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HONOLULU – Governor Linda Lingle today appointed Gilbert S. C. Keith-Agaran as the representative for House District 9, which includes Kahului, Wailuku, Pu‘unene, Spreckelsville, and Paia on Maui.  Keith-Agaran will fill the remaining two-year term of the late Representative Bob Nakasone, who passed away on December 7, 2008.
“I look forward to working with Rep. Keith-Agaran and his colleagues in both the House and Senate when the Legislature convenes next Wednesday as we address the many important issues facing our state and House District 9,” said Governor Lingle.
Keith-Agaran has worked at both the state and county government levels.  From 2003 to 2005, he served as the director of the Department of Public Works and Environmental Management for the County of Maui. He also chaired the state Board of Land and Natural Resources from 2000 to 2002, and served as its deputy from 1995 to 1998.  He served as a member of the Kaho‘olawe Island Reserve Commission from 2000 to 2004.  Keith-Agaran previously served as director of the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations and deputy director of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.
Keith-Agaran is currently a partner with the law firm of Takatani & Agaran.  
According to a law passed by the Legislature in 2006, the Governor was required to select a person from a list of three prospective candidates submitted by the same political party as the prior incumbent.  The Democrat Party submitted the list of names to the Governor on December 23, 2008 and the Governor sought public comments on the three individuals through January 9, 2009.  The deadline to fill the vacancy was February 5, 2009 (60 days following the first day of when the vacancy occurred).