HONOLULU (KHON2) — The board of the Hawaii Authority for Rapid Transit is ready to move forward with Lori Kahikina as its executive director.
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There was unanimous consent to offer Kahikina a multi-year contract with a 3-year minimum, subject to negotiations. Several testified in support of her continuing leadership.
“The staff at HART believes in Lori. I believe in Lori,” said HART employee Doug Herring, “I was offered a couple of other positions and I’ve chosen to stay at HART because I believe in her.”
“What she did to earn the confidence of people like us in a community and the federal government and to secure the funding, I think hats off,” testifier Allen Cardines, Jr. said.
Some might point out low ridership numbers or the several delays that Rail has gone through, but testifiers said Kahikina’s engagement has been on point.
“She explains things to people, she answers everybody’s questions, she does community presentations, so I think it’s very wrong for people to put all the pressure on one person,” Angela Melody Young said.