Hawaii governor appoints 6 new department heads

HONOLULU — Gov. David Ige announced six new members of his cabinet and two new deputies Wednesday.

“These appointments show a variety of talented and dedicated individuals from both the public and private sectors, who have decided to work together to create a better Hawaii for future generations,” Ige said in a statement.

Ige named Wesley Machida as the director of finance. Machida currently leads the state’s $14 billion Employees’ Retirement System.

Douglas Murdock, who’s currently the vice president for administrative and fiscal affairs at the Hawaii Tourism Authority, will become the state’s comptroller.

James Nishimoto, who has served for more than three decades at the University of Hawaii and in state government, will direct the Department of Human Resources Development.

Rachel Wong will lead the Department of Human Services. She was most recently vice president and chief operating officer of the Healthcare Association of Hawaii.

Maria Zielinski, who previously served as deputy controller for Hawaii and as the chief financial officer for the massive California School Employees Association, will be director of taxation.

The Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism will be led by Luis Salaveria, who has a mix of public and private sector experience.

Ige said he’s committed to finding the best and the brightest to serve. But he’s said it’s difficult in part because of relatively low state salaries.

Mary Alice Evans will continue to serve as deputy director of the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, and Pankaj Bhanot will be deputy director of the Department of Human Services.

A number of other positions are temporarily being filled by the directors who served under Gov. Neil Abercrombie.