Peter Young's job as director of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources is in jeopardy as the state Senate votes today on whether to confirm him to another four-year term.

Young, Gov. Linda Lingle and several of Young's allies met privately with individual senators yesterday to try to help Young after the Senate Water, Land, Agriculture and Hawaiian Affairs Committee voted 4-1 against recommending his nomination.

State Sen. Russell Kokubun, D-2nd (S. Hilo, Puna, Ka'u), the committee's chairman, said that while Young has had some accomplishments, such as helping to protect the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, his leadership has been ineffective because of mismanagement and a lack of accountability.

"He didn't do his job," Kokubun told reporters.

Lingle accused Kokubun and the other Democrats on the committee of making up their minds about Young before they held five days of confirmation hearings.

"I think it's a sad day when the public's input is ignored the way it was by the committee," Lingle said.

The Republican governor also repeated her disappointment with the confirmation process, which included testimony under subpoena from current and former workers at the department who are unhappy with Young. She also said it was outrageous for the committee to subpoena William McCorriston, an attorney representing retired auto dealer Jimmy Pflueger in a lawsuit against the state and private companies related to the oversight of Kaloko Dam on Kaua'i, which failed last year and killed seven people.

Senate and administration sources said last night it will be a challenge for Young to overcome the committee's recommendation. Earlier this month, the Senate rejected Iwalani White as director of the state Department of Public Safety after a negative recommendation from the Senate Public Safety Committee, the first time a Lingle Cabinet appointment has been voted down.

But the administration helped save the nomination of Honolulu deputy prosecutor Glenn Kim for Circuit Court judge after a negative recommendation from the Senate Judiciary and Labor Committee.

"I'm encouraged that the senators, down on the floor, will evaluate all of the testimony that was submitted," Young said after the committee vote.

Environmentalists and Native Hawaiians — including many who almost called for Young's resignation two years ago — are planning a rally in support of Young this morning at the state Capitol.

NO 'SMOKING GUN'

Young's defenders are arguing that the confirmation hearings produced no "smoking gun" against the director that warrants his removal. But few deny that many of the department's divisions have had longstanding problems that undermine its mission to protect the state's natural and cultural resources.

Kokubun and other senators, in explaining their opposition, cited Young's inability to correct these problems as reasons he should not be confirmed.

Senators are concerned about the transfer of money from the boating and ocean recreation division to conservation enforcement and a lack of detail on how that money was spent on patrols. The practice, which predates Young's tenure as director, was also troubling to senators given the neglect at many of the state's boating facilities.

Senators were alarmed by the turnover and the persistent number of vacancies in the state historic preservation division, which has damaged staff morale and threatened the protection of burial sites. State Sen. Jill Tokuda, D-24th (Kailua, Kane'ohe), described it as a "mass exodus" that reflects poorly on management.

Senators also found that intense factionalism and dysfunction at the Bureau of Conveyances has either gone unresolved or has increased under Young. The state attorney general's office and the state Ethics Commission are investigating manipulated documents, unexplained checks and preferential treatment to select businesses.

DAM VULNERABILITY

While Young is not the target of the investigation, state Sen. Carol Fukunaga, D-11th (Makiki, Pawa'a), said she was shocked that Young apparently did not take more action to improve the security of real-estate documents.

Kokubun also said the department apparently did not respond to an article in The Advertiser that warned of the vulnerability of dams, which was published months before the fatal Kaloko breach.

Kokubun, Tokuda, Fukunaga and state Sen. Clayton Hee, D-23rd (Kane'ohe, Kahuku), voted against Young's confirmation. State Sen. Sam Slom, R-8th (Kahala, Hawai'i Kai), voted in favor.

Slom said the committee gave too much credence to disgruntled department workers and the Hawai'i Government Employees Association, the state's most powerful labor union, which is opposed to Young. The senator, referring to the confirmation hearings of White and others, said the session would be remembered for the Senate's evisceration of some of Lingle's Cabinet nominees.

"I don't think that King Kamehameha could ever be confirmed by this committee," Slom said.

Lingle, Slom and other Young allies have seized on the subpoena of McCorriston to question the committee's fairness and judgment. The governor and Slom have said that McCorriston used his testimony to deflect attention away from Pflueger's responsibility as a property owner at Kaloko.

PROCESS CRITICIZED

Lingle, who sat behind Young during the last hours of the hearings, has publicly condemned the process and raised questions about motive that she did not after White was rejected. She also said yesterday that it was mysterious for the Senate to oppose Young when he received such overwhelming public support.

"I think it's a dangerous precedent to set that someone has to please everyone in order to be reconfirmed," Lingle said.

But the department under Young has been under frequent criticism for mismanagement and, despite Young's success at winning over environmentalists and Native Hawaiians, the issues were expected to threaten his confirmation.

"My concerns for Mr. Young's ability to take responsibility for his department outweighs what he has done in the last four years," Tokuda said.

Reach Derrick DePledge at ddepledge@honoluluadvertiser.com.