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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-02-13 Board of Ethics minutesHAWAI‘I COUNTY BOARD OF ETHICS MINUTES – REGULAR SESSION Wednesday, February 13, 2013 10:04 a.m. to 11:17 a.m. Hawai‘i County Building 25 Aupuni Street, Room 1501 Hilo, Hawai‘i 96720 Members and Staff Present: Bernard Balsis, Vice Chair Arne Henricks, Member Glen Hisashima, Member Renee N. C. Schoen, Deputy Corporation Counsel Mary E. Fujio, Secretary 1. CALL TO ORDER Mr. Balsis called the meeting to order at 10:04 a.m. 2. STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS Mr. Balsis called up Dan A. Cole, who had signed up to testify on several items. MR. COLE: Yes. In clarification, 18 U.S.C. 4 stands for United States Code, Criminal Title 18, Subsection 4, Misprision of Felony, as it is the legal obligation of all persons having actual knowledge of the commission of a cognizable [sic] by a court of the United States, as perpetuated against the United States, is required to come forth before civil or military authorities with such information under penalty of violation and criminal incarceration for three years. Therefore, I continue. This panel has so been caveated. On to statements from the public. I think we’ve all pretty much gotten away from what the exact purpose of this item is, so I would like to read the purpose, as stated in the constitution of the State of Hawai‘i preamble. We the people of Hawai‘i, grateful for divine guidance and mindful of our Hawaiian heritage and uniqueness as an island state, dedicate our efforts to fulfill the philosophy decreed by the Hawai‘i state motto. We reserve the right to control our destiny, to nurture the integrity of our people and culture, and to preserve the quality of life that we desire. We affirm our belief in a government of the people, by the people, and for the people, and with an understanding and compassionate heart towards all people of the earth do hereby ordain and establish this constitution of the State of Hawai‘i. I’ve come forth many times before this Board and other government boards in an attempt to exercise my state guaranteed constitutional rights of government oversight of the people, and have been denied in pattern and history of these very rights in a conspiracy under the color of authority, in deprivation of the people’s rights. You’ve all sworn an oath to uphold the constitutions of the state and federal governments. For clarity of what we are all talking about, let me read what you have sworn to uphold and defend. The constitution of the State of Hawai‘i, Article I, Bill of Rights, Political Power, Section 1. All political power of this state is inherent in the people, and the responsibility for the exercise thereof rests with the people. All government is founded on this authority. Section 2, Rights of an Individual. All persons are free by nature and are equal in their inherent and inalienable rights. Among these rights are the enjoyment of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and the acquiring of possessions and property. These rights cannot endure unless the people recognize their corresponding obligations and responsibilities. Having recognized my obligations and responsibilities of government oversight, I have filed numerous petitions and have been denied due process or equal representation in these petitions. I have been denied the ability of law enforcement authorities in the County of Hawai‘i, County of Hawai‘i Police Department, to file violations of complaint against corrupt government officials, again in deprivation of rights. As you have all sworn to uphold the constitution, you are also aware that the approval of the regular session minutes--you are verifying, validating, and confirming the true and correctness as represented by your statements, intentions, and meanings in that document. You should also know and anticipate that such document will be and can be used by law enforcement and judicial authorities against you for conspiracy against rights and deprivation of rights under the color of authority. In addition, under the federal RICO statutes, once an enterprise of corrupt officials has been established, tolling of statutes begins, whereupon which you now, as an official, have the burden to prove with preponderance of evidence that your intentions were solely for the purpose of bringing forth true and correct testimony before a civil authority of the United States. At this point, I will transition into section 4, new business. This follows on my previous statements. The counsel’s report regarding matters and inquiries received by the Board, including gift disclosure statements received from Lester Seto, of the Office of Housing and Community Development, disclosing that no gifts were received. I have met Mr. Seto. I have nothing but the highest regard for his true and pure intentions. However, you will also notice that in your executive session, on section 24, Lester Seto is also a member of the Workforce Investment Board. Some background and history on Mr. Seto. He was also the purported executive director of the Hawai‘i County Economic Opportunity Council. The former executive director was George Yokoyama, well known and famous political kingmaker in the County of Hawai‘i. In addition, there are numerous federal investigations and allegations of impropriety within that organization concerning Head Start. A