Council full of demerit badges

By Lee Cataluna
Advertiser Columnist

The picture in yesterday's paper was perfect: Andy Mirikitani, unwelcome at the table after recently being found guilty of numerous felonies, sitting stoically at his place in the council meeting and Rene Mansho in the background giving him the mean side-eye (which is extra special not only because of her own recent brush with scandal, but because the look was emphasized by those 2-inch false eyelashes she wears. Side-glance. Whoosh!).

Despite being found guilty of charges stemming from a scheme to award large bonuses to his City Council aides in exchange for kickbacks, Mirikitani stubbornly refuses to hear the chorus of voices calling for his resignation from public office. He has said he intends to continue to serve his constituents. There has been speculation that he needs the paycheck until his sentencing in December. Maybe he figures, "Whatevers, I going jail anyway. Might as well do what I like."

The absurdity of it all was emphasized by the presence of a group of Boy Scouts who were in attendance at Wednesday's council meeting. The young men attended the council meeting as part of earning citizenship badges.

My first thought was, gee, these kids are supposed to learn citizenship from this bunch? That's like learning traffic safety from Nobu Yonamine.

But then I thought, what better place to learn about the pitfalls of power, the shocking lack of ethics or propriety, the great gap between the call to serve and the actual work that gets done on the public's behalf? The Scouts came to the perfect place to learn what NOT to do.

Perhaps there should be a Rene Mansho badge, a reminder to check your math and read the rule book, especially when dealing with other people's money.

Or the Jon Yoshimura badge for quick reporting of traffic incidents.

There could be a couple of Steve Holmes badges, one for youth anti-smoking education in honor of his memorable run-in with a cigarette-toting girl at a Windward bus stop. Another Holmes badge could be awarded to a Scout who can actually produce proof of his education background, unlike Holmes, who claimed the University of Iowa must have lost his transcripts for both his bachelor's and master's degrees.

And lastly, the Mirikitani badge could be awarded as a symbol of everything Andy Mirikitani is not and won't do: honorable conduct, integrity, respect for community and elected office, generally doing the right thing.

I hope as those Scouts sat there and took it all in, they thought about the strength of character it takes to be a good citizen, a contributing member of society, and an effective leader. I hope they aspire to be the kind of leaders who vow to do better and be the kind of role models that are currently in short supply.

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Her email address is lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com