already proven it can say no

We do not have to speculate about whether the Senate can stop a DHHL nominee. It already happened.

On Feb. 14, 2023, after about five hours of testimony, the Senate Committee on Hawaiian Affairs voted 4-1 against Ikaika Anderson’s nomination to lead DHHL. Anderson withdrew the next day.

Watson was nominated in his place and confirmed on March 23, 2023. Kali Watson holds this office today because senators refused to automatically approve the person the administration initially wanted. The same standard must apply now.

If senators believed confirmation mattered then, it matters now. Watson should face the same hard questions, the same scrutiny, and the same willingness to say no. No nominee owns this seat. No administration gets to decide this alone. And no incumbent should get four more years simply because his name is already on the door.

Put Watson’s record on the table

A serious confirmation hearing should not be a ceremony. It should be an examination. Require written answers before the vote. Provide the public with meaningful notice. Make the record easy to access. Give people on every island a meaningful opportunity to participate. Most importantly, stop grading DHHL leadership on announcements.

Ask what was promised. Ask what was delivered. Ask how many families actually moved off the waitlist. Ask how the money was spent. Ask which initiatives worked, which stalled, and why. Ask whether beneficiaries were treated as partners or as an audience to be managed after decisions were made.

Then ask the question that matters: Has Kali Watson earned another term?

ʻIke Pono Hawaiʻi’s position is clear: the Senate should reject his reappointment unless Watson can demonstrate a record that justifies four more years of control over DHHL. A nomination is not an entitlement. Longevity is not performance. Familiarity should never be mistaken for accountability.