simple review of the board of directors of the HCEOC will identify a who’s who of the political movers and shakers in the County of Hawai‘i. Getting back to the rights of individuals, all persons are free by nature and equal in their inherent and inalienable rights. I also look at the rights of citizens, section 8 of the Hawai‘i State Constitution. No citizen shall be disfranchised or deprived of any rights or privileges secured to other citizens unless by the law of the land. The inclusion of Mr. Seto in multiple boards and commissions, in association with private, nonprofit associations, and in reviewing the names of those individuals who I see here, I see a revolving who’s who of County boards, commissions, volunteer groups, which is a tantamount second arm of the executive branch of this government. I have been before this Board many times and have learned of the inner connections, marriage, relations of third parties, etcetera, to various boards. I would propose that in the future, or even retroactive, that upon the disclosure or appointment to a board, the name of the individual and all previous appointments, commissions, or settings be disclosed at that time. In fact, on this Board here, I would be interested to see how individuals are selected. I have never seen in the paper a notice of advertisement for individuals interested in becoming board members of the Board of Ethics. I myself believe that I would make a very good member of this Board. I have extensive experience in this Board. I have extensive experience in the public. How do I get my name placed for consideration? Going on to item 5, I speak in opposition to the approval of the draft adopting the dismissal of my petition. As you are all aware, I filed a multi-page testimony prior to the January 9th meeting. In this testimony, it is documented in the stated certificates, stipulations of issuance of contracts, of bonds, of BANS, stipulations of requirements of deposits in accounting. One hour before the January 9th meeting of the Ethics Board, Nancy Crawford dropped a letter off in the Corporation Counsel Office in response. I had no opportunity to review the letter and was flagrantly denied the opportunity to make comment before this commission, as recorded on video by the Occupy Hawai‘i movement and the Occupy Hilo movement, in addition to the official minutes. The mayor and the finance director offered no response, as this Board admits, to the petition. The petition is very simple. The letter from this Board to the mayor was extremely simple. The basic requirement was asked: what benefit did the people of Hawai‘i get for their $66,000? All government officials have two parts to their official actions. Part one, they have a requirement of authority to act in the people’s behalf. Part two, they have a requirement or reason to act in the people’s behalf, as an example of a police officer. As an example of a police officer, he is given the legal authority to stop and detain a person if that officer is in jurisdiction, and if and only if the officer has probable cause, as guaranteed to all persons under the state and federal constitutions. My petition was brought forth because numerous times I had attempted to secure the reason or requirement for which the mayor of the County of Hawai‘i, Billy Kenoi, caused the sale to the Bank of Hawai‘i for a government capital improvement bond, Series B, to finance a capital improvement project. I merely am asking what capital improvement project required Mayor Kenoi to cause this sale of $10 million of County bond anticipation notes to fund? How simple of a question is that? Was it to fund a pool? A Paradise Park park? What was it to fund? By designating the cause and requirement of which that bond was issued answers and legitimizes the mayor’s actions. This has never been done. And even today, this Board cannot say what project the bond was sold for. However, you’ve gone forth under the smoke screen of oh, he may have had the authority. He has the authority to issue bonds and sell them if the authority is granted by the Hawai‘i County Council. Did the mayor have the authority, or jurisdiction in this case, to sell a bond for which project? The identity of the project will determine the legitimacy of the authorization, and then it must be asked, why was the monies placed into the General Fund accounting of the County of Hawai‘i and not placed into a project fund, as required by and stipulated by the state and federal filings of the Hawai‘i County director, which states, as you all know from reading my document, that all funds from the new issue of bonds, Series B, shall be placed into a, quote, project fund, end quote, of which monies will be used to fund the capital improvement projects to include all interest of issues. I again ask, what project fund should the issuance of the Series B bond anticipation notes have been placed in? Again, nobody tells. So I leave you with the understanding that I have in fact filed with the governor of the state of Hawai‘i a complaint in accordance with United States Code, Subsection 4, Misprision of Felony, to violations of the federal RICO act, identified as extortion, bank fraud, money laundering, by public corruption in the Hawai‘i island government by a RICO enterprise of corrupt government officials. Your actions under the color of authority appear to be somewhat misunderstood by you. It appears that this