A longtime Maui attorney, two Oahu residents and a current Maui Liquor Control Department employee are among those on an undisclosed list of applicants for the Maui County liquor department director post.

Four names came up during public testimony Thursday morning before the Liquor Control Commission as it works to select a replacement for former Director Glenn Mukai, who retired in February after three sometimes turbulent years at the helm.

Mukai made $139,133, annually.

Deputy Director Georgette Tyau is filling in as interim director. Tyau’s name did not come up during oral testimony Thursday morning, and she could not be reached for comment Thursday.

The names that did come up during the commission’s virtual meeting were Wailuku attorney David Jorgensen; Ken Takemoto, an Oahu resident and former chief liquor control investigator with the Honolulu Liquor Commission; Malama Minn, also of Oahu and a current co-vice chairwoman of the Honolulu Liquor Commission, and Layne Silva, a senior investigator with the liquor department.

On Thursday, the commission did not disclose any names of applicants under consideration. It took testimony on its single agenda item during its special meeting to receive a final report from the temporary investigative group looking into the hiring of a new director and interviews of potential candidates.

The commission went into about a nearly two-hour-long executive session at the conclusion of public testimony. After reconvening, the commission voted to have the temporary investigative group continue its work.

There were no comments about what the next steps would be for the commission in selecting a new director. Chairman Nane Aluli could not be reached for comment following the meeting.

On Wednesday, Aluli said that while no applicant names would be released Thursday, they would be revealed after the next special meeting, probably the third week this month, to interview the final candidates.

Those who have applied for the job include:

• Jorgensen, a longtime Wailuku attorney, who mainly focuses on civil cases and has represented many clients before the liquor commission for decades. He also has worked as a deputy corporation counsel for Maui County and advised both the liquor and police departments. He also has served on the Maui County Police Commission.

• Minn, born and raised in Hana, has served on the Honolulu Liquor Commission since July 2015 and currently leads adjudications and contested hearings. The Kaneohe resident currently works as an energy consultant for Johnson Controls and was a project development specialist with the state Department of Land and Natural Resources up until January. Her resume also includes being a transformational outreach specialist for Hawaii Energy and a wind energy specialist for the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.

• Silva is the son of retired Maui County Liquor Control Director Frank Silva, who was Mukai’s predecessor. He could not be reached for comment Thursday.

• Takemoto, a Kaneohe resident, is currently on contract employment with the City and County of Honolulu as an investigator who handles employment law and equal opportunity issues. Prior to his current post, he was a human resource business partner for Hawaiian Electric Co. His employment background also includes being a chief liquor control investigator and a supervising liquor control investigator with Honolulu County.

Jorgensen, who testified before the commission Thursday, said he was confused about the process and questioned the requirement of five years of law enforcement experience, three of it administrative. The issue of law enforcement experience came up during his interview.

Jorgensen said that he may not have been a police officer but has enforced county laws, such as closing down those that violated zoning laws, while a deputy corporation counsel.

In a phone interview after the meeting, Jorgensen said he wasn’t sure if he was still in the running for the job. He said he had applied to be a “difference maker.”

“I think I could make a difference and help this thing, help make it better,” he said.

Minn said she was encouraged to apply for the post by others, including the chairman of her current liquor commission. She would like to bring Maui County’s liquor department in line with the rest of the other county departments in the state and has heard of the issues plaguing the department.

She said she would want to “restore public trust in our agency.”

Under Mukai, the department and commission faced much public scrutiny for enacting significant rule changes and imposing Draconian application requirements for nonprofit special event liquor licenses without proper public review. Following public outcry, the changes ultimately were reversed.

Takemoto said he wasn’t sure at first what to make of an ad put out by a recruiter for the liquor director job, but applied anyway. He said he was aware of the issues facing the department.

A sports buff, Takemoto likened what his approach would be to former University of Hawaii football coach June Jones, who turned an 0-12 losing team into a national power. He said he has had experience dealing with these kinds of issues while at the Honolulu liquor department.

Among the 10 or so people who gave oral testimony Thursday, many called for change within the department, and licensees sought help to make it through the COVID-19 pandemic and an economy in shambles without tourism.

“We are barely making it,” Matthew Robb said “Places are closing every day. It’s getting worse and worse and worse.

“Where has the liquor (department) been? It hasn’t been there.”

Javi Barberi, who has had a liquor license on Maui for five years, said that working with the department has been difficult. There have been times when restaurant and bar owners have driven to Wailuku to complete license forms only to get a call when they return home that they had to come back because “a T wasn’t crossed or a dot wasn’t added.”

“I feel like there is not a partnership going on,” he said. “It just feels like we are just dogs, you got to do what we tell you to do or nothing’s going to happen.”

“I really think that new blood is needed in the liquor control in order to achieve a great partnership and great teamwork,” he added. “These businesses need support more than ever.”

Barberi said he read the resumes of Takemoto and Minn and called them “excellent candidates” who could bring needed change to the department.

Kalei Silva, president of the nonprofit Cancer Kids of Hawaii, advocated for the selection of Layne Silva, saying that he has been “an amazing person to work with over the years.” She said he has been professional in assisting them with their special event permits and applications.

He made them feel comfortable and had all of their questions answered when they left the department.

* Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com.