Council's power trip troubled
| • | Mansho quits City Hall amid 'personal problems' |
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By Kevin Dayton
Advertiser Capitol Bureau Chief
The announcement yesterday by Rene Mansho that she would resign while she copes with a criminal investigation into her alleged misuse of city staff and campaign money caps a pile of ethical and legal problems among City Council members.
Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser
One theory of what has gone wrong at Honolulu Hale puts the blame on the atmosphere. Perhaps it is too warm, too congenial, with too many people trying to schmooze and shake hands with the politicians there.
Rene Mansho resigns amid an investigation.
Political veterans said that may be because the council is a particularly powerful government body made up of only nine members so it can be controlled by just five people, and its halls are populated by players who want to get cozy with those five.
If anything, the recent ethical and legal missteps on the council are about human frailty, said former City Council Chairman Gary Gill.
"Anyone who runs for office must have a firm belief in himself, and often the longer you stay in office, with the responsibilities and the public attention and the powerful people wanting to take you to lunch, that sense of self can become exaggerated beyond reasonable proportion," said Gill. "It's not unusual for people to think they are above or beyond the laws that they pass."
Former state Rep. Jim Shon, who served in the state House for 12 years, said a similar atmosphere clouds the state Legislature, but the effect may be more intense at the council.
"You have this manipulative environment where the media, constituents, stakeholders, the lobbyists are all schmoozing each other in this environment of aren't we all wonderful," Shon said. "I think with a smaller group (such as the council) that commands the attention of such a huge percentage of the economy, imagine what that is like."
"Politicians often don't realize how intoxicating it is, and how artificial it is, that people are praising you all the time, being nice to you all the time and kowtowing or whatever," Shon said.
The council cases are varied, with former Councilman Andy Mirikitani serving a federal prison sentence after he was convicted in July of theft, bribery, extortion, wire fraud and witness tampering for offering bonuses to two of his then-council aides if they kicked back a share of the money to him.
Well-publicized but less serious problems also revolve around former Council Chairman Jon Yoshimura and Councilman John Henry Felix.
A state disciplinary panel recommended Yoshimura be suspended from practicing law for six months for lying about a 1999 traffic accident.
Felix is battling the city since he was cited in December 2000 for operating a commercial wedding business in a residential district in 'Aina Haina, a legal fight that may cost the city tens of thousands of dollars. The city says the operation violates the land use law, but Felix contends it is legal.
Shon and Larry Meacham, spokesperson for Common Cause Hawai'i, said increasingly strict legal and ethical requirements have been imposed or enforced by the state in recent years, and some long-time politicians were caught doing things the old way.
"Twenty years ago people routinely used campaign funds for personal use and all kinds of things like that, but times have changed," said Meacham. Now, "They have to keep real careful the separation between their private life, their campaigning and their office and their official office money. I think that's where both Rene and Andy fell down."
Meacham also said it doesn't help that the pay for elected officials is relatively low. Council members make $43,350, with the chairman making $5,100 more, and higher pay would "reduce the temptation," he said.
"If you get into financial trouble, you sure aren't going to pay for it by your legislative or council salary," Shon said.
Shon said almost everyone comes into politics hoping to make a difference, but recalled from his years at the Legislature how the idealism can fray over the years. It happens faster for some than for others, he said.
"You can almost spot the new ones right away, who already are smitten, smitten by the koa door and the private elevator, and everybody calling you 'representative,'" Shon said. "Getting a lei every time you step out of the room, getting free meals, being escorted to the front table, being visited and respected by CEOs who are old enough to be your father. You know, wow."
Reach Kevin Dayton at kdayton@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.