Board believes they have the authority to act without the responsibility of action. I assure you, and I am sure counsel Renee Schoen and former district court Judge Henricks here, will inform you that a deprivation of rights under the color of law exposes you personally, persona, in addition to personally public, to civil liabilities of the person injured. I will be seeking pro bono counsel in order to file such civil cases in state and federal courts. So again, I let your conscience be your guide, but the approval to dismiss Petition No. 2012-08 without the identity of the project which is funded, in answer to my complaint and petition, will be identified as confession by this Board to accessory after the fact, in violation of the United States Code, Subsection 3, to conspiracy to defraud the United States government, deprivation of the rights of a citizen, and deprivation of rights under the color of law. Thank you very much. Mr. Balsis called up Jerome Warren, who had signed up to testify on agenda item 5b. MR. WARREN: I came here today to ask you to please don’t close the file on my petition, 2012-10. Your reason for denial, which was given at the last meeting--Judge Henricks stated that Bobby Command’s atomic bomb statement was appropriate, and I say it wasn’t fair for Bobby Command to make such an outlandish statement when I was just trying to get to the nuts and bolts of what’s wrong. And also, I have not received a written verdict. I was here last month. Nothing came in the mail. And I did not receive a notice of today’s business. I didn’t even know I was on the agenda, and my petition was in writing. I deserve a written reply and written notices of follow-up business. This is standard operating procedure in any sort of business like this. We petition in writing, we receive communication via letter. And that was also your past practice. I’ve had other business before other boards of ethics, and that’s how they conducted their business. So going on to another group of situations here. My complaint about the Ethics Board was not acknowledged. Back—previous to this, I came to an Ethics Board hearing just to get the format and the feel. And on that day, I noticed on the way out that the agenda was posted improperly. I called OIP on the spot. I called them from a pay phone, and they said write a letter. I wrote a letter and again, no response. So only yesterday I found out that this business would be conducted today. I called OIP, and they are going to look into what happened to my letter, about how you do your business. And I also I talked with Senator Coffman’s staff yesterday, just on short notice, and they are interested in how you do your business. And I was told by the staff to please ask you again today to just put this on next month’s agenda. Please try do some investigation about how this bus system is operated. So please don’t close this case today. Let Senator Coffman do his study into both the OIP complaint which they received from me and anything—just the manner in which you’re conducting your business, that is not responding to your petitioners as should be done, in writing, when we petition you in writing. So got a few more things here. So please put my petition on next month’s agenda. A one-month delay will do no harm. My complaint is legitimate. My evidence needs to be looked into. I’ve got it all in that bag there, and it’s been sitting there for a month, and I only had less than 24 hours to gather my thoughts and scribble these notes. This is—I shouldn’t laugh, because this is not funny, but I continue to be harassed and insulted by bus drivers, and that’s what started this. It seemed like it only got worse after you dismissed my petition. I was actually smacked on the foot by a bus driver. It was awful. And the police have my report, and the driver who assaulted me is under investigation. I am waiting for a letter from the Prosecutor’s Office. So what you do for me, you do for ever bus rider. And this is my last comment here. My friends have tried to look up my evidence on the County website, but they can’t find anything. So even the things I’ve struggled with just to put forth to you are not readily available to the general public. Even if they read last month’s—my letters to the editor and last month’s article about last month’s hearing, they try to—if their interest is piqued in any way, they try to look up your business and they can’t. So that’s of interest to Senator Coffman. So I’ll close with that and just ask you if you’ll just delay this one more month. Mahalo. Mr. Balsis called up Mark McNett, who had signed up to speak on agenda items 5a and 5b. MR. McNETT: Just by way of self-introduction, it’s McNett, as in the internet but with two t’s and a capital N. My script must be confusing. That’s my God-given name. No middle name. Now on the first one, I noticed just now, less than a minute ago, alleging RICO racketeering and corrupt organization. That’s a federal statute. And if that were the case, the federal court would be a victory. Just observing the complainant at council and committee meetings, it’s rarely any specifics have been voiced, and I commend you for enduring. I really am just commenting, not supporting or opposing. I guess that’s all I have to say about that, except that according to testimony at council chambers, it has gone to court. And to me that’s the proper venue. But you’re the only place to go for County