A simmering feud inside the Office of Hawaiian Affairs board burst into full public view Monday, when a five-trustee majority ordered four colleagues to yank a court filing that backed ousted CEO Stacy Ferreira. The showdown exposed a deep rift over how OHA should respond to Ferreira’s lawsuit accusing the agency of whistleblower retaliation and violations of Hawaii’s open-meetings law.
Minority trustees back full damages
The four-member minority bloc of trustees, Carmen Hulu Lindsey, Kalei Akaka, Keli‘i Akina and Luana Alapa, had filed a response in court saying they "affirmatively support Plaintiff’s entitlement to full damages resulting from this unlawful conspiracy," according to Hawaii News Now. That move, submitted last week, broke from the board’s existing legal posture and set the stage for a rare, very public airing of internal disagreements at Monday’s meeting.
Majority says filing hurts agency
Trustees aligned with Chair Kaiali‘i Kahele, along with OHA’s lawyers, argued that the minority’s solo play had weakened the agency’s position in court and created a legal mess. "It has impaired my ability to defend OHA in this case," OHA attorney Joe Adams told trustees, and the next hearing has now been pushed to Aug. 6, according to Honolulu Civil Beat. Civil Beat also reported that the board’s vice chair filed an internal complaint alleging violations of the office’s code of conduct tied to the disputed filing.
Board vote and split
After a tense back and forth, the board voted 5–1 to direct the minority trustees to withdraw their response. Trustee Kalei Akaka cast the lone "no" vote, Trustee Keli‘i Akina abstained, and Trustees Lindsey and Alapa walked out before the final tally, Hawaii News Now reports. Chair Kahele warned that filing pleadings without board authorization could run afoul of the state Sunshine Law and scramble what is supposed to be a single, unified legal strategy.
Projects and scrutiny on the line
Members of the majority warned that the public spat is not just an inside-baseball drama. They said the turmoil risks stalling major initiatives and attracting unwanted attention from state lawmakers while OHA manages trust resources and development projects. "We got $55 million coming. Legislature is watching us. We can’t screw it up, guys," Trustee Brickwood Galuteria said, warning that ongoing infighting could jeopardize projects and the trust fund that oversees hundreds of millions in assets, according to Honolulu Civil Beat.
Legal background and next steps
Ferreira first sued OHA in November 2025, alleging retaliation for whistleblowing and violations of the Sunshine Law, a clash that has already produced an unusual flurry of trustee filings and competing legal tactics. With paperwork piling up and the board still divided over how to defend the agency, both camps are now heading toward the Aug. 6 court date with a key question unresolved: try to settle through mediation, or fight it out in front of a judge.
