Commissioner Bios & Staff

The Commission is a five member body created by the 1973 legislature under Act 185. Commissioners are appointed by the Governor from a list of ten nominees submitted by the Judicial Council. The appointments are not subject to senatorial confirmation. Commissioners serve on a voluntary basis for a four-year term and may be reappointed for a second four-year term.

Commissioners

Neal Herbert, Chair

A U.S. Coast Guard Academy graduate, Neal served for 28 years, including a tour as Commanding Officer, CG Base Honolulu, before retiring as Captain. Now residing in Hilo, his subsequent activities involve several national, state and Hawaii County organizations such as the U.S. Navy League, Society of Professional Engineers (currently a registered civil engineer in Hawaii), Big Island Retired Military Association and Paukaa Community Association, serving as officer/director in each. Neal worked with SSFM International, Inc, as a project engineer in their Hilo office. He is a former campaign treasurer, served on the Hawaii County Transportation Commission for four years, and was a nominee for the 2014 Big Island Outstanding Older American Award.

His term expires on June 30, 2027.

David Chee, Vice Chair

David Chee was born and raised in Honolulu. In 1988, he received a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Washington, and in 1992, a J.D. from the William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawaii. He has a small law firm that concentrates on real estate litigation. He enjoys traveling and spending time with his family.

His term expires on June 30, 2025.

Victor Bonfiglio

Vic works as a flight instructor, lifeguard, and school teacher in Honolulu where he and his wife, Mary, have lived for 20 years.  Vic joined the Air Force in 1964 as a 17 year old cadet at the Air Force Academy where he was honored with the Andrews Award as the outstanding cadet in the History Department and served as a Flight Commander.  His 30 years of active duty service as a fighter pilot, paratrooper and commander, included 23 years of overseas duty, 6 years of combat service, 430 combat missions and 321 parachute jumps.  He earned a Master’s degree and was honored with the Kellogg Award as a Distinguished Graduate of the Defense Language Institute in Spanish.  He also studied Latin, German, Italian and Turkish.  After retiring from the Air Force in 1998, Vic was honored as an Outstanding Instructor 8 times by the Education Department.  He flew almost 9,000 hours and was honored twice by the FAA as the Hawaii Flight Instructor of the Year in 2016 and in 2017.

His term expires on June 30, 2024.

Jon Itomura

Jon Itomura is a graduate of St. Louis High School.  In 1985, he received a B.A. in Environmental, Pollution, and Organismic Biology from the University of Colorado, and in 1992, a J.D. from the Puget Sound School of Law.  After working for the Senate Ways and Means Committee, Circuit Court, and serving as Deputy Attorney General until 1999, he was General Counsel for the Campaign Spending Commission from 1999-2003.  Following sixteen years as Supervising Attorney for the Division of Consumer Advocacy, he retired from State service in 2019 and is currently the Executive Director for the Hawaii United Okinawa Association.

His term expires on June 30, 2027.

Stanley Lum

Stanley Lum is a graduate of Kamehameha Schools, the University of Hawaii, and Southwestern Seminary.  Prior to retiring from the Armed Services YMCA as Executive Director, he served as Assistant Headmaster and Director of Development at Le Jardin Academy and as Vice President for Financial Development at Hawaii Baptist Academy.  He is a founding board member of the Missing Child Center of Hawaii and volunteers at the Ronald McDonald House Charities and Sony Open.

His term expires on June 30, 2024.

Commission Staff

The Commission staff consists of an executive director, associate director, general counsel, administrative assistant and elections assistant.

Executive Director – Kristin E. Izumi-Nitao
Associate Director – Tony Baldomero
General Counsel – Gary Kam
Elections Assistant – Terence Lau
Administrative Assistant – Anthony Diep