improprieties, as far as I know. I personally think the district attorney is also another place to go, for serious matters. And sorry, I forgot to start the time. On the second item, just in general, as a long-time Hele-On patron over decades, from century to century, to millennia to millennia, I really feel that it’s unnecessarily confusing, and I would lay it at the feet of County Council, because if you call any toll free number to any airline, they describe the baggage limits. And it’s the sum multiple of width, length, and breadth. And when they first started the free, everyone free—let’s say, eight years ago approximately, I’d taken the bus from Banyan Drive over to Puainako in the roundabout, Kona clockwise routes which were always available. I actually had an occasion where I would buy like two plastic shopping bags with groceries, and that would violate or trigger the one dollar charge for an extra bag. And I called Mass Transit and just happened to have the phone answered by Tom Brown, the Mass Transit administrator, and I just suggested—it occurred to me during that call that all I would have to do is have a larger plastic bag in which to put the other plastic bags, but I did get him to agree, or to confirm, that it would be 10 inches by 16 by 16 inches rather than just 10 by 16 which—I don’t know if it’s in the ordinance or the County Code, but that’s what’s printed on the schedule. So then on some buses they have a slightly larger posting of the size. So there’s a little bit of confusion there, a contradiction. Personally, living for seven months up in Volcano and bicycling to town several times a week, I was perfectly happy with paying between 2.50 on the discount tickets and let’s say—I don’t even know what the full share was, I never paid it—let’s say 3.75 to get back up the mountain and a dollar for the bike. It’s much less than, let’s say, on the 48 states, or actually 49 states, I’m sure, for bus fares. Now about two weeks ago I was over in West Hawai‘i, and I took several buses between Pepe‘ekeō and Kailua-Kona, and I had a rectangular prismatic shaped kitty litter bucket. And it’s within the limits. And none of the drivers said anything, but one did. He said well, it’s a dollar for that. And I carry a tape measure with me just to avoid this. And he didn’t want to take the time to measure it, because I keep it down in the bottom, so I would have to empty the whole thing. And that’s just a delaying tactic on my part, to make it inconvenient to do so. But I don’t know if you’re able to make recommendations, but I would just say that would help with a lot of problems with passengers who can ill afford the dollar extra, if they would formalize it 10 by 16 by 16 inches, which Tom Brown is totally okay with. Or any multiple of that. Let’s say it was—I mean, it could get ridiculous where you’d have a half-inch long round thing, I don’t know how many feet long, but anyway, I don’t know if that even applies to this. But just as an aside, I was the one who happened to read it on the agenda and informed the complainant about today’s agenda listing. So thank you very much for your patience and your attention. Mr. Balsis called up Kerri Marks, who had signed up to testify on agenda item 5a. MS. MARKS: Good morning, thank you. Mostly I wanted to support what Jerry and Dan said, specifically what Jerry said about the notices being inadequate. I have also told petitioners that they were on the agenda for today, and they had no idea. In the past, when we heard Mr. Blas’—Mr. Blas’ lying on County Council--the petitioners had no idea that it was being heard that day. They heard because it was on my email list. So I think you need to look at how notices are done. Even--I would like to point out that only three of the five board members are here today. So perhaps there’s a problem with those notices, too, or they just don’t think that this is important enough to show up at. Mr. Ishibashi was across the hall at the 30-meter telescope hearing all day yesterday. He had time for that, but he doesn’t—oh, wait, he’s not on this board, is he. Okay, never mind, never mind, retract. MR. BALSIS: There’s only three of us. MS. MARKS: There’s only three of you? How’s there only three—I thought there was five? MS. SCHOEN: We’re waiting for two more to be appointed. MS. MARKS: Oh, okay, thank you, thank you. Okay, well that helps very much. Thank you. But either way, the notices are still lacking, because the petitioners don’t know this is on. Clearly, the people that are being petitioned against don’t know that they’re on, because Mr. Kenoi has never made an appearance here. Rarely do the people that are being complained against make an appearance here. And I understand that you can’t compel them to be here, but it might be a good idea to invite them formally with some sort of official notice, and then announce at the meeting that they were invited to come and then chose not to. Then it’s at least on the record that they knew they were supposed to be here and chose not to. And that’s important, because last time we were here in January and spoke about Mr. Kenoi’s possible RICO violations—I mean I understand the guy is busy and he may not be able to come, but last time when we were here, at the moment that you all were discussing that case, he was across the hall in County [sic] chambers, congratulating one of the new nominees. So it’s not like he’s not around. It appears as though he doesn’t value this Board or the gravity of being named on an agenda. I think it’s sad. It’s sad for you guys, because this is important stuff here. So that’s pretty much what I wanted to say today, is to reemphasize Jerry’s point about the notices and that they’re lacking, and Dan’s point about attendance and that it should be somehow compelled. Mahalo. 