Confirmation hearings are continuing in the House of Representatives.
On Wednesday, the nominee for Director of Commerce, Magdalene Pepe Petaia appeared before the House Commerce, Economic Development and Financial Institutions Committee, with Vice Chairman Tapai Alailepule Benjamin Vaivao leading the hearing.
Petaia said that when the director positions were advertised, she had no intention of applying. “But the Lord works in mysterious ways,” she said. “I believe it was the whispering of the Holy Spirit that prompted me to apply. It’s our time, our generation’s time. I felt that I would be of service to the department and territory.”
She described the last five weeks since being appointed as a challenging time because of the differing views of employees. Petaia said many employees were hired in the last four years, and she was part of the interviews. A large percentage of the hires were millennials.
She said DOC now is very different from when she started 12 years ago. “The work ethic is different,” she remarked, “But I want to be a good example to the youth. I want to make good change.”
Petaia said she has a plan of what she wants to achieve, but will put that on hold until she has been confirmed. She wants to look at the capacity of the staff to increase accountability, transparency, and integrity.
She also plans to get more public involvement in DOC programs, pointing out that she’s just finding out that the community is not aware of many of the programs under DOC.
Asked how she planned to improve the land use permit review system, Project Notification and Review System, so that projects are properly vetted and the public make input, Petaia said this is one division of DOC she has not worked with before. But she plans to get involved and attend at least one meeting of the PNRS Board per month. She also plans to work with other agencies represented on the PNRS Board on innovative ways to get the information about public hearings out to the community.
She referred to the amphitheater to be built at Lions Park, a project that is funded under a DOC program. She said there was a public hearing for the project, but perhaps the information about the meeting did not get out to the public.
The director nominee told representatives that plans for the Industrial Park have to be revisited now that the new hospital will not be built there. She said other planned projects would also need to be reviewed, and this would involve getting all stakeholders together for a discussion.
Rep. Trude Ledoux-Sunia said no doubt the personnel action taken by Petaia has caused friction among staff, and she didn’t want this to be a hurdle; especially, since DOC is in charge of so many federal projects and significant federal funding.
She asked the nominee to explain how she hoped to build rapport among the staff.
Petaia said she intended to talk with employees individually, and would ask that those who haven’t worked with her and don’t know her to professionally give her a chance.
Asked what her biggest challenge is, she quoted a comment from Governor Pulaalii at a cabinet meeting on Monday, “That we can’t sing different songs. We have to sing the same song.” She said her vision is to have the department sing the same song and attain honest governance.
Several representatives commended Petaia’s work track record and academic credential and expressed confidence that she was a capable leader for DOC. They urged that she be kind to employees and work with them as they are her greatest assets. Among requests that representatives made during the hearing was to look into licensing of Asian owned companies to stop a monopoly on prices, to review limited liability companies, and to ensure that programs under DOC are evenly distributed.
The House approved Petaia by a vote of 13-2. 
Representatives also confirmed Gwen Tauiliili Langkide as Attorney General by unanimous vote 15-0. Both the AG and DOC Director have passed been approved by the Senate, so they are now fully confirmed.
