Mayor Kimo Alameda issued the following statement on Bill 64, which failed to pass the County Council on Oct. 8. The bill would have proposed a change to the County Charter, subject to voters’ approval, amending the requirements for the position of Director of Public Works.

“Currently, the County Charter requires the Public Works Director to be a registered professional engineer, which unfortunately restricts the pool of applicants. In addition to education, there are other qualifications that should be considered when choosing someone to run a department, such as an individual’s practical experience and leadership abilities. I believe the public deserves a say on whether the existing requirement is truly necessary, and it is disappointing that a majority of the Council members chose not to place this decision before them. Still, I hope that this conversation continues and that we can find opportunities to apply a more common-sense approach to our hiring practices.”