The Maui County Council voted unanimously to keep the Water Director Dave Taylor in his position, as the Mayor had tried to remove him without council approval as required by the county charter. Taylor's lawyers argued the Mayor was violating the charter by keeping Taylor on leave. The Maui County Liquor Control Commission held a special meeting regarding a workplace violence complaint against the Liquor Control Director Glenn Mukai. The commission found no issues with Mukai's performance review but declined to provide details. The council plans to initiate an audit of the liquor department due to past issues with nonprofit applications. True leaders accept responsibility for current challenges and focus on solutions rather than passing blame. Leaders are accountable for results

1. MAUI COUNTY
MAUI COUNTY COUNCIL – LIQUOR CONTROL COMMISSION
PASSING THE BUCK
_____________________
Section 8-11.5. Director and Deputy Director of Water Supply.
The director of water supply shall be appointed by the mayor with the
approval of the council, and may be removed by the mayor with the
approval of the council.
__________
On Dec. 15, [2017] council members voted unanimously to keep Taylor as
director, saying he hadn't been accused of any wrongdoing.
“The council made it very clear with our decision not to OK the dismissal.”
~ Council Vice Chairman Bob Carroll
Bronster and Kupau and said that by keeping Taylor on leave, the mayor is
violating the county charter, which states that the council must approve
the removal of the water director. [Margery Bronster and Lanson Kupau are
Attorneys for Water Director Dave Taylor]
The key here is that the mayor has tried to avoid the very clear requirements of
the county charter. And after the council fatly rejected his request to
terminate, he went and removed him anyway. ~ Margery Bronster, Esq.
[Emphasis and Clarifcation Supplied]
Source: Lawyers To Mayor: Let Dave Taylor Go Back To Work. Attorneys For
Water Supply Director Hand Maui County Mayor Arakawa An Ultimatum By
Colleen Uechi. The Maui News. January 10, 2018, accessed January 12, 2018
http://www.mauinews.com/news/local-news/2018/01/lawyers-to-mayor-let-dave-taylor-go-back-to-work/

2. Section 8-13.4. Director of the Department of Liquor Control.
The director of the department of liquor control shall be appointed
and may be removed by the liquor control commission.
A violence in the workplace complaint against Maui County Liquor Control
Director Glenn Mukai was the subject of a special meeting of the Liquor
Control Commission on Friday [January 19, 2018]
Commissioners at Friday's meeting found nothing wrong with the review, which
was about a paragraph long, and declined to provide any more details about
how they came up with their rating.
“That’s not for public record at this point,” Aluli said of the commission’s
additional evaluation records. “What needed to get up to the mayor, got up to
the mayor.” [Nane Aluli is a Member of the Maui County Liquor Control
Commission]
At the Maui County Council meeting Friday, the director’s review was referred
to the Policy and Intergovernmental Afairs Committee.
Committee Chairwoman Yuki Lei Sugimura said she plans to prepare a
resolution requesting council Chairman Mike White initiate a performance audit
of the department. Sugimura has previously been critical of the department for
its handling of nonprofts and treating them like “criminals” with overly
invasive background checks. “There's a lot of people who are afraid of the
liquor department because they have licenses, and they can make it hard for
their applications to go through, which is discouraging,” she said. “The
department serves the community, and they need to make it easier for people.”
[Emphasis Supplied]
Source: Mukai subject of workplace violence probe By Chris Sugidono.
The Maui News. January 20, 2018, accessed January 21, 2018
http://www.mauinews.com/news/local-news/2018/01/mukai-subject-of-workplace-violence-probe/

3. Great leaders accept responsibility for the current situation and focus on
solutions...
Friend, make no mistake, the frst, and utmost important characteristic of a true
leader is their willingness to own whatever challenges they come across during
their tenure as leader. Defecting and placing blame outside themselves doesn’t
fx anything, and those who take this approach inevitably end up disqualifying
themselves as true leaders. Anyone can acknowledge and point out past
problems, and place blame on others who may or may not have had a hand in
whatever challenges exist.
True leaders are those who refuse to go down the all too common road which
is paved by blame, and even goes as far as to ensure that those around them
don’t attempt to shift blame either. The true leader accepts the situation as is it
now, and further, accepts that he or she is fully responsible for the end result.
They relish in this challenge — they know that excuses, or shifting blame in
anyway will diminish their ability to lead, because of the loss of respect they
will get as a result of placing blame, and not accepting that they were put in
the position they are now because others believed they could get things to
where they needed to be, regardless of whatever situation they may have
inherited.
Make no mistake, true leaders make the decision to get on with the business of
fxing whatever problems and challenges may appear, when they appear,
holding and expressing their vision for what will create that and keep others
updated with real, measurable results so that everyone can see frst hand that
things are in fact changing for the better.
All of us must be responsible for holding those we entrust with the role of
leader accountable. When we see that they are falling short, we must be willing
to point it out, and let them know we expect better.
It’s Your Life, LIVE BIG!
Josh Hinds
Rule Number One of Leadership – Leaders Don't Pass the Buck
http://joshhinds.com/2012/11/15/rule-number-one-of-leadership-leaders-dont-pass-the-buck/