Sen. Dwight Takamine
Hawaii’s Gov.-elect Neil Abercrombie … picked state Sen. Dwight Takamine (D, Hamakua-South Hilo) as director of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. Takamine is known as a union advocate, and he and his father, former International Longshore and Warehouse Union leader Yoshito Takamine, have represented the Hamakua coast in either the state House or Senate since statehood.
Abercrombie, recognizing that some in the business community might consider Takamine too friendly to unions, named Audrey Hidano — known as a small-business advocate — as deputy director for labor. Hidano, co-founder of Hidano Construction, previously served as deputy director at the department and was also president of the Building Industry Association of Hawaii.
The Cabinet nominations are subject to Senate confirmation.