Robert Bunda Selected as Tenth Board Member
(Friday, Sept. 16, 2011)- The Honolulu
Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) Board of Directors
today selected Robert Bunda as the final member of the 10-member
board.
The board voted unanimously in
appointing Bunda, who previously served in the Hawaii State
Legislature in both the House and Senate. Bunda represented the
Wahiawa, Haleiwa, Mokuleia and North Shore area for more than 25
years and served as state senate president from 2001 to 2006.
Bunda, a Wahiawa resident, is an insurance broker and serves on
the board of directors of the State Public Land Development
Corporation under the state Department of Land and Natural
Resources.
“I am honored to join the HART board and I understand the
enormous responsibility involved in ensuring the successful
construction and operation of Hawaii’s first urban rail system,”
Bunda said. “This rail system will serve Oahu well into the future.
It will provide a transportation alternative to our congested roads
and highways so our residents don’t have to spend hours in traffic
each day. This is a project I firmly believe in and support.”
“Bunda’s expertise will bring an important perspective to the
board,” said HART Board Vice-Chairman Ivan Lui-Kwan. “Mr. Bunda is
a strong addition to the board. His understanding of the budgetary
and legislative process and his work in shaping public land use
policy will be extremely helpful as we collectively work to bring
the rail transit project online,” Lui-Kwan said.
Along with Bunda, the other volunteer board members include
William “Buzz” Hong; Don Horner; Keslie Hui; Damien Kim; Lui-Kwan;
and Carrie Okinaga, who all serve with no compensation. Ex-Officio
board members are State Department of Transportation Director Glenn
Okimoto; City Department of Transportation Services Director Wayne
Yoshioka; and City Department of Planning and Permitting Director
David Tanoue, who serves as a non-voting member.