HONOLULU -- A housing and health care advocacy group gathered on Saturday to thank the governor and lawmakers for listening to their pleas about affordable housing this session.

Members of FACE, which is short for "Faith Alliance for Community Equity," met Saturday.

But some were disappointed that both Gov. Linda Lingle and Hawaii Housing director Chad Taniguchi were no-shows.

The group considers Taniguchi an ally, and members said they were upset to learn the Hawaii Housing Authority Board is looking to replace him.

Some longtime residents at Kuhio Park Terrace are asking the board to reconsider its decision.

"Of the 24 years I have lived at KPT, I have never worked alongside an executive director like I have with Chad Taniguchi," June Talia said. "This man goes above and beyond the call of duty."

When reached on Saturday, Taniguchi declined to discuss why the board took the action it did this week.

But he said he would like to reapply for the post.

He is proudest of his work in the past two years, including balancing the agency's budget, which had long been in the red.