Rep. Faimealelei Anthony Allen has declared that he will not resign from the Board of Directors the LBJ Tropical Medical Center.
Governor Pulaalii Nikolao Pula has asked for the resignation of the five board members of the hospital authority board so that the administration can begin the process of submitting nominations of new board members to the Fono for confirmation.
Faimealelei did not mince words, telling KHJ News that the law establishing the hospital authority board states that the governor can only remove members of the board for cause.
The specific provision that he was referring to states that, “The members of the Board of Directors shall be appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate, and may be removed by the Governor only for cause.”
Faimealelei said the Governor did not state any cause for his request for the board members to resign, and as far as he’s concerned, he is still a board member until his term expires. He added that he has responded to the Governor’s letter and has informed him that he is not stepping down. It’s his understanding that this is the same position taken by the other four board members.
Faimealelei also pointed out that the law provides that the terms of the board members are staggered, so for the Governor to ask that they all resign at the same time goes against the intention of the law, which is to allow for continuity and not an abrupt change like he is proposing.
The statute states that upon the effective date of this chapter, “…the governor shall appoint five directors for terms of one, two, three, four and five years respectively, in order to establish staggered terms. Subsequently, the governor shall make appointments for such periods as will maintain staggered terms, but with no term exceeding four years.”
Faimealelei said he knows that the terms of two members of the board have expired, and the law states that they may continue to serve after the expiration of their terms until a successor is appointed and confirmed.
Governor Pula’s letter to the Hospital board members said, “At this time, we ask that you give the newly elected Pula and Pulu administration the opportunity to give other members of our community the same opportunity to serve as you have had during the previous gubernatorial administrations.”
His April 3 letter asked the board members to email a resignation letter so they can begin the process of making nominations to the Fono for confirmation. And he said if no email or letter is received within five working days of the date of his letter, their resignations will be presumed to have been submitted.