3. APPROVAL OF THE REGULAR SESSION MINUTES OF JANUARY 9, 2013 Motion and vote: Mr. Henricks moved to accept the minutes, Mr. Hisashima seconded the motion, and they and Mr. Balsis voted aye. 4. NEW BUSINESS Counsel’s report regarding matters and/or inquiries received by the Board, including Gift Disclosure Statement received from Lester Seto, of the Office of Housing and Community Development, disclosing that no gifts were received. Ms. Schoen said she was just letting the Board know that the gift disclosure was received from Mr. Seto, and no gifts were reported. 5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a. Petition No. 2012-08: Review draft order dismissing petition by Dan A. Cole, which alleged that Mayor Kenoi violated Section 2-83(b) (under fair treatment) of the Code of Ethics when he, “in conspiracy with others, illegally obtained and used $10 million dollars of the people’s money for the sole advantage of Bank of Hawai‘i, First Hawaiian Bank, and/or a RICO Enterprise of the ‘old boy network’ and/or ‘unmentionables.’” Mr. Balsis stated that the petition was heard and voted on at the previous meeting, so the Board would no longer be discussing it. He asked the members if they had reviewed the draft order, and Mr. Henricks and Mr. Hisashima said they had. Motion and vote: Mr. Henricks moved to accept the order as drafted, Mr. Hisashima seconded the motion, and they and Mr. Balsis voted aye. b. Petition No. 2012-10: Review draft order dismissing petition by Jerome Warren, which alleged that Bobby Command violated Section 2-83(a)(3) (under fair treatment) of the Code of Ethics by “violating their own rules,” using “delay tactics and psychological warfare,” and by defending “the extortion of money from Hele-On Bus passengers.” Mr. Balsis stated that the petition was reviewed at the previous meeting and dismissed at that time by a vote. He clarified that it was on today’s agenda for review of the written order of dismissal. He asked the members if they had reviewed the draft order, and Mr. Henricks and Mr. Hisashima said they had. Motion and vote: Mr. Henricks moved to accept the order as drafted, Mr. Hisashima seconded the motion, and they and Mr. Balsis voted aye. Mr. Balsis announced that the Board would recess for a few minutes and then go into executive session for the purpose of reviewing the executive session minutes of the previous meeting and 39 confidential financial disclosures. The Board recessed from 10:43 a.m. to 10:49 a.m. Motion and vote: Mr. Henricks moved to go into executive session, Mr. Hisashima seconded the motion, and they and Mr. Balsis voted aye. 10:49 a.m.: The Board left regular session. * * * * * 11:13 a.m.: The Board returned to regular session. 6. VOTING ON EXECUTIVE SESSION MATTERS a. Approval of the executive session minutes of January 9, 2013. Motion and vote: Mr. Henricks moved to accept the minutes as drafted, Mr. Hisashima seconded the motion and they and Mr. Balsis voted aye. b. Review of Confidential Financial Disclosure Forms filed pursuant to Section 2-91.1(d), Hawai‘i County Code, by County board and commission members and designated County employees, where personal matters will be reviewed. Mr. Balsis stated that they had reviewed 39 confidential financial disclosures in executive session, and numbers 3 and 37 were deemed incomplete and would be returned for completion. Motion and vote: Mr. Henricks moved to accept and file the other 37 disclosures, Mr. Hisashima seconded the motion, and they and Mr. Balsis voted aye. Ms. Schoen said that she would be responding in writing to Gloria Wong of the Salary Commission, who had submitted a letter to the Board along with her financial disclosure (No. 37), which was incomplete. Mr. Balsis stated that during executive session, the Board members discussed the sufficiency of their notification to petitioners and respondents as to when a petition is agendized. The Board duly notifies both petitioners and respondents when a petition is scheduled for hearing. At the hearing, testimony is heard and discussion is held, and once the Board votes to dismiss the petition or provide an advisory opinion, discussion on the matter is closed. A petitioner is not usually notified of the subsequent meeting, when that petition is on the agenda for review of the dismissal order or advisory opinion, because in essence the matter is closed. Mr. Balsis also stated that the Board complies with the Sunshine Law by posting its agendas at least six days prior to a meeting. Each agenda is posted on the County's website, and a hard copy also gets posted on the County's bulletin board. He apologized that in December 2012, the agenda was posted on the bulletin board incorrectly, because only the first page was visible. 7. ANNOUNCEMENTS Mr. Balsis announced the Board's next meeting: March 13, 2013, at 10:00 a.m. in Room 1501 of the Hawaii County Building, or at another location if necessary. 8. ADJOURNMENT Mr. Balsis adjourned the meeting at 11:17 a.m. Respectfully submitted: Mary E. Fujio, Secretary (with her signature)