Update: Council votes 9-0 to confirm Mimi Desjardins as corporation counsel and Andrew Martin as prosecuting attorney

Maui County Council members voted unanimously this afternoon to confirm Mayor Richard Bissen’s appointments for the county’s top two lawyers — Mimi Desjardins as corporation counsel and Andrew Martin as prosecuting attorney. With the adoption of the two the appointment resolutions, Desjardins will succeed Corporation Counsel Victoria Takayesu as if Jan. 2, 2027, and move up from the No. 2 position as first deputy to corporation counsel. Martin will retain a job he has held since January 2021. Today’s vote is unprecedented because it’s the first time an outgoing Council has chosen the county’s legal leadership for the new term beginning Jan. 2. The timing is the result of a voter-approved Maui County Charter amendment that established the Independent Nomination Board, designed to address the chronic problem of vacancies on boards and commissions. Council members expressed frustration with the process but agreed it was necessary to follow the current Charter’s time constraints.

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