Commentary
Police commission should stay out of politics
By Bob Dye
Kailua-based writer and historian
Honolulu police officers are prohibited from supporting, advocating and aiding in the election or defeat of any candidate for public office. But the seven commissioners who appoint their chief and investigate charges brought by the public against the department or any of its members may be as politically supportive as they wish.
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And they are active, unfailingly, each and every one of them. The current commissioners, their companies and employers, even family members and other relatives write checks to the political campaign of the man who appoints them — Mayor Jeremy Harris. And some of them give generously of their time and talents at campaign events.
Darolyn Lendio and her colleagues gave $20,000.
Currently under investigation for being "too generous" is police commissioner Alan Ho. The Waikiki restaurateur contributed almost $25,000 over the space of five years to the political campaigns of the mayor. In some years, Ho's contributions were in excess of campaign spending limits, according to reports at the Campaign Spending Commission. Alan Ho's wife is a contributor to the Harris campaign, too.
Other commissioners and those connected to them gave the legal limit, and others raised funds and donated services. For example:
- Police commission chairman Leonard Leong and his wife each contributed up to the $4,000 limit. Mr. Leong is vice president of Royal Contracting, a company that does business with the city and contributes to the Harris campaign.
- Commissioner Darolyn Lendio and her colleagues at a prominent law firm gave nearly $20,000 to the Harris campaign.
- Commissioner Ronald Taketa and other top employees of the Carpenters & Joiners Union gave the Harris campaign $14,000. Their PAC gave $4,000 in 1996. And they gave more in 2000.
The Honolulu Police Commission was established in 1932 to take politics out of law enforcement. Prior to that, an elected sheriff ran the cop shop. But in the wake of the most famous scandal in the history of Honolulu law enforcement, the so-called Massie Case, a reform-minded legislature, in special session, gave the mayor power to appoint five commissioners to hire a professional police chief to restore public trust in the department.
In the first years of World War II, legislators in 1943, following rumors of police complicity in prostitution, took away the power of the mayor to appoint police commissioners and gave it to the governor. In January 1964, the power to appoint police commissioners was returned to the counties. A victory for "home rule."
Reform is again needed, it appears to me. To promote public trust in the police commission, my modest suggestion is to extend the rule for police officers to police commissioners.
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And do it soon! For political appointees and those who do business with government, the pressure to raise campaign funds is on high.
Mayor Jeremy Harris is a beneficiary of the police commissioners.
Despite the desperate straits of the Hawai'i economy, candidates in the 2002 primary and general elections are out to garner more than ever before. The executive director of the Campaign Spending Commission, Bob Watada, guesses the figure will go as high as $25 million to $30 million.
Where will this election's $30 million come from?
Investigations by the Campaign Spending Commission show that major Hawai'i construction firms each have raised more than $100,000 for a single candidate.
And they often support more than one candidate.
Why do they give?
Quid pro quo: "Something for something."
What that last something will be is not specific, it is generic. Suffice it to say that to get you gotta give. To make your something big enough to get something big enough in return, contributions are "bundled." The firm gives, its employees give, and even relatives are listed as giving. The same holds true for the firm's subcontractors.
Asked to describe the fund-raising process, a seasoned fund-raiser told investigators:
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"Well, there are various channels or means for doing this, but one of the standard means of doing it was to go over lists of possible contributors in various fields, including attorneys, architects, engineers, doctors, and try to make some estimate as to how much this person could help sell and then to call that person up and ask them to take this much to sell for us. There's also, in several of the campaigns, a meeting or an invited gathering — can't really call it a party — but it was where people were asked to come to meet the (candidate), have pupu, have drinks and as they walked out, we handed them a little brown bag with their tickets..."
Ronald Taketa helped raise $14,000 for Harris' campaign.
Were the people predisposed to supporting (the candidate)?
"No... , they were people who we thought could sell tickets. Whether they like the (candidate) or not ... was not necessary."
How did the people given tickets handle them?
"We would give these tickets to one person, they would then try to sell to people who were subs (subcontractors). Architects, engineers, construction companies — are some big contributors. They would give them to their subs, the subs would give to their subs and pretty soon the trail got a little too loose."
How can contractors afford to buy all those tickets?
One executive said it's added into the billing. So, on government jobs, it's you, the taxpayer, who pays. On private jobs, it's you, the consumer, who pays.
Either way, it's you who is surcharged.
We can no longer afford to support the campaign lunacy that has bedeviled political life on these islands for so many years. It is time for campaign spending reform. And it's time to restore public trust by getting the police commission out of politics.
