2007-03-09 Investigation Into Alleged Sunshine Law Violations

Home

Honorable Leslie H. Kondo March 9, 2007 Page 2 Hawai'i County Charter (2000). A copy of the West Hawaii Today article relative to this matter is enclosed.2 On February 23, 2007, Council Members Higa, Nae'ole and Yoshimoto met with a reporter from the Hawaii Tribune-Herald to explain their early departure from the February 22 meeting (article enclosed). This meeting was videotaped, but due to the poor audio quality, many portions of the interview are not discernable. This office subsequently contacted the Hawaii Tribune-Herald reporter and obtained information from him concerning his recollection of items discussed during this interview. The vast majority of discussion during this interview focused on the present leadership of the Council. On Monday, February 26, 2007, Council Members Higa, Nae'ole and Yoshimoto participated in a radio interview with Ken Hupp of radio station KPUA/KWXX. An audio CD recording of this program was obtained by our office and carefully reviewed. Again, the vast majority of discussion focused on Council leadership issues. There was brief mention of the aforementioned Bill 51, but that discussion was limited to (1) a statement by Council Member Higa that there was no guarantee the bill would have passed had there been at least six Council members present to vote on the bill, and (2) a statement by Council Member Nae'ole that the contractor who allegedly stated that the contract price would increase should be released from working with the County on this project. In fact, when the interviewer sought additional information by asking a more fact- specific question, Council Member Higa interjected that they could not discuss the merits of the bill, since it remained under active deliberation by the Council, and that such discussion would violate the Sunshine Law. On Tuesday, February 27, 2007, Council Members Higa, Nae'ole and Yoshimoto participated in a radio interview with "Mynah Bird" of radio station KHBC. No audio recording of this program was made by the radio station. When interviewed by the West Hawaii Today (article enclosed) concerning possible Sunshine Law violations, our office invited any member of the public who had recorded the show or had information concerning what was said to contact our office. We have received no calls from anyone offering pertinent factual information. We reviewed an unofficial report of what was discussed during this radio interview (enclosed is a blog3 entry found on the internet), and considered this information in the light least favorable to the Council members, since the author indicated he/she believed there was a Sunshine Law violation. Council Members Higa, Nae'ole and Yoshimoto were contacted by our office and advised of this investigation. Each Council member separately and 2 We note during the reading of other bills on February 22, 2007,when the four aforementioned Council members were absent, the Clerk noted them on the record as "excused." 3'Slog" is short for"Weblog,"and is defined by Merriam-Webster as"a Web site that contains an online personal journal with reflections, comments, and often hyperlinks provided by the writer."