Key lawmaker questions state hirings and firings

HONOLULU — State Senate President Donna Mercado Kim is questioning a decision by the state’s information technology office to suddenly fire 11 employees.

Hawaii News Now reported that the technology employees were fired the same month that four political appointees of outgoing Gov. Neil Abercrombie were hired to the same department.

Abercrombie, who lost the primary election in August, leaves office on Monday and many of his political appointees will lose their job unless incoming Gov.-elect David Ige retains them.

The state’s Chief Information Officer Keone Kali fired about a quarter of his staff in October. Kali said the office needs people with specific skills as it begins carrying out technology upgrades.

But in the same month, the IT office also hired one of the governor’s receptionists, his deputy communications director and deputy human resources director.

Kali said the staffers were not fired to make way for political appointees.

“If you’re firing 11 people who’ve been on the job, why couldn’t some of them be re-programmed here, if in fact you had to do away with those positions?” Kim asked.

Kali said that wasn’t possible because “their backgrounds and experience would not have qualified them for the vacant positions.”

Asked if she thought the Abercrombie appointees were qualified for their new jobs, Kim said, “I think in some cases it’s a stretch, if you look at their resumes.”

None of the employees in the state’s IT office have permanent, civil service jobs. That means the people who were recently hired could be ousted after Ige takes office Monday.