Doubts raised on efficiency of City Council
By Robbie Dingeman
Advertiser City Hall Writer
While a majority of City Council members have become embroiled in controversies large and small over the past year, people who interact with the council and those who observe its workings say the troubles have had little effect on city business.
But a few also believe the most significant fallout comes in the questions not asked, or unpopular positions not debated, simply because the council wants to keep its collective head down and not risk further alienating the public.
The collective problems of some council members, which range from a felony bribery conviction to allegations of resume fudging, are mostly described as a distraction by those who do business with the city and even by some Council members.
"Yeah, we're rotten people, but, hey, we're pretty good politicians and pretty good public servants," said Council Chairman Jon Yoshimura. "Despite all the bad press that I've had, despite all the bad press that my colleagues have had, I think we've run a pretty efficient ship."
It also helps that it's a relatively quiet summer, with the budget safely passed and no contentious issues like the Natatorium project to force confrontations between the nine council members.
Sierra Club Hawai'i chapter director Jeff Mikulina said while he believes the issues have eroded the public's faith in political leadership, over the past year he has seen the council take steps to protect the Maunawili area, Waimea Valley and the Ka Iwi coastline.
"We don't always agree with the things they accomplish, but I don't think that's held them up from doing their work," he said.
But others say the council's problems hang over Honolulu Hale like a fog, interfering with important political judgment. Lowell Kalapa, president of the Tax Foundation of Hawai'i, said council members under fire can't provide the checks-and-balances expected of them and tend to be too quick to approve whatever the mayor proposes.
"When you have personal failings, you can't necessarily throw stones because your own windows are broken," said Kalapa.
Roy Benham, an East Honolulu community activist, said he thinks some of the council members' problems have affected their work.
"I think it has had some impact on their performance lately," Benham said. "If someone asks how does it manifest itself, I say primarily on their expenditures. They've been going hog-wild in their spending (of city money). Just cool it, for crying out loud."
Benham said: "I think they're (thinking), 'I'm distracted right now, so let's go ahead and pass this and get it out of the way so I can get back to my personal problems.' "
During the past 18 months, five of nine council members have faced questions about their conduct or have been accused of official misconduct. The most serious is the July 3 conviction of Councilman Andy Mirikitani on public corruption charges that included theft, bribery, extortion and witness tampering.
Other troubles include:
• Rene Mansho's admission she violated state campaign spending laws and city ethics guidelines. She will pay $80,000 in fines and restitution.
• John Henry Felix's legal challenge to the city over his right to hold commercial weddings at his home in 'Aina Haina despite citations by the city.
• Council Chairman Yoshimura's pleading no contest to driving away after hitting a parked car. He has also struggled to straighten out his campaign finances.
• Steve Holmes, who built a reputation as a squeaky-clean ethics champion, awkwardly fielded questions about his educational credentials after the University of Iowa said it has no record he earned two degrees there, as he claimed.
Kalapa and others say the council has been especially easy on Mayor Jeremy Harris. Kalapa asked why the council didn't review a series of city-sponsored celebrations in which Harris, who is running for governor, invited thousands of residents to enjoy food, fun and music at various dedications. They include the one-year anniversary of the Kapi'olani Park bandstand, yesterday's "Brunch on the Beach" in Waikiki and next week's opening of a new Central O'ahu park.
"Who's paying for it? Is anybody questioning it?" Kalapa asked. "It looks like nothing more than a make-the-mayor-look-good event and we're paying for it, yet nobody on the council has raised an eyebrow. Nobody."
City spokeswoman Carol Costa said these events are co-sponsored by groups such as the Waikiki Improvement Association, helped by volunteers and backed by the community. "Partnerships are what make a lot of our events possible," she said.
And Rick Egged, president of the Waikiki Improvement Association, said the brunch event is a good example of the mayor and the council doing what they're supposed to do: working cooperatively to make the city a better place.
"I think the council's doing a good job," he said. "They all have their own ideas and their own agenda for making the city work better."
Yoshimura also said that a more cooperative relationship with Harris isn't something to be criticized and isn't the result of the council being politically weakened.
"We work with the administration. We have constant disagreements here, but it's just the way that we deal with it," Yoshimura said. The council is working harder to solve problems "rather than just battling on the council floor or battling in the media."
He has grown sardonic about the controversies that have dogged him and his colleagues.
Councilman Gary Okino observed the council for three decades as a city planner before being elected last year. "I think there's some good things getting done."
He said the personal issues are a distraction but don't limit the council's effectiveness. "We've had the other extreme where council members would oppose the mayor — whatever the mayor wanted — just for the sake of opposing him," Okino said. "So that's not good, either."
Advertiser Staff Writer Lynda Arakawa contributed to this report.
City Hall Writer Robbie Dingeman can be reached at rdingeman@honoluluadvertiser.com or at 525-8070